The Ashoka Trees with red folioles

          आमूलतो विद्रुमरागताम्रं

     सपल्लवाः पुष्पचयम् दधानाः।

     कुर्वन्त्य् अशोका हृदयम् सशोकं

     निरीक्ष्यमाणा नवयौवनानाम् ६-१६

     

      āmūlato vidrumarāgatāmraṁ

      sapallavāḥ puṣpacayam dadhānāḥ |

      kurvanty aśokā hṛdayam saśokaṁ

      nirīkṣyamāṇā navayauvanānām|| 6-16

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      All-over adorned are those ashoka trees with bunches of reddish folioles and reddish flowers that resemble the hue of red corals, true to its name a+shoka , one that makes everyone griefless ; but, when new entrants to adulthood observe the newly unfolded red flowers, those very ashoka trees are making them engrieved , for unconsummated is their new longing for a newish love as yet. [6-16]The aśoka puts forth its blossom when struck by the foot of a woman – preferably the lotus-like foot jingling with anklets of a beautiful woman. In this it is one of the most important trees in the dohada tradition.  Dohada literally refers to the cravings of a pregnant woman and in this context the desire of trees, just before they bloom, for some kind of contact with a woman.  Women can thus trigger their flowering by a sort of ritual that varies for each tree.  For instance, a woman need only glance at the tilaka to make it bud, the campaka succumbs to her laugh, the nameru to her voice and the kurabaka to her embrace.  The dohada tradition was associated with the festival of spring, vasantotsava. 

The aśoka trees that surround the imprisoned Sītā in Laṅkā are said to destroy grief (‘śoka-nāśana’) in the Rāmāyaṇa, but they are also seen – in the Haṃsasandeśa – as appropriate co-mourners for Sītā in her burning grief.

The aśoka tree cuts across Indian traditions and legends appearing almost always as a sacred and largely benevolent tree.  For the girl whose lover is away from home, though, the aśoka serves only as a further torment for her lovesick heart.  Flowering at the beginning of vasanta with a large fire-red bloom, it is say the poets a-śoka only in name for it brings grief (śoka) to each pair of separated lovers.

Visual imagery in Sanskrit Literature - Ritusamharam

•       Ritusamhara –Literally it translates as the “Medley of seasons”. The changing seasons are depicted against the thematic backdrop of how lovers react to the landscape. This imbues the poem with a strong strand of erotic love (shringara) rasa.

      Kalidasa, starts this kavya with these verse.

    प्रफुल्लचूताङ्कुरतीक्ष्णसायो

    द्विरेफमालाविलसद्धनुर्गुणः।

    मनांसि वेद्धुम् सुरतप्रसङ्गिनां

    वसन्तयोद्धा समुपागतः प्रिये॥६-१

 praphullacUtA~NkuratIkShNasAyah
 dvirephamAlAvilasad    dhanurguNaH |
manAMsi veddhum surataprasa~NginAM
vasantayoddhA samupAgataH priye|| 6-1

•       "Oh, dear, with just unfolded tender leaflets of Mango trees as his incisive arrows, shining strings of honeybees as his bowstring, the assailant named vasanta came very nigh, to afflict the hearts of those that are fully engaged in affairs of lovemaking... [6-1]

•       The poet connects the onset or the arrival of the Vasanta – season of spring with the arrival of the god of love.

•       Looking a little into Hindu Mythology, we have the Deva Kamadeva  - The God of love –  represented as a young, handsome winged man with green skin who wields a bow and arrows. His bow is made of sugarcane with a string of honeybees, and his arrows are decorated with five kinds of fragrant flowers.[5][6] The five flowers are Ashoka tree flowers, white and blue lotus flowers, Mallika plant (Jasmine) and Mango tree flowers.