March 26, 2026
BEL-TREE
The Ægle Marmelos, Bilva (Sanscrit), or Bel-tree, is held sacred in India. Belonging to the same natural order as the Orange, its leaves, which are divided into three separate leaflets, are dedicated to the Hindu Trinity, and Indians are accustomed to carry one of them folded in the turban or sash, in order to propitiate Siva, and ensure safety from accidents. The wood is used to form the sacrificial pillars.
The Hindu women of the Punjab throw flowers into a sacred river, by means of which they can foretell whether or not they are to survive their husbands: but a much more ingenious rite is practised by the Newars of Nepaul. To obviate the terrible hardships to a young Hindu girl of becoming a widow, she is, in the first instance, married to a Bel-fruit, which is then cast into a sacred river. Should her future husband prove distasteful to her, this rite enables her to obtain a divorce; and should the husband die, she can still claim the title of wife to the sacred Bel-fruit, which is immortal; so that she is always a wife and never a widow.