Sacred Plants of India

Description

Trees and plants have long been held sacred to communities the world over. In India, they feature in our myths, epics, rituals, worship, and daily life. There is Pipal, under which the Buddha meditated; The Banyan in whose branches hide spirits; The Ashoka, in a grove of which Sita sheltered; and the Tulsi, without which no Hindu house is considered complete. Before temples were constructed, trees were open-air shrines and many were symbolic of the Buddha himself.

Sacred Plants of India lays out the sociocultural roots of the plants found in the house in the Indian subcontinent while asserting their ecological importance. Informative, thought-provoking, and meticulously researched, this book draws on mythology, botany, and the ancient religious traditions of India to assemble a fascinating account of India’s flora.