King Trishanku was a saintly man whose one great desire was to ascend bodily into heaven. He had once done a good turn to sage Vishwamitra and the sage decided to help him fulfil his desire.
Accordingly, he performed a yagna and Trishanku began to rise heavenwards.
When Indra, King of the gods, saw Trishanku at the gates of Heaven, he was furious and catching hold of him, threw him down. Vishwamitra saw Trishanku hurtling downwards and shouted:
"Let Trishanku stay where he is now!"
Trishanku’s fall was arrested. As Indra would not let him ascend into heaven and Vishwamitra would not allow him to come down, Trishanku became suspended between heaven and earth.
Folklore has expanded this mythological story to explain the origin of the coconut tree: Vishwamitra knew that Trishanku would eventually fall to earth unless held up by physical means, so he propped him up with a long pole.
The pole eventually turned into a coconut tree and Trishanku’s head became its fruit. The fibre around the coconut is Trishanku’s beard. When you take it off, you see his eyes peering at you.
Accordingly, he performed a yagna and Trishanku began to rise heavenwards.
When Indra, King of the gods, saw Trishanku at the gates of Heaven, he was furious and catching hold of him, threw him down. Vishwamitra saw Trishanku hurtling downwards and shouted:
"Let Trishanku stay where he is now!"
Trishanku’s fall was arrested. As Indra would not let him ascend into heaven and Vishwamitra would not allow him to come down, Trishanku became suspended between heaven and earth.
Folklore has expanded this mythological story to explain the origin of the coconut tree: Vishwamitra knew that Trishanku would eventually fall to earth unless held up by physical means, so he propped him up with a long pole.
The pole eventually turned into a coconut tree and Trishanku’s head became its fruit. The fibre around the coconut is Trishanku’s beard. When you take it off, you see his eyes peering at you.
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