Some Medicinal Plants of Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir, (India) : Biodiversity and Ethnosacred significance
Touseef Hussain Trak1, Nisreen Husain2 and Deepti Chauhan3
1Department of Botany, Government Degree College Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir (India). 2Department of Zoology, Government Dr. W.W Patankar Girls’ P.G College, Durg (India) 3Department of Botany, Bhilai Mahila Mahavidyalaya’ P.G College, Bhilai (India)
ABSTRACT
Kishtwar is a district of Jammu region, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is cragged placed commonly referred as “Land of Sapphire, Saffron and Shrines”. Denizens of the rocky terrain are highly spiritual and believe in a veritable smorgasbord of religions. The rites and rituals related to worshipping and veneration performed in various ways by the people are known, in which various plants or their parts play a significant role. The present paper purports to document and limelight 20 sacred species of plants pertaining to 19 different families. While carrying out the research, the sacred plants are observed and documented from different religious places like Has Astan, Bun Astan, Shiv Mandir, Ram Mandir (Sarkot), Neelkanth Mandir, Bhandarkoot Astan of the district Kishtwar of Jammu and Kashmir, (India). The investigation divulged that the different kinds of these religious places are covered with significant ethnosacred plant species.