Iconic Plants of India: Volume 1. 2025. illus. 528 p. gr8vo. Hardcover.

This book ‘The Iconic Plants of India’ offers a unique journey through the myths, legends, lore, symbolism, and traditions associated with 20 plants (trees and herbs) that have achieved iconic status in the socio-religious and socio-cultural life of India from the ancient Vedic and epic times. Some of them are valuable offerings to deities; some are worshipped, and some even attained the status of deities or substitutes for deities. The introductory chapter on trees and tree worship will act as a springboard for the readers to move through this noteworthy 2-volume set.

The book delves into the significant role of plants in shaping the Indian culture, from the Vedic and the later Puranic periods. It explores how the protagonists of Indian culture and philosophy chose a forest life, where plants and groves became part of their belief systems. The Vedic culture and the ritual practices that form the foundations of Hinduism originated and evolved in the forests. During the Vedic, Puranic, and post-Puranic periods, people held some trees and herbs as particularly sacred, and specific symbolism, philosophy, and traditions developed associated with such plants.