In India each Buddha was associated with his own bodhi-tree or tree of wisdom. The trumpet-flower, the sâl-tree, the acacia, the pippala, and the banian all belonged to different Buddhas, and are so depicted on the Stûpa of Bharhut. Here in the case of the earliest of the Buddhas whose bodhi-tree has been found, the Buddha Vipasin, the particular tree represented is the _pâtali_ or trumpet-flower. In front of it is placed “a throne or bodhi-manda, before which two people are kneeling, whilst a crowd of others with joined hands are standing on each side of the tree.”[89] The Buddha Gautama’s tree was the pippala or _Ficus religiosa_, which is much more elaborately treated at Bharhut than any other bodhi-tree. In the sculpture representing its adoration, “the trunk is entirely surrounded by an open pillared building with an upper story, ornamented with niches containing umbrellas. Two umbrellas are placed in the top of the tree, and numerous streamers are hanging from the branches. In the two upper corners are flying figures with wings, bringing offerings of garlands. On each side there is a male figure raising a garland in his right hand and holding the tip of his tongue with the thumb and forefinger of his left. In the lower story of the building is a throne in front of a tree. Two figures, male and female, are kneeling before the throne, while a female figure is standing to the left, and a Nâga Raja with his hands crossed on his breast to the right. This figure is distinguished by a triple serpent crest. To the extreme right there is an isolated pillar surmounted by an elephant holding out a garland in his trunk. On the domed roof of the building is inscribed, ‘The Bodhi-Tree of the Buddha Sâkya Muni.’”[90] In another sculpture elephants old and young are paying their devotions to a banian-tree, while others are bringing garlands to hang on its branches. The important bearing of these sculptures on the history of tree-worship is obvious. [Illustration: Fig. 20.—Wild elephants paying their devotions to the sacred banian of Kâsyapa Buddha.(The Stûpa of Bharhut, Plate xv.)] It may be noted in passing that neither in the many sculptured scenes at Bharhut and Buddha Gaya, all of which are contemporary with Asoka (_circa_ 250 B.C.), nor even in the much later sculptures of Sanchi dating from the end of the first century A.D. is there any representation of Buddha, the sole objects of reverence being stûpas (representations of the tombs of holy men), wheels, or trees. At a later date the tree appears to have lost its organic connection with the venerated personage, and to have preserved only a ceremonial and symbolic significance, for the Bo-tree, under which truth gradually unfolded itself to the meditating Gautama, is regarded as sacred by Buddhists in much the same way as the cross is by Christians.