Legend of Makaliporn - the tree bearing fruit in lady shape

Legend of Makaliporn

In Thai folklore there is story about Kinnaree or garuda from Himmapan(Himavana) forest.

Picture 1. Kinnaree

Himmapan - Stem of Makaliporn

Now there is even drama series of Himmapan stories.

Himmapan is a legendary forest which believed to be located

in Himalaya mountains. It is said to be the home of an assortment

of mythical creatures, such as the naga, the kinnara and the garuda.
 The forest is said to be the connection place of spirit world and the human.
If one's frequency is in line with theirs, he or she can cross through to the spirit world.

In Himmapan forest, there are 7 sacred ponds:
    1. Gunnamunta (สระกรรณมุณฑะ)
    2. Srihuppata (สระสีหัปปาตะ)
    3.  Chuttanna (สระฉัททันต์ )
    4. Anodard (สระอโนดาต)
    5. Gunala (สระกุณาละ)
    6. Rottagara (สระรถการะ)
    7. Muntakinee (สระมันทากินี)

Anodard pond's is surrounded with 5 peaks which are

considered to be the great peaks of Himmapan.

Each peak is 200 yods in height, 50 yods in width, and 50 yods in length.

It was believed that the connection world between immortals and

spirits was not only in Himmapan forest, but also located in other

places such as Daen Lab Lea and Daen Sontaya.
People said that these places are overlapped in our human

world with different frequencies.

According to legend, plants or living animals in Himmapan contain

magical strengths and it is the place where the deities live,

such as Nasit, Vittayatorn, Ghandharva, the giant, Ruessi, and

enlightened monks. They live peacefully in there.
There was also saying that there were a few places in Thailand

which can access to the spirit world. For examples, Nong Khai

can access to the underwater city, Uttaradit access to Daen Lap Lea

while Kanchanaburi forest can access to Himmapan.


Makaliporn (Picture 2) is a type of mythical plant in Himmapan.
 

Picture 2. Makaliporn (Reference picture)

What is Makaliporn?
Makaliporn, also known as Nariphon is a tree in Buddhist mythology 

which bears fruit in the shape of young female creatures. The

maidens grow attached by their head from the tree branches. 

This tree grows at the Himmapan, a mythical forest where the

female fruits are enjoyed by the Gandharvas who cut the fruits and take them away.

The Nariphon is also mentioned in the Vessantara Jataka in which 

Indra placed these trees around the grove where the Bodhisattva Vessantara meditated.

Origin of Makaliporn
To understand the origins of Makaliporn we must go back to the Vessantara Jataka,

the story of the Bodhisatta's final birth. Legend has it that a very long time ago,

during the era of Vipassi Buddha in the previous kappa (aeon), there was a virtuous woman named Phussati who offered the fragrant heartwood of sandalwood to the Buddha.

After the offering she made a wish to become the mother of a future Buddha. 

Vipassi Buddha blessed her so that her wish would come true.

Having received the blessing, Phussati was later reborn as the

consort of Indra, King of the Tavatimsa heaven. Indra learned of Phussati's 

previous wish, so when her deva lifespan was about to end,

he allowed her to ask for another blessing.Phussati asked for 10 blessings

and they were duly granted by Indra (seen in the above mural).

So Phussati passed away from the Tavatimsa and was reborn as a noble

lady in the human realm with the very same name. She would also become the

Queen of King Sanjaya. When she was Queen but still had no offspring yet,

Indra invited the Bodhisattato take birth in Phussati's womb as her son,

in accordance with her past wish. This son was none other than

Prince Vessantara. It would be in this final existence that the Bodhisatta 

succeed in bringing his Dana Parami to perfection.

Indra then used his psychic powers to create a forest hermitage in the 

Himmapan Forest, a mystical place not far from the Himalayas,

for Prince Vessantara and his exiled family to stay in the future.

Furthermore, Indra created 16 Makaliporn (Makkaliphala) trees around the hermitage.

Makaliporn were magical trees created for 2 purposes.

1. The first was as a Dhamma-riddle.

Yogis, Gandhabhas (heavenly musicians) and other deities residing

in the forest who have not overcome their sexual lust would

be tempted to make love with the beautiful Makaliporn.

If they do so, they would sink into a 4-month long coma,

after which they would wake up and lose all their cultivation and powers.

The second was to protect the royal family. 

Vessantara's wife Lady Madri would be able to pick fruits in the forest without

being harassed, as the lust-filled group would be totally absorbed with the 16

fascinating Makaliporn trees. As such, the Makaliporn trees did not bloom

seasonally, but only when Madri went out to pick fruits. When the tree

blossomed there would be many bunches of Makaliporn fruits,

with 5 girls in a bunch. In 3 days the Makaliporn would start to menstruate,

a sign that they were already "mature".

They would then sing and dance on the tree the whole day,

attracting those lust-filled group towards themselves. These

people would fly up to the bunches of Makaliporn and have a good time

with them, only to be made unconscious after having sex. Those Yogis

who have not attained the power to fly would not be able to do so,

but they could wait below the trees for the whole bunch of Makaliporn to

ripen and drop down in 4 days time, after which they would be able to

pick them up. Altogether from blossoming to ripening and dropping

the Makaliporn lasted for 7 days.

These 16 Makaliporn trees along with the hermitage are still there today

in the Himmapan Forest, but only Yogis who have attained the Jhanas 

could gain access into this mystical place. They would continue to be

there until the teachings of the Buddha disappear from the world.

Besides those in the Himmapan Forest, there are also other types of 

Makaliporn trees existing in other parts of the world, as some of the

Forest Monks have seen during their Dhutanga wanderings.

According to Thai folklore, since Vessantara and his family have died,

the trees bear fruit daily. The special forest, trees and sala will disappear

when the Buddha's teachings have become lost, predicted to be five

thousand years after his death. When these fruit appear on the trees

they are like beautiful 16 year old girls and they will last for seven days,

following which they will wither and die if they are not picked up. In the

heavenly realms males and females are eternally youthful and, since

there is no suffering, there is no ageing. They have same internal

organs as humans, but no bones. These maidens have also magic

powers and possess spirits which can sing and dance.

Above and below we can see the dried, shrunken remains of 2 Makaliporn 

kept by LP Jarun of Wat Ampawan. These are the original ones from 

Himavana Forest, given to him by the son of an abbot of a temple in Lopburi.

The abbot have received these 2 Makaliporn as a gift from a wandering Yogi

who have been to the forest. He has since passed away. Besides these

two makaliporn, LP Jarun had also seen a freshly picked-up Makaliporn 

in Sigiriya Hill, Sri Lanka, kept by a black-robed monk living in a cave there.

LP Jarun mentioned that at that time it was as big as a 16-year old

human girl, very pretty, completely naked, has long blond hair and

large bluish eyes with golden pupils, perhaps not unlike a Westerner.

It also has a stalk on the top of its head like amangosteen. This was

how it looked like while still on the tree. But apparently it would start

to decay soon after dropping down to the earth, slowly shrinking and

drying up until all that is left is what we see above.

These 2 highly decayed Makaliporn are now the size of our palms.

Strangely enough, despite its condition, the Makaliporn still possess

organs like the heart, intestines, lungs and stomach inside their

shrivelled bodies, just like a human being. This was discovered by

a doctor from Siriraj Hospital, who asked permission from LP

to operate on one of the Makaliporn.

You can see a Youtube video of these 2 Makaliporn at Wat Prangmuni (close to Wat Ampawan) here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qqySWUSJV4Y

Source：http://www.madchima.org/forum/index.php?topic=8229.0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7o4rBjWnrA

http://www.thairath.co.th/content/region/249009

                                http://waynedhamma.blogspot.tw/2008/11/origins-of-makaliporn.html