- Botanical Name
- Aegle marmelos
Bael
Details
Bael is a deciduous tree up to 13 metres tall, native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with slender drooping branches, spiny bark and three-part leaves. Its globose fruit has a hard woody rind and aromatic orange pulp, and takes about eleven months to ripen. Hindus and Buddhists consider the tree sacred, and Hindus use its leaves in rites, including the worship of the lingam, the icon of Shiva. The Rigveda's Sri Sukta reveres it as the home of Lakshmi, and the tree is also taken to be an incarnation of the goddess Sati. Among the Newar of Nepal, girls take part in a fertility ritual called Bel Bibaaha in which they are "married" to the bael fruit. The fruit also appears in the Buddhist Daddabha Jataka.
Caution
Aegeline, a constituent of the leaf sold as a weight-loss supplement, was linked to an outbreak of acute non-viral hepatitis in Hawaii in 2013.
Correspondences
- Elements
- No elements recorded.
- Celestial Bodies
- No celestial bodies recorded.
- Zodiac Signs
- No zodiac signs recorded.
- Colours
- No colours recorded.
- Deities
- Lakshmi (Hindu; also called Laxmi), Shiva (Hindu; also called Mahadeva, Siva)
Folk Names
- Bel
- Beli
- Bengal Quince
- Bhel
- Bilva
- Golden Apple
- Stone Apple
- Wood Apple
Categories
- Blessing
- Luck
- Prosperity
- Purification
- Warding
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded.
Forms
Fruit
References
References
Notes
- Devi and Suresh, "Magico-religious plants of Sarkaghat," annotated table, eth-mr-28.
- Dwivedi, "Bilva in Indian Tradition," p. 40, section 4 (Vrikshayurveda 1.10).
- Gairola, Sharma, and Jyotsana, "Plants used for Socio-Magico-Religious," annotated table, Aegle marmelos row.
- Wikipedia, under "Aegle marmelos," lead; Religious significance and aegeline paragraphs.
- Wikipedia, under "Aegle marmelos."
Bibliography
- Devi, Arti; Kumar, Suresh. "Magico-religious plants of Sarkaghat tehsil in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh (India): An ethnobotanical perspective from the north-western Himalaya." Ethnobotany Research and Applications 35 (2026-08-23). Accessed October 29, 2026. https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/8549. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
1 - Dwivedi, Dhananjay Vasudeo. "Bilva in Indian Tradition." Indian Journal of History of Science 47, no. 1 (2012): 37-61. Accessed October 29, 2026. https://insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol47_1_2_DVDwivedi.pdf. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
2 - Gairola, Sumeet; Singh, Kanwaljeet; Sharma, Jyotsana. "Plants used for Socio-Magico-Religious purposes by the indigenous communities of Sub-Himalayan Tract, Uttarakhand." Ethnobotany Research and Applications 23 (2022-06-12). Accessed October 29, 2026. https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/3645. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
3 - Wikipedia, under "Aegle marmelos." Accessed October 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aegle_marmelos&oldid=1372677019. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
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