कल्पवृक्ष / कल्पद्रुम — Kalpavṛkṣa / Kalpadruma
HINDI NAME - कल्प वृक्ष
SANSKRIT NAME - कल्प द्रुम
BOTANICAL NAME - Adansonia digitata L. / Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.
Sanskrit verse in Devanagari
Transliteration
hemāmbhoja-prasavi salilaṃ mānasasyādadānaḥ
kurvan kāmaṃ kṣaṇa-mukha-paṭa-prītim airāvatasya |
dhunvan kalpadruma-kisalayāny aṃśukānīva vātaiḥ
nānāceṣṭair jalada lalitair nirviśes taṃ nagendram || 1.64 ||
Plant part in the verse
English translation
O cloud, enjoy that lordly mountain in many graceful ways: take the water of Lake Mānasa, where golden lotuses bloom; please Airāvata by becoming a momentary face-cloth for him; and, with your winds, shake the tender leaves of the Kalpadruma as though they were fine garments.
Literary meaning
Kālidāsa places the Kalpadruma in a celestial mountain landscape. It belongs to Kailāsa, Lake Mānasa, Airāvata, golden lotuses, and divine play. The tree is not merely botanical; it is part of heaven’s abundance.
Why did Kālidāsa select Bams?
1. To show Alakā as a city of effortless abundance
Alakā is Kubera’s city. Ordinary scarcity does not exist there. The Kalpavṛkṣa makes this visible by producing everything needed for pleasure and beauty.
2. To unite nature and luxury
Kālidāsa does not say that jewels, garments and cosmetics come from shops. They come from a tree. Nature itself becomes the source of culture.
3. To complete the women’s ornament theme
Earlier verses describe lotus, kunda, lodhra, kurabaka, śirīṣa and nīpa as women’s ornaments. The Kalpavṛkṣa gathers all ornaments into one miraculous source.
4. To express divine generosity
A wish-fulfilling tree is the perfect emblem of giving. It offers without effort and produces according to desire.
5. To link Kailāsa and Alakā
In Pūrvamegha, the cloud touches Kalpadruma leaves on the divine mountain. In Uttaramegha, the Kalpavṛkṣa supplies the pleasures of Alakā. The tree links mountain divinity with celestial city life.
6. To support Śṛṅgāra rasa
The tree produces wine, garments, flowers, tender leaves, ornaments and lac-dye. These are all instruments of love, beauty, meeting and celebration.
