The above presentation is all about the ethnobotany of Ficus religiosa plant which commonly called Peepal in hindi .

1. Ethnobotanical study of
Ficus religiosa

2. Ficus religiosa (Peepal)
 Classification
 Geographical Distribution
 Ethnic significance
Ethnic significance of religious believes
Ceremonial uses and practices
Other Ceremonial uses
Medicinal Uses
Scientific aspects
 Conclusion

3. Botanical Nomenclature of Ficus
religiosa
 Kingdom : Plantae
 Sub-kingdom : Viridaeplantae
 Phylum :Tracheophyta
 Class : Magnolispida
 Order : Rosales
 Family : Moraceae
 Genus : Ficus
 Species : F. religiosa
Some other common name
Peepala in Hindi and Sankrit
Piparo and Pipalo Gujrati
Ashvattha in Bengali ,Oriya & Kannad
Pimpal in Marathi

4. Geographical Distribution
Peepal tree is grown throughout India. It is
mainly grown in State of Haryana, Bihar, Kerala
and Madhya Pradesh. It is also found in the
Ranthambore National Park in India. Ficus
religiosa is a species native to the Indian
subcontinent and South-East Asian countries
such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, China (Yunnan
province), India (all states except Andaman
and Nicobar Islands), Laos , Nepal, Pakistan,
Thailand and Vietnam. It was initially
introduced to Sri Lanka in 288 BCE and later to
other neighbouring Asian countries
like Philippines & Singapore.

5. Ethnic significance of religious
believes The Brahma Purana and the Padma Purana, relate
how once, when the demons defeated the Gods, God
Vishnu hide in the peepal. Therefore spontaneous
worship to Vishnu can be offered to a peepal without
needing his image or temple.
 The Skanda Purana considers the peepal to be a
symbol of Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is said to have been
born under a peepal tree.
 Some believe that the tree houses the Trimurti – the
roots being Brahma; the trunk being Vishnu; and the
leaves being Shiva. The Gods are said to hold their
councils under this tree, and so the tree is associated
with spiritual understanding.
 The Skanda Purana states that the Sarasvati
originates from the water pot of Brahma flows from
Plaksa on the Himalayas. According to Vamana Purana
the Sarasvati was rising from the Plaksa tree (Pipal

6. • In Astrology, the Peepal tree is closely linked with the
planet Jupiter. Jupiter is the most rewarding planet in
Astrology. Its presence is always very graceful as it is alway
rewarding. When Jupiter is afflicted in a horoscope then
Peepal tree worship is recommended.
This is one unique remedy that does not require a
recommendation. Peepal tree worship turns a strong Jupiter
into an auspicious one and weak Jupiter into a stronger one

7.  Some people are particular to touch the peepal
only on a Saturday. The Brahma Purana explains
why, saying that Ashvattha and peepala were two
demons who harassed people. Ashvattha would
take the form of a peepal and peepala the form of a
Brahmin. The fake Brahmin would advise people to
touch the tree, and as soon as they
did, Ashvattha would kill them. Later they were
both killed by Shani. Because of his influence, it is
considered safe to touch the tree on Saturdays…..

8. Ceremonial Uses & Practices
Upanayan ceremony
 A Peepal tree is planted to the east of the house or
temple. Eight or 11 or 12 years after the tree has been
planted, the Upanayan ceremony is performed for the
tree. A round platform is constructed around the tree.
Different gods like Narayan, Vasudev, Rrukmini,
Satyabhama are invoked and worshipped.
 To pay your respects, take a ribbon of raw thread
(Kachha suta) and wrap it around the trunk while wishing
that a particular problem be solved by the deities that live
in the Pipal tree.

9. Upanayan ceremony

10. Shani - pujan
 Godess Lakshmi and Lord Shani are also believed to
inhabit the tree on Saturdays. Therefore it is considered
auspicious to worship it on saturday. Women ask the
tree to bless them with a son tying red thread or red
cloth around its trunk or on its branches.
 People are also asked to light a diya at the base of
peepal tree on every Saturday in a belief that it would
provide prosperity and wealth and also make their
zodaic Saturn planet strong and pure.

11. Shani pujan is being done by a girl on
saturday

12. Nag-Panchmi Pujan
 In Tamilnadu, peepal and neem trees are planted so close
to each other that they mix up as they grow. A naga
(snake) idol is placed under them and worshipped. This is
believed to bless the worshipper with wealth. Women take
an early morning bath and circumambulate these trees.

13. Manglik-dosha nivaran Pujan
In hinduism, if a girl's horoscope predicts widowhood
or manglik- dosha, she is first married to a peepal
tree on chaitra Krishna or ashwin Krishna tritiya. In
olden days, when remarriage was forbidden for girls,
young widows were married to the peepal tree and
then allowed to remarry.

14. Other Ceremonial uses of Ficus
religiosa
Neem and Peepal Marriage.
 On Amavasya, villagers perform a symbolic marriage
between the neem and the peepal, which are usually
grown near each other. Although this practice is not
prescribed by any religious text, there are various
beliefs on the significance of 'marrying' these trees.
In one such belief, the fruit of the neem represents
the Shivalinga and so, the male. The leaf of the
peepal represents the yoni, the power of the female.
The fruit of the neem is placed on a peepal leaf to
depict the Shivalinga, which symbolises creation
through sexual union, and so the two trees are
'married'. After the ceremony, villagers circle the
trees to rid themselves of their sins.

15. Peepal and Neem is getting married in one of
the South India rituals

16. Medicinal Uses of Ficus religiosa
 F. religiosa is being used to cure various infections and
food poisonings.
 The bark is used to cure skin diseases, mouth ulcers,
diabetes and bone fracture.
 Leaves are used in conditions like vomiting, gonorrhea
etc. these can also be consumed in the form of juice in
conditions like asthma, cough, diarrhea, gastric
problems.
 Stem can be used in treatment of urinary disorders
and problems of digestive system.
 The dried powder of fruits has been used in treatment
of respiratory problems like asthma . Different parts can
be consumed either in raw form (powder, extract) or in
form of indigenous medicines (either alone or in
combination with other herbs) for specific ailments.

17. Scientific aspect related to Ficus
 The F. religiosa releases oxygen all the time which
makes it different from other plant. Most plants largely
uptake Carbon dioxide (CO2) and release oxygen
during the day (photosynthesis) and uptake oxygen and
release CO2 during the night (respiration). Some plants
such as F. religiosa (Peepal) can uptake CO2
during the night also like day because of their ability to
perform a type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean
Acid Metabolism (CAM).
 However, it is not true that they release large amounts of
oxygen during the night. F. religiosa (Peepal) is a
hemiepiphyte in its native habitat i.e. the seeds germinate
and grow as an epiphyte on other trees and then when the
host tree dies, they establish on the soil. It has been
suggested that when they live as epiphyte, they use CAM
pathway to produce carbohydrates and when they live on

18. So, F. religiosa (Peepal) would either release or not
release CO2 in the night depending on if they are
epiphytic or not. For other CAM plants, it would
depend on if they have adequate water or not, or
other environmental factors. Recently one more
hypothesis has predicted that leaves of F. religiosa
are able to charge the battery of mobile. With
scientific approaches in future, this hypothesis can
reduce the usage of charger and can be good source
of renewable energy.

19. Conclusion
F. religiosa is a widely branched deciduous tree with
leathery, heart shaped, long tipped leaves, used in the
Indian system of medicine since very ancient times and
also has ethnic religious beliefs. The multiple benefits of F.
religiosa (Peepal) made it a true miracle of nature. It is one
of the most versatile plant having a wide variety of
medicinal activities therefore used in treatment of several
types of diseases . This is the unique source of various
types of compounds having diverse chemical structure.
Numerous studies have been conducted on different parts
of F. religiosa, but still this plant has not yet developed as a
drug by pharmaceutical companies.