Havan is a ritual among Hindus where the priest lights up the fire using camphor and mango sticks, and devotees around put sacred ingredients (havan samagri) at the end of chanting mantras. However, do you know why we use mango sticks or aam ki lakdi during havan? We have got the answers for you. Let’s take a look!
What Does Research Say?
A scientist from France, Trele, came to India and researched the use of mango wood in the havan. His research concluded that formic aldehyde is produced when the sticks are burnt. The gas is renowned to kill hazardous bacteria in the environment, and it purifies the air. The same gas is produced by burning jaggery as well.
Another scientist, Toutik, said that if a person sits in the havan for at least half an hour, the body becomes pure from the bacteria and germs that could cause diseases like typhoid. One does not necessarily have to sit in the havan, but the effect pertains to someone who came in contact with the smoke of the havan.
Acharya Bhaskar Ametaji from Mangal Bhavan collected the ingredients used to perform the havan. He burnt them and found that the gas released from the fire had killed several viruses. The significance is not only of the mango wood but also the ingredients that are burnt with it.
His research studied the effects of the smoke from mango woods and havan ingredients. It concluded that the air purification effect of the gas from the havan pertains for about a month. In December 2007, this research study was published in the Research Journal of Ethnopharmacology.
What Does An Astrologer Say?
Sheetal Shaparia says, “The mango woods used in the havan performed during the marriage bring happiness, peace, and prosperity in the newly wedded couple’s lives.” She added, “Mango wood is one of the core ingredients used in performing yagna or havan for various purposes such as weddings, childbirths, new house inaugurations, new office inaugurations, etc.”
Talking about the mythological importance of mango woods in havan, Shaparia said, “The great epics like the Mahabharata and the Purana glorify mango wood as it is an epitome of purity, holy goodness, fertility and divinity.”
According to the astrologer, mango leaves also hold mythological significance. Ms Sheetal added, “There is a tradition to hang mango leaves at the entrance of houses as it will ward off evil spirits or any negative energy entering the house.”
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What Do Other Ingredients Of Havan Include?
Havan is incomplete without burning sacred ingredients in the fire. Havan Samagri includes rose petals, bilva, bhimseni camphor, nagkesar, black til, lotus seeds, amrut tulsi, jata masi, satavari, kapoor kachri, nagarmotha, neem, turmeric, sandalwood powder, frankincense and lobaan.
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These seeds, herbs and roots when burnt with mango woods produce purifying air that kills bacteria, viruses and germs in the air. The Samagri is also meant to appease the divine deities. Therefore, on any auspicious occasion, Hindu devotees perform havan.
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