Coconut has special religious significance in Hindu religion. Use of coconut is considered mandatory in almost every worship, yagya and auspicious ceremony. It is considered a symbol of purity, perfection and auspiciousness. There is also an ancient mythological story related to coconut, according to which it was brought to earth by Maharishi Vishwamitra. This story is related to the ancient and devout king Satyavrata. King Satyavrat had deep faith in God. He had no dearth of kingdom, glory and comforts, yet he had a special wish in his mind – he wanted to go from earth to heaven while alive. The supernatural beauty of heaven attracted him greatly, but he did not know the way to reach there.
Once Maharishi Vishwamitra went away from his ashram for penance. In his absence there was a famine in the area and his family started living in difficult conditions. At the time of this crisis, King Satyavrat helped Maharishi’s family and took the responsibility of taking care of them. When Maharishi Vishwamitra returned from penance, he got information about this favor of the king from his family. Grateful, Maharishi Vishwamitra reached the king’s court and gave him the opportunity to ask for a groom. The king humbly expressed his wish that he wanted to go to heaven. Remembering the king’s kindness, Maharishi prepared a path with his spiritual power, which led to heaven. The king proceeded towards heaven through that path, but as soon as he reached near heaven, Lord Indra pushed him towards the earth, preventing him from entering there. The sad king told this incident to Maharishi. After this there was a discussion between the gods and Maharishi Vishwamitra and a solution was arrived at.
It was decided that a new paradise would be built between earth and heaven for King Satyavrata. To keep it stable, Maharishi built a huge pillar beneath it. It is believed that with time this pillar turned into a tall tree and the head of King Satyavrat took the form of a fruit. This tree was called coconut tree and its fruit was called coconut. According to this story, King Satyavrat was neither completely of earth nor of heaven, but was situated between both the worlds. For this reason coconut has a very sacred and revered place in Hindu religion.
