TREE OF IMMORTALITY

The Eternal Tree is a remarkable tree that not only reproduces itself through its fig-like fruit, but from time to time sends out aerial roots that become supporting trunks for itself; the banyan tree can have over a thousand trucks that make it virtually immune to death. The tree is identified with Akshaya Vata, the Eternal Banyan, the only individual tree ever designated with a proper noun in Hindu scripture. Although associated with many deities, the tree is often thought of as a form of the mighty Shiva. However, in summer, women wrap the banyan in rope and worship it with food offerings in a ritual called Vata Savitri Vrat. In this context, the tree is identified with Lord Shiva.