Vol. 2, Issue 2, Part A (2025)

In Ganesh festival, there is a ritual of offering 21 Patri (leaves) to Lord Ganesh during Ganesh puja. Months of August to September every year is a time in India when there is greenery everywhere. Most of the plants used in Ganesh ‘patris’ are common household names, and some of them are rare the herbs used to collect these leaves from yard gardens, surrounding areas, hedges of farmlands, River side plants etc.
The leaf extracts cause killing of microbes and breeding mosquito larvae in water, thereby preventing the waterborne and vectorborne human diseases prevalent during the monsoon season. The use of natural and renewable resources such as clay, natural dyes and leaves during the festival indicates the importance of Mother Nature and recycling. The leaves are widely utilized in native systems of medicine (Ayurveda, Siddha, homeo and Unani) and extremely popular under folklore medicine among the different Indian ethnic groups to treat an array of diseases and disorders. The list of plants used may differ slightly from one region to another. Locally available medicinal plants are supposed to be used for pooja. It is observed that every plant leaf from Pooja has unique medicinal values and health benefits. They all are used as medicines for various diseases.
The broad spectrum uses of these plants make them unique and hence included in the special pooja of Ganapati. Apart from this, it is ecologically beneficial to cut down the leaves of fully grown plants after the rainy season (Shravan) for better propagation. The logical reason behind this number 21 is that our body is believed to be made up of Panchamahabhuta and 16 Indriya (5 basic constituents and 16 main organs). Hence 21 Patri puja is believed to be a symbolic offering of our complete self to Ganapati - an act to remind us to keep our ego in check.