(Balfour, _Cyclopaedia_, 3rd
ed., s.v. 'Salmalia' and 'Eriodendron'.)
4. The pipal is usually regarded as sacred only to Vishnu, the
Preserver. The _Ficus indica_, or banyan, is sacred to Siva, the
Destroyer, and the _Butea frondosa_ (Hind. 'dhak', 'palas', or
'chhyul ') to Brahma, the Creator, or [Greek text].
5. The sacred trees and plants of India are numerous. 'Balfour
(Cyclop., 3rd ed., s.v. 'Sacred') enumerates eighty, and the list is
by no mean complete. The same author's article, 'Tree', may also be
consulted. The minor 'deities' alluded to by the author are the real
gods of popular rural Hinduism. The observations of Mr. William
Crooke, probably the best authority on the subject of Indian popular
religion, though made with reference to a particular locality, are
generally applicable. 'Hinduism certainly shows no signs of weakness,
and is practically untouched by Christian and Muhammadan proselytism.
The gods of the Vedas are as dead as Jupiter, and the Krishna worship
only succeeds from its marvellous adaptability to the sensuous and
romantic side of the native mind. But it would be too much to say
that the creed exercises any real effect on life or morals.
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