The ashes blown by the wind fell all over Bharatavarsha and a tree grew wherever a portion of the ashes fell. She died of grief and her body was cremated. The God reciprocated the love, but soon betrayed her by deserting the girl. The daughter of a tribal chief fell in love with the Sun-God. They call Parijatham, the tree of Sorrow. The tribals of Dandakaranya have a more poignant story, which explains why Parijatham blooms only at night and the flowers fall away at sun-rise. Of course, later Krishna defeated Indra in a duel and brought the Parijatham plant itself and presented it to Satyabhama! Lo! The pan with Krishna in it, jumped up. The pan containing all that Satyabhama put into it was emptied and Rukmini put a single Thulasi Dalam, an apical leaf cluster of basil, the sacred Thulasi. She used all her gold and other wealth but the pan in which Krishna was seated would not move up even by a millimetre. Narada urged Satyabhama to outweigh Krishna with all her possessions. A balance was brought and Krishna sat in one of the pans. One thing led to another and a great comic act of auctioning Krishna was organized. To prove this point, Narada enacted the game of Parijatham. One day, Narada proclaimed in the presence of all, Krishna would belong to the person who gave him unstinted devotion and love, with no element of Quid-pro-Quo involved. Satyabhama had both and was under the impression that Krishna was more attached to her: after all, she was the most beautiful of all the consorts of Krishna and richest too, thanks to the Samanthaka Mani which her father, Satrajit owned. Neither beauty nor wealth would entice him. Krishna, who is none other than God Himself, could be won over only by pure devotion and total surrender. And of course, all as per the plan of Narada. Satyabhama felt slighted, perhaps more than necessary. She reported the matter to her mistress, no doubt adding some pepper and salt. A maid in the service of Satyabhama was a witness to the scene.
At the time, Krishna was with Rukmini and naturally, the flower went into the hair-do of Rukmini, put there by Krishna with his own hands. An original inhabitant of Indra's Garden, Nandanavanam, its flower was gifted to Krishna by Narada. There is a beautiful story in Bhagavatam centred around Parijatham. The petals are snowy white with dew drops sitting on them, for flowering occurs in December, when in our clime there is heavy dew in the early hours of the morning. The flower is very attractive with a red corolia tube bearing unequally lobed petals at its top. However, such an employment of the leaf is not advisable where gold and silver are concerned. Of significance is the rough and abrasive nature of the leaf, and so employed to scrub metallic vessel, to give them a shine. Its leaves are large, about 4" long and 2.25" broad. Called Pavalamalligai in Tamil and Coral Jasmine in English, it has a tell-tale botanical name: Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Nyctanthes meaning that which blossoms at nightfall. The flowers bloom at night and before dawn fall off the tree giving the ground underneath a pleasing blend of white and red. It is a favourite with garden-lovers, mostly because of the fragrance of its flowers in the early hours of the day. Though a large shrub with no entitlement to be considered a tree, it finds a place here as it grows into a small tree, if properly nurtured. Plant the tree in whatever little space is available for a harvest of happiness. The quadrangular stems droop gracefully to one side. Planted cuttings and dibbled seeds grow easily and establish. Being a good coppicer, the branches, when cut produce several branchlets that bear many flowers. It is considered sacred and is grown in temples and gardens. Though a native of the sub Himalayan tract, the tree established widely all over the South.
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