Study of Plants Used in Worship of Lord Shiva

The present communication deals with 45 species belonging to 39 genera of 29 families of angiosperms used in the worship of lord Shiva in some famous and ancient temples in the country including six in Agra city. These temples have great mythological significance because they are associated with lord Shiva. Devotees worship their lord round the year, particularly on Mondays and especially in the month of Shravan (July-August) and on the day of Maha Shivaratri. Awide variety of plant parts are used to please the lord e.g. leaves of Aegle marmelos, Crataeva adansonii and Ocimum tenuiflorum; flowers and fruits of Datura stramonium and D. metel, white flowers of several plants including Calotropis procera; C. gigantea; Tabernaemontana divaricata and fruits of Aegle marmelos, Trapa natans, Ziziphus mauritiana. Besides these traditional plants, leaves, flowers and fruits of several other plants are not only used in worship but also used in the decoration of deity and temple. Paste of grains of Oryza sativa, stem powder ofSantalum album and rhizome of Curcuma domestica is used to decorate the deity. In the present investigation the plants and their parts used in worship have been described and discussed.