Sindhi Brahmin - Importance of Flowers

PUSHPANJALI God Loves Flowers!

Flowers are an integral part of our daily rituals, in fact it is believed that the absence of flowers in a ritual, is as good as an incomplete ritual, it is much like having a wedding without garlands, a concept, which is impossible to imagine. The “Kularnava Tantra” talks of why flowers are also alternatively referred to as “pushp” in hindi, (apart from the more colloquial “phool” or the English “fool”) etymologically, the word pushp is an amalgamation of the the words “paap, naash and shubh phal” the underlying message being, that with the offering of flowers to the lords, our negative karma - paap, is destroyed (in a sense) - naash, and as a reward for offering flowers to the lords, we are blessed with good times ahead, literally speaking, we bear the fruit of our actions -(shubh) phal. So in essence it says, that when we offer flowers to the lords, the lords are so pleased with our offerings that they, relieve us from the consequences of our negative karma, thus, effectively adding positivity to our lives.

Lord, who is simple in his taste, as he is in the creation of this world, he is not swayed by the offerings of wealth; he simply asks for devotion. So even something as simple as a flower, when offered by a devotee, becomes priceless as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

In the words of lord Krishna - “ pattram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati, tad aham bhaktyuprhatam asnami prayatatmanah." "whosoever offers to me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, that pious offering of the pure in heart, I accept.” (Gita, Ch. 9, Shloka 26)

Having quoted the lord himself, it is important to realize that not any flowers will please the lord. It must be remembered that any offering of any flower made to the Lords, the flower musi be placed, faced upwards towards the Lord.

In the same vein, the “Kulvarna Tantra” gives us guidelines of avoiding offering flowers such as
1. Those fallen on the ground
2. Those infested by insects
3. Those with damaged petals
4. Those which have been stolen from a garden
5. Wilted Flowers

After having established some basic ground rules, it is important to remember, tnai ever God. just like humans, has his set of likes and dislikes in terms of flowers. It would be pointless to offer him a flower which does nothing to please him, and expect positive results from it.

Here are some guidelines as to which flowers to NOT offer to certain Gods:
Lord Shiva : NO Ketki (screw pine), Kunda (Jasmine Manipuri)

Lords Vishnu : NO Dattura (Angels Trumpets/Moonflowers)

Goddess Durga : NO Aak(Calotropis/Milkweeds)

Sun God : NO Tagar (Crep Jasmine/Pinwheel flowers)

So what do we offer to these lords? Well every month has an auspicious flower for each of the Gods. Example.
Lord Vishnu : Chaitra — Lotus and Champa

Vaishak — Ketki Jeshtha - any flower! (except the one prohibited of course!)

Ashad — Kinnar, Kadamb, Lotus

Shravan - Alsi, Durvadal

Bhadra - Champa, Shweta Pushpa (white flowers), Lotus

Ashwin - Juhi, Chameli

Kartik - Lotus, Maulshri, Champa

Nahiri - Bakul, Pojosh, Tulsidal

Mangh - Just like in the month of Jeshtha, one can offer any flower except the prohibited one Phalgun Vasanti

This is just an example of the most auspicious flowers to be offered on a monthly basis


	PUSHPANJALI God Loves Flowers! Flowers are an integral part of our daily rituals, in fact it is believed that the absence of flowers in a ritual, is as good as an incomplete ritual, it is much like having a wedding without garlands, a concept, which is impossible to imagine. The “Kularnava Tantra” talks of why flowers are also alternatively referred to as “pushp” in hindi, (apart from the more colloquial “phool” or the English “fool”) etymologically, the word pushp is an amalgamation of the the words “paap, naash and shubh phal” the underlying message being, that with the offering of flowers to the lords, our negative karma - paap, is destroyed (in a sense) - naash, and as a reward for offering flowers to the lords, we are blessed with good times ahead, literally speaking, we bear the fruit of our actions -(shubh) phal. So in essence it says, that when we offer flowers to the lords, the lords are so pleased with our offerings that they, relieve us from the consequences of our negative karma, thus, effectively adding positivity to our lives. Lord, who is simple in his taste, as he is in the creation of this world, he is not swayed by the offerings of wealth; he simply asks for devotion. So even something as simple as a flower, when offered by a devotee, becomes priceless as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In the words of lord Krishna - “ pattram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati, tad aham bhaktyuprhatam asnami prayatatmanah." "whosoever offers to me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, that pious offering of the pure in heart, I accept.” (Gita, Ch. 9, Shloka 26) Having quoted the lord himself, it is important to realize that not any flowers will please the lord. It must be remembered that any offering of any flower made to the Lords, the flower musi be placed, faced upwards towards the Lord. In the same vein, the “Kulvarna Tantra” gives us guidelines of avoiding offering flowers such as 1. Those fallen on the ground 2. Those infested by insects 3. Those with damaged petals 4. Those which have been stolen from a garden 5. Wilted Flowers After having established some basic ground rules, it is important to remember, tnai ever God. just like humans, has his set of likes and dislikes in terms of flowers. It would be pointless to offer him a flower which does nothing to please him, and expect positive results from it. Here are some guidelines as to which flowers to NOT offer to certain Gods: Lord Shiva : NO Ketki (screw pine), Kunda (Jasmine Manipuri) Lords Vishnu : NO Dattura (Angels Trumpets/Moonflowers) Goddess Durga : NO Aak(Calotropis/Milkweeds) Sun God : NO Tagar (Crep Jasmine/Pinwheel flowers) So what do we offer to these lords? Well every month has an auspicious flower for each of the Gods. Example. Lord Vishnu : Chaitra — Lotus and Champa Vaishak — Ketki Jeshtha - any flower! (except the one prohibited of course!) Ashad — Kinnar, Kadamb, Lotus Shravan - Alsi, Durvadal Bhadra - Champa, Shweta Pushpa (white flowers), Lotus Ashwin - Juhi, Chameli Kartik - Lotus, Maulshri, Champa Nahiri - Bakul, Pojosh, Tulsidal Mangh - Just like in the month of Jeshtha, one can offer any flower except the prohibited one Phalgun Vasanti This is just an example of the most auspicious flowers to be offered on a monthly basis