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Castor Oil Plant In Hindu Religion

Castor oil plant is known as Erand or Arandi in Hindi, Amanakku in Tamil and Erandah in Sanskrit. The plant is associated with the holy festival and Mahadev Shiva in Hindu religion.

About forty days before Holi, a castor oil plant is planted in an open space. The plant is supposed to represent Holika, the demon who tried to destroy young Prahlada by burning him in fire. The plant is burned on the Holika dahan day.

The temple is associated with the legend of Sri Koteewaraswamy temple at Thirukottaiyur in Tamilnadu. It is believed that the swayambhu Shivling worshipped in the Kottaiyur Kodeeswarar temple appeared under a castor oil plant.

It is said that Eranda Rishi worshipped Shiva under the tree for a very long period and was blessed with the divine vision of 1 crore Shivlings. This is the reason why Shiva here is known as Kodeeswarar.

A black dot or kajal, made from lamp black and castor oil, is put on the cheeks and foreheads of babies and little children to protect them from evil eye in many regions in India.