Studies on the ethnotherapeutic claims of plants used in some selected beshas of Lord Jagannath in Puri

Title : Studies on the ethnotherapeutic claims of plants used in some selected beshas of Lord Jagannath in Puri

Abstract:

Plants have been associated with the life and culture of mankind since the beginning of the human civilization. India is exceptionally rich in rituals owing to its great diversity in religious cultures and traditions. Plants are considered as important components of these traditional rituals which are used for some definite purposes. A survey was conducted during 2018-2019 to explore the plants used in some selected Beshas of Lord Jagannath in Puri. Every day from ‘Mangala alati’ to ‘Ratri pahuda’, the deities on ‘Ratna vedi’ of Sri Jagannatha temple, Puri wear and enjoys different varities of attire, which includes Suta bastra (cotton), Pata bastra (silken clothes) namely tadapa, uttariya, paharana, phuta, srikapada, sirkapada, baralagipata (set of silk ropes), srimukhabala, chandanaguda, chadara, and gold ornaments, studded with precious stones. Flower ornaments, tulasi leaves, flowers, tender leaves, silken fabrics, golden ornaments etc. are also used in this vesa. Sandal wood paste, musk, camphor etc. are used. Flower ornaments namely karapallaba, kundala, tadagi, chandrika, gava, alaka, tilaka, jhumpa, nakuasi, dayana, adharamala, makarakundal, sripayara mala, hrudaya pallaba, kalipadaka, kaustuva padak, chausara mala, and guna etc. are also part of the different Beshas of the deities. Selected Beshas of Lord Jagannath include Badashingar Besha, Chandan Lagi Besha, Suna Besha and Radha-Damodar Besha.The observations indicate that the present-day cultural legacy is conserved leading to the conservation of floristic resources of Odisha by  maintaining the age-old practice of offering of plants to the deities in form of fruits, flowers and leaves as well as specific floral objects during Beshas of Lord Jagannath. The present communication attempts to document and enumerate the medico-botanical relevance of plants used in the abovesaid purpose. During the survey 52 angiospermic species belonging to 44 genera and 23 families have been collected, critically studied, identified and incorporated in the Herbarium of Department of Botany, V.N (Autonomous) College, Jajpur Road. Ailments covered in this paper include anorexia, bronchitis, cold, colic pain, conjunctivitis, constipation, diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery, dysuria, epilepsy, galactorrhoea, menstrual disorder, piles, pyorrhoea, scabies, small pox, throat infection and foot and mouth disease in animals.

Biography:

Being an Assistant Professor in Botany in P.G Department of Botany, Government autonomous College, Angul, Odisha, India, Basically he have achieved teaching experience at U.G Level for the last 18 years and 1 year in P.G Teaching. In addition to teaching, he guided M.Phil, P.G & U.G Students for their dissertation work. Since 2004 till date he participated and presented his research papers in various International, National, State level, Regional Conferences, Seminars, Symposia, Workshops both in offline & virtual platforms in and outside Odisha. In addition to the above in terms of his research activities as Plant systematics as his field of interest, he published research works includes addition of about 40 species to the flora of Odisha. Besides the above he worked on the Bryoflora and other lower plant groups including Lichens, Mushrooms & Pteridophytes. He worked on the Primitive Vulnerable tribal groups of Odisha and their dependency on Phytodiversity of the state. Connecting Culture with plant diversity conservation through medicobotanical approach is his further exploring area in the scientific pursuit.