The Tree of Life

Prose Edda Gylfaginning 15

“Yggdrasil is the greatest of all trees, its branches stretch out over all the world and reach above heaven. Three roots hold it up, and one goes to Niflheim where the serpent Nidhogg gnaws at it, another to Jotunheim, and the third to heaven. Beneath the root to heaven flows the well of Urd, where the gods hold their court daily.”

Yggdrasil as axis mundi of Norse cosmos

Majjhima Nikaya 36

“Under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha sat in meditation until he attained enlightenment. The tree's deep roots represent the foundation of truth, its spreading branches the reaching out of wisdom to all beings, and its fruits the liberation it bestows upon all who partake.”

Bodhi Tree as site of enlightenment

Bhagavad Gita 15:1-3

“I speak to you about the Ashvattha, a sacred fig tree with roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is a knower of the Vedas. The branches of this tree extend in all directions, nourished by the three gunas. The senses are its twigs, the objects of the senses its leaves, and the roots reach downward into the human heart.”

Ashvattha as inverted tree of Brahman

Genesis 2:9, Revelation 22:2

“In Genesis, the Lord God planted a garden, and in the middle of the garden stood the tree of life. And in Revelation, the seer writes: 'On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.'”

Tree of Life in Eden and New Jerusalem

Hadith Tirmidhi

“The Prophet spoke of the Tuba Tree in Paradise, which was planted by Allah and given to his household. A rider in the shade of this tree cannot traverse it in a hundred years. Its leaves are like the ears of elephants, and its fruits are bigger than water jars.”

Tuba Tree of Paradise in Islamic cosmology

Bundahishn

“The White Hom tree grows in the waters of the Endless Light, as the source of immortality. It stands at the heart of creation, and from it spring all healing medicines and the essence of eternal life.”

Hom tree as source of immortality