wish

The Kalpavriksha is a wish fulfilling divine tree in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is said that the Kalpavriksha was one of the 14 things that came out of the Samudra Manthan – the churning of the ocean of milk, along with Kamadhenu, the divine cow that bestows all needs; the tree is also said to be the Milky Way.

Indra (the king of the gods) returned with the Kalpavriksha to his abode in paradise and planted it there. Another myth says that the Kalpavriksha was located on earth and was transported to Indra’s abode after people started misusing it by wishing evil things

Kalpavriksha is now said to be planted at Mount Meru in the middle of Indra’s five paradise gardens (devaloka). It is said therefore that there are as many as five Kalpavrikshas.

In Buddhism a small wish granting tree is depicted decorating the upper part of the “long-life vase” held by “longevity deities” like Amitayus and Ushnishavijaya; the goddess Shramana devi holds jeweled branch of Kalpavriksha in her left hand.

In this painting of the Kalpavriksha, the artist has created the wishing tree in a more contemporary style, sharing his vision of what this mystical tree of desires (maya) could look like.