Malati
Photo – Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur House (Malati Lata hanging from the Banyan tree and making a beautiful fragrant sunshade)
Information – On the fifth day of Bhisma Panchaka, one must offer malati flower to the head (siro-desa) of the Lord.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura – I will put madhavi and malati creepers on the trees and in this way make a shady bower.
(Godruma Dhame Bhajana)
That very personality who stole my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mālatī flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Revā under the Vetasī tree. That is my desire.
(CC Antya 1.78)
O plants of mālatī flowers, mallikā flowers, jātī and yūthikā flowers, have you seen Kṛṣṇa passing this way, touching you with His hand to give you pleasure?
(CC Antya 15.34)
“That very personality who stole away my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mālatī flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Revā under the Vetasī tree. That is my desire.”
(CC Madhya 13.121)
The gopīs then began to address the tulasī plants: “Dear tulasī, you are much beloved by Lord Kṛṣṇa because your leaves are always at His lotus feet. Dear mālatī flower, dear mallikā flower, dear jasmine flower, all of you must have been touched by Kṛṣṇa while He was passing this way after giving us transcendental enjoyment. Have you seen Mādhava passing this way? O mango trees, O trees of jack fruit, O pear trees and āsana trees! O blackberries and bael trees and trees of kadamba flower–you are all very pious trees to be living on the bank of Yamunā. Kṛṣṇa must have passed through this way. Will you kindly let us know which way He has gone?”
(Krsna book 30)
There are other trees also which decorate the hill, such as the golden lotus flower, the cinnamon tree, mālatī, kubja, mallikā and mādhavī.
(SB 4.6.16)
“She gathered Her sakhis together between the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers. She created there a beautiful place, decorated with creepers and trees and filled with male and female bumble bees. Deer and buck were happily enjoying as they wandered about, and the whole area was filled with the fragrance of jasmine, mallikā, and mālatī flowers. That transcendental abode was adorned with tulasi forests and decorated with various groves. On Radha’s order, the Ganges and Yamunā, with their pleasant water and banks, acted as a moat to protect the garden. Cupid himself, along with springtime, eternally reside there, and the birds constantly sing the auspicious name of Kṛṣṇa.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Pramana-Khanda, Chapter 2)
There were also the sweets known as hari-vallabha and sweets made of seṅoti flowers, karpūra flowers and mālatī flowers. There were pomegranates, sweets made with black pepper, sweets made with fused sugar, and amṛti-jilipi.
(CC Madhya 14.30)
After stringing together garlands of malati flowers I will place them around Their necks, and I will offer tambula scented with camphor to Their lotus mouths.
(Radha Krishna Prana Mora)
