September 14, 2026
MANGO
The Indian mythologists relate that the daughter of the Sun, persecuted by a wicked enchantress, plunged into a pool, where she was transformed into a golden Lotus. The king became enamoured of the beautiful flower, so the enchantress burnt it; but from its ashes rose the Mango (Mangifera Indica). Then the king fell in love, first with the Mango-flower, and next with the fruit, which he ordered to be carefully preserved for his own use. At last, just as the fruit was ripe, it fell from the bough, and out of it issued the daughter of the Sun, whom the king, after having lost and forgotten, now recognised as his former wife.
The Indian poets are never tired of singing the praises of the Mango, the beauty of its flowers, and the sweetness of its fruit. The Indian Cupid Kâmadeva is represented as having five arrows, each tipped with the blossom of a flower which pierce the heart through one of the five senses. A young maiden once plucked one of these blossoms, and offered it to the god, saying:—
Kâmadeva accepted the offering, and tipped with the Mango-flower one of his darts, which, from that time, was known as the arrow of love, and is the god’s favourite dart. Along with Sandalwood, the wood of the Mango is used by the Hindus in burning their dead. Among the Indian jugglers, the apparent production and growth of the Mango-tree is a performance executed in such a marvellous manner as to excite the astonishment of those who have most determined to discover how the illusion is effected.