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The mythological legend goes to show that Lord Vishnu was born "der this tree, Further, before the creation, Lord Vishnu used the leaf as his couch and floated in the eternal deluge, from which the name Vatapatra-sayee has been derived. The very choice of the Creator, Vishnu, of the leaf of a Peepal tree as His bed before the Creation goes to attach mystic powers to the tree. The tree is held with such veneration that no one is allowed to cut it down, lop off its branches or even pull off its leaves, unless they are to be used for acts of worship. To fell the tree would be an awful sacrilege, and quite unpardonable.
This is being scrupulously observed even today. The tree is sacred to Vishnu or rather it is Vishnu Himself under the form of a tree. For planting such trees, called Aswattha Pratishtha, elaborate religious rituals and ceremonies are performed. Sometimes the tree is given in marriage with elaborate performances and ceremonies to a Margosa tree as its consort. The existence of these two trees in close proximity, which is often times seen in the villages, is not an accidental growth. In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord spoke of Himself : "Among the trees I am the
Aswattha".
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