Tradition: Thai Mythology
Alternative Names: Makkaliphon, Makkaliphala, Nari-Lata-Vela, Thuyaung Tree
Category: Nymph
The Myth
The Nariphon is a magical tree from Buddhist mythology that grows fruit shaped like beautiful young women. Also known as the Makkaliphon, the tree grows in the mythical Himaphan Forest, where its unusual fruits attract the attention of the Gandharvas, celestial beings who pluck the maidens from the branches and carry them away. The fruits grow attached to the tree by their heads and are said to possess human-like internal organs, although they have no bones. They can also sing, dance, and wield magical powers.
The Nariphon tree features in the story of Vessantara, a previous incarnation of the Buddha. According to legend, the god Indra created a pavilion in the forest for Vessantara, his wife, and their two children. When Vessantara’s wife went into the forest to gather food, she risked encountering hermits and yogis who had gained supernatural powers through meditation but had not overcome their worldly desires.
To protect her, Indra created twelve Nariphon trees whose fruits resembled his own beautiful wife. Whenever Vessantara’s wife went out to gather food, the trees produced these alluring fruits. The hermits took the female-shaped fruits back to their homes and became so absorbed in them that they slept for four months, losing the powers they had gained through meditation. In this way, the trees protected Vessantara’s wife from unwanted attention.
Thai folklore holds that the Nariphon trees continue to bear fruit even after Vessantara and his family have passed away. Each fruit remains on the tree for seven days before withering if nobody picks it. However, the trees are destined to disappear when the Buddha’s teachings are lost, a moment traditionally predicted to occur five thousand years after his death.
The Nariphon remains a familiar figure in Thai religious imagery and popular folklore. Some Buddhist temples display representations of the tree, including Wat Pheut Udom near Pathum Thani, where it appears alongside scenes of ghosts and the Buddhist hells. Stories also claim that the tree grows in the Phetchabun Mountains, although supposed photographs and physical specimens have frequently been exposed as hoaxes.
Similar mythical trees appear elsewhere in Southeast Asia. In Myanmar, the tree is known as the Thuyaung tree, while in Sri Lanka it is called Nari-Lata-Vela. The Nariphon also appears in the Lao epic Sang Sinxay, showing how the legend has spread beyond Thailand.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Napea. In Wikipedia, from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napea