ABSTRACT
Azadirachta indica, called Neem or Nim in most parts of the world, is one of the very few trees known in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. During excavation of the site at Mohandjodaro, now in Pakistan, which is as old as 2000 BC (Puri, 1969), in the era of proto-Australoid and proto-Dravidian culture, neem leaves were found. As is evident from Hindu mythology, on their arrival in the Indo-Gangetic plains, the Aryans also attached great importance to neem. They considered this tree to be of divine origin. It was said that Amrita (ambrosia, the elixir of immortality) was being carried by Garuda (demi-god of Hindu mythology which is part human, part bird) to heaven and a few drops of this Amrita fell on the neem tree. In another story, Amrita was sprinkled by Indira (the celestial king) on the earth, which gave rise to the neem tree, yet in another instance neem tree is related to Dhanvantri (the Aryan god of medicine). It was also mentioned that the sun god took refuge in the neem tree to escape from the awesome power of demons (Vijayalakshmi et al., 1995).
