Why some flowers are so pleasing to Hindu gods and goddesses

In preparation for the numerous Hindu autumn festivals like Diwali, Dussehra or Durga PujaWorshipers world wide purchase flowers for ritual worship in temples, outdoor ceremonies, or on altars at home.

There are markets throughout India There are at all times flower sellers hereSale of freshly cut marigolds, roses and lotus flowers. Devotees offer flowers and flower garlands to Hindu deities reminiscent of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Ganesha, the obstacle remover; or the warrior goddess Durga.

India's richest temple, the Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala in southern India, was used 3 tons of flowers during a flower bath and procession Ceremony in 2024. The demand for flowers within the service is so great that two sisters from Bengaluru, Yeshodha and Rhea Karuturi, began a subscription-based service in 2019 Provide fresh flowers for pujas or ritual services across India.

Hindu texts describe worship with flowers as considered one of 16 “upacaras” or “services” to the divine. During temple rituals, 'Pujaris', priests liable for presenting offerings to the deity, place flowers on the feet or drape them in garlands across the neck of the icon of the deity kept within the temple. Flowers are placed on a puja table on the feet of the image with the stems facing the devotee.

As Scholar of South Asian religionsI do know that stories within the “Puranas,” religious texts probably written between the second and tenth centuries, describe why gods and goddesses prefer certain flowers. The Puranas, loosely translated as “Ancient Tales,” contain popular stories about Hindu gods and goddesses, kings and queens, and sages and other cultural heroes.

Pleased by the gods

In her Examining the Use of Sanskrit Ritual Manuals in central India the Indologist Gudrun Bühnenemann noted that ancient and modern followers adhere to elaborate rules for the usage of flowers within the worship of specific deities.

For example, the manuals state that basil is favored by the Hindu god Vishnu, but should never be sacrificed to the god Ganesha. Lord Shiva bestows blessings on those that worship him by offering leaves from the crab apple tree. However, crabapple leaves should never be offered to Surya, the sun.

The “Skandha Purana” – the longest Purana with around 81,000 verses – is devoted to the deity Skandha, a son of the god Shiva and the goddess Parvati. The text offers a gradation of flowers culminating within the Superiority of Jasmine or “Jati” flower for the worship of Vishnu. “The jati flower is better than all other flowers… the man who duly offers me a magnificent garland of a thousand jati flowers… has lived in my celestial city for billions of kalpas (ages),” Vishnu explains within the text.

In her classic study “Offering flowers, feeding skulls: Popular goddess worship in West Bengal“, religious scholar June McDaniel discusses traditional practices of worshiping Kali, the fearsome and protective mother goddess, who is claimed to be decorated with red hibiscus flowers. Red flowers are widely believed to be sacred to Kali.

The 14th chapter of the “Shiva Purana” comprises a piece on “Instructions for the Worship of Shiva.” Those who desire wealth should worship Shiva with flowers or petals of “Kamala” or lotus flower, chrysanthemum or marigold. It is claimed that Shiva is worshiped with 100 flowers increase one's wealth and wipe away all sins.

Flowers can sometimes displease the gods

The Puranas also explain which flowers might displease the gods. Red flowers reminiscent of plumeria and people of the screw pine must not be offered to the god Shiva. The Shiva Purana actually explains why the “ketaki,” or screw pine flower, should never be offered to Shiva in worship.

Once upon a time, because the story goes, there have been the gods Vishnu and Brahma discussed which ones was the upper deity when suddenly a beam of blinding light appeared between them. They decided to research. Vishnu transformed himself right into a boar and dug a tunnel within the earth to go looking for the origin of the Lingam of Light. Riding on a goose, his divine vehicle, Brahma flew upward to find the extent of the sunshine.

After much digging, Vishnu stated that he couldn’t find the fatherland of the sunshine. However, as Brahma flew upwards, he encountered a Ketaki flower that had fallen from a close-by branch. Brahma convinced the flower to support a false claim that he had reached the highest of the beam of sunshine.

Just then, Shiva appeared from the sunshine and cursed each Brahma and the Ketaki flower for his or her dishonesty. Because of his arrogance and deception, Brahma now had few followers. Although the Ketaki flower is fragrant and pleasing to the attention, it’s cursed by Shiva never to be offered to him as part of formality worship.

However, Shiva later modified the curse to permit the usage of the Ketaki to worship him in the course of the popular festival called Great Night of Shiva or Mahashivratri. Due to increasing demand, prices of Ketaki flowers are increasing during this annual spring festival.

However, in one of the crucial popular Hindu texts, the flower offered is less vital to the deity than the attitude of the devotee making the offering. The Bhagavad Gita or Song of the Lord says: Deity Krishna explained that he’ll accept any sincere devotion, whatever the form of flower: “Whoever offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or a water with sincere devotion, I will accept.”

Lotus for Lakshmi

During the upcoming fall holiday season, believers world wide will honor many deities, including the Mother Goddess, with flowers and other rituals. Prominent among the many deities shall be Sri Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fortune.

Lakshmi is depicted sitting on a lotus throne while also holding a lotus flower in a single hand. The lotus flower grows in muddy ponds or ponds, but in addition blooms above water. The blooming lotus symbolizes most of the qualities related to Sri Lakshmi reminiscent of purity, prosperity and spiritual enlightenment.

As devotees the world over lovingly welcome the goddess into their homes on Diwali, the festival of sunshine, they’re sure to supply Lakshmi her favorite flower – the lotus.