Dear Jonathan Peterson,

The iṅgudī (also iṅguda) is also known as the tāpasa-taru  (Amarakośa)or Muni-taru (Sāyaṇa), and beside its medicinal properties, it is associated with the austere life – either that of ṛṣi-s, or of people like Rāma who had to spend a long time in the forest.

It is known for its lipid-rich fruit, that are crushed to extract an oil of sorts; which is used as lamp fuel, and as an unguent for tying up hair into the matted jaṭābhāra suitable for a forest-dweller,  as well as used as a salve for wounds. The oilcake that remains after extracting the oil  [iṅgudī-piṇyāka] is favoured as an object for making ritual funereal offerings.

All instances of the iṅgudī in the Rāmāyaṇa are restricted to the Araṇyakāṇḍa, which suggests that the tree is tied to the semiotics of the forest and the forest-dwelling folk (the tāpasa and the vaikhānasa, not the hunter). When Rāma comes to the Niṣāda king’s land - Śṛṅgaverapura, he rests beneath a huge Iṅgudī tree. Later Bharata meets the Niṣāda king, and pays his respects to the tree where Rāma etc. spent a night.  The same kāṇḍa also has a description of how Rāma, upon hearing news of Daśaratha’s death offered the nivāpa water, and then a funeral piṇḍa of iṅgudī-piṇyāka mixed with the jujube (badaraphala) in homage to his dead ancestor [Araṇyakāṇḍa, 95^th sarga?].

 The Abhijñānaśākuntala refers to the oil-stained rocks used to crush iṅgudī (ostensibly for tying jaṭā) being markers of a hermitage in the vicinity [First act, Duśyanta - nīvārāḥ etc…prasnigdhāḥ kvacidiṅgudīphalabhidaḥ sūcyanta evopalāḥ], to the use of iṅgudī for dressing wounds [fourth act - Kaṇva to Śakuntalā describing her pet deer – yasya tvayā vraṇa-viropaṇam iṅgudīnāṃ tailaṃ nyaṣicyata mukhe kuśasūcividdhe ]. The Raghuvaṁśa refers to lamps lit with iṅgudī oil (I’m unable to recollect the full verse – tā iṅgudī-sneha-kṛta-pradīpāḥ etc.)

That long prelude was only to point to the many features the iṅgudī shares, with the zaytun, as the nearest approximation, in terms of bearing fruit that yield oil, as well as having religious/ritual significance; and it was probably this overlap of features that prompted the translator to use the iṅgudī.

 

I join Prof Madhav Deshpande in requesting a pdf – I would love to look at this text.

Best,

Naresh Keerthi

National Institute of Advanced Studies

Bangalore