Hanuman under it, a form called Karanja Narasimhar. Location The Sthala Vriksha is located on ground or on an elevated platform. It is usually located on the outer prakara, the precincts of the temple. In most Shiva temples, it is located behind the sanctum. The tree is used as a deity in itself in most temples where people hang strings and filial to pray for their needs. As a worship practice, people circumambulate and prostrate before it. Sometimes the trees are anointed with strings to arrest the spirit within. There are cult statues placed around the trees describing the deities, which are worshipped. Western scholars have viewed the planting of the trees within the precinct as a means of protecting the environment. Usually, a square platform is built around the tree and a circumambulatory passage is built around it. The image of the deities or serpent stones are placed in the temple. When the tree dies for some reason, another tree is planted in the same location. Spiritually, it is considered as the rebirth cycle. According to the historian Soundara Rajan, the institutionalization of the temple trees, temple history, and the festival calendar in South Indian temples was initiated during the 11th century. Literature Hindu texts refer to the sacred temple-tree as the Chitra Vriksha. Specific mentions of the temple tree and its history appear in the Padma Purana and the Matsya Purana. Various Sthala Vrikshas are mentioned in Sangam literature like Agananuru and Purananuru. Later religious texts compiled in the Tevaram by saint-poets like Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, and Manikkavacakar make multiple mentions of various temple trees. Vasudha Narayanan has suggested that a Sthala Vriksha is usually considered as a representation of a larger presence of species. Ramayana, the Hindu epic, offers descriptions of all the trees of the forests in the regions traversed by Rama, denoting their significance. Some Sthala Vrikashas are identified with the wish-giving tree called the kalpavriksha. Footnotes References Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend () by Anna Dhallapiccola Hindu temple architecture Architectural elements Sacred trees in Hinduism Trees in mythology