Datura

(from Sanskrit word dhattura) Name for
a genus of plants known as the thornapple, which is a distant relative of the
potato. The datura plant contains poisonous alkaloids, which when consumed
in small quantities produce intoxication, and in larger quantities, sickness
and death. Devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shiva eat the datura plant’s swollen
176
Dasyu
seedpods as intoxicants, in imitation of
their patron divinity’s narcotic revels.
Needless to say, because of its danger,
datura must be consumed with great
care, and under the direction of someone who knows its nature.