Jasmine flower ... बेली के फूल (Mogra)

Jasmine flower and Buds
बेली के फूल 

                 Jasmine is one of the fragrant flowers that is used in Hindu worship. Strong and lovely fragrance along with milky white color makes it a suitable flower to offer to Gods as well as for personal use. It may be offered to all kinds of Gods but Shiva, Vishnu, Saraswati and Surya are specially worshiped with this flower. 

              It is also used to decorate the temples on auspicious occasions and "Mandapas" in marriages. Its garland is worn by women at braids (चोटी) and in hands, it is called "Gajaraa" in Hindi. Its fragrance is said to act as an aphrodisiac. So it is also used on or near the beds of newlywed couples. 

Jasmine flower - बेली फूल 

                      The flowers were used by rich and nobles to make the bathing waters scented just like rose petals. At some places, Hindus too give a jasmine water bath to idols of God. At the famous temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri, Orissa, a festival named "Chandan Yatra" is organized each year on 'Baishakh shukla tritiya' to 'jyeshtha krishna ashtami' (according to Hindu calender) in which idols of Madanmohan, Ram-Krishna, Laxmi-Saraswati and Panchmahadev are taken to 'Chandan Talab' for giving them a bath and boating. This bath is performed with water flavored by sandalwood paste (Chandan) and jasmine flowers. South Indian temples use jasmine flowers on a large scale. Thick garlands are made with it which weighs many kilograms. It is used to decorate Venkata idols like at "Meenakshi Sundareshwar" temple at Madurai. Madurai is famous for cultivation and production of jasmine flowers.

                Besides domestic use, jasmine has also industrial uses where it is mostly used to produce perfumes and scents (Itra). Incense sticks of jasmine fragrance is produced and sold as ''Mogra Agarbatti" in the market which is liked by devotees to use in the worship. 

Jasmine plant in flower pot
गमले में बेली  का पौधा 

                   Jasmine is called as "Baily" flower in Hindi. This name may be due to the similar strong fragrance of 'Bael' flowers (Bael tree is a holy tree for Hindus, its fruit in English is known as Stone apple/ wood apple. May read the blog - Importance of 'Bilva Patra' in "Shiv-Pujan" and Bilvastak). Many people do not notice the flowers on 'Bael' tree because they come only for four to five days in the month of May and all the flowers bloom nearly together. Its strong fragrance and nectar-filled flowers attract honey bees in a large number. These honey bees quietly do their work on the 'Bael' tree. These flowers can be offered to Shiva. The "Baily" name of jasmine may have come from the similarity of "Bael" flowers but the plants are quite different. While "Bael" is a tree the jasmine plant is a herb. It is a perennial plant and can be found in almost all Indian gardens. It begins to flower as soon as the Winter season in India ends and Spring starts. Jasmine flowers make the Summer evenings fragrant. Two types of jasmine are found - the first one has round petals while the other has long petals. The round petal variety is a double flower with many white petals. The long petal variety is single layered and named as Indian Jasmine or Downy Jasmine in English but in Sanskrit, it is called "Kund" (कुंद). Except this, there is no other noticeable difference in the plant or fragrance.  The "Kund" (कुंद) flower is known for its whiteness in Sanskrit just like snow in English. If anything is very white, it is compared to snow as white as snow. In Hindi or Sanskrit, it is compared to Kund flowers. For example, recall the "Doha" in Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas in which he compares the color of the body of God Shiva to Kund a flower. It is like this,

Kund Indu Sam Deh Uma Raman karuna Ayan,

Jahi Deen par Neh Karahu Kripa Mardan Mayan.

{The God whose body is like Kund flower and the Moon (White and brilliant), loves Goddess Parvati, has affection on poor, that Shiva who did repression of Kamdeva be pleased on me}
                  Some people like to plant it as a hedge in the garden and some plant it separately. Its propagation is done by cutting. It can be planted even in flower pots to be put on the balcony in flats of apartments.     

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