Question

what plants were worshiped in ancient times

​

Answer 1

The ancient beliefs show the relation of human beings and plants. The plant worshipping was quite common

in a highly evolved Harappan culture, dating the third or fourth millennium B.C. It was also present among the

seals of Mohenjo-daro, one seal depicted a stylised Peepal (Ficus religiosa L.) tree with two heads of unicorns

emerging from its stem. Tree worshipping was also present during the Vedic period (Bhatla et al. 1984). In

India, many religious festivals are celebrated by the people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari as India is known for

its diversity like religion, customs, myths, languages, culture etc. Furthermore, all people celebrate religious

festivals with scientific background and use one or several plants or plant parts in their ceremonies. The various

parts of plants have been used as a source of medicine by man from ancient to modern era (Bisht & Badoni

2009, Mehra et al. 2014, Kumaran & Citarasu 2015, Truyen et al. 2015, Bajpai et al. 2016). Our ancestors lived

and spent their life in nature. They had a very strong belief on the basis of their knowledge about the valuable

qualities of plants (Bajpai et al. 2016). Man secured his life from diseases by using various parts of medicinal

Answer 2

There were many plants that were worshipped in ancient times, these include the Peepal Tree and the plant Tulsi and more.

• Tulsi leaves were used for all religious ceremonies. The plant was grown in the front courtyard of the house.

• In ancient Vedas it was believed to purify a person merely by just touching the wood plant. The saints used to wear, strings made from tulsi beads to purify their mind, body, and also emotions.

• The Peepal tree is considered as the house of Lord Vishnu. The tree's roots are Vishnu, its branches are Narayana, for this reason, the practice of Peepal tree worshipping has been observed since ancient times.