Plants Associated in the Worship of Nine Divine Days (Navaratri) in Kumaun Arya Manuhar1,*, Kumar Balwant2 1Assistant Professor, Department of History, Govt. P.G. College, Bazpur (U.S. Nagar), Uttarakhand, India 2Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Soban Singh Jeena University Campus, Almora, Uttarakhand, India *Corresponding author email id: manuhararya@gmail.com
Online Published on 04 May, 2023. Abstract Kumaun region of Uttarakhand state is well-known for its socio-religious practices associated with its unique flora. The inhabitants of the area are highly religious and keep high reverence on religious practices. A variety of plants and their ingredients are offered in the various rituals of the region. The present study emphasised about 34 plant species belonging to 14 families which are offered during Navaratri festival in Kumaun. Beside plants five other products are also applied in the worship. This festival is popularly celebrated in India including Kumaun during Shuklapaksha of Chaitra and Kartik months of every year. The special feature of this festival is that it is performed for nine days and each day is fixed to worship nine different goddesses. The present paper throws light on various worship ingredients applied during these nine divine days. The study concludes that this festival is one of the best means to preserve these plant ingredients and it gives a message of attaining peace and prosperity. Top Keywords Divine days, Deities, Worship ingredients, Method of worship, Kumaun Himalaya. Top |