Hanuman flies to the Himalayas in search of sacred herbs

Healing properties of plants were associated with divine beings, and veneration of healing/sacred plants are integral to the culture of India. This 17th C miniature painting from Mewar Ramayana in the Collection of the British Library refers to the legend of Hanuman’s search for the sacred herb Sanjeevani, to heal wounds of Rama’s brother Lakshmana. Uncertain about the identity of Sanjeevani, Hanuman carries the entire mountain top with a Sacred Grove containing many medicinal plants from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka. While the identity of Sanjeevani is still being debated, lore and beliefs about sacred/healing plants encode valuable information about their healing properties, garnered by centuries of use, and sacred groves all over India remain last resources of many endangered medicinal plants.