Flowers are a vital part of any Hindu puja or rituals as it is believed that the fragrance of the flowers gratifies the deity. Flowers bring in a sense of positivity, happiness and they also create a pleasing environment.

Offering the right flower to the deity can bring in good luck and prosperity but it is also very important to have a profound devotion and belief in the deity. One must worship the almighty with a pure heart and wish for the well being of everybody.

The most important thing one must keep in mind is to pluck the flowers only after taking bath and offer fresh flowers to the deity. While presenting the flowers one must use all the five fingers and offer the flower at the lotus feet of god.

However, there are a few rules that one must keep in mind before offering the flowers to the deity:

· One must not pluck the flowers in the evening.

· Do not use the flowers for puja that are picked from the ground.

· Do not pluck the buds.

· One should not steal the flowers nor beg for them.

· Do not use flowers that are infested.

· One must not pluck tulsi from the plant during Sankranti, Dwadashi, new moon, full moon, on Sundays and in the evening hours.

According to the Vedic astrology, there are specific flowers that are to be offered to please the deity, they are as follows,

The most favourite flower of Lord Ganesha is any red flower especially, the red hibiscus. Though, hibiscus is available in different colours; the red hibiscus is much preferred for worshipping Lord Ganesh. The other important offering one can do to Lord Ganesh is to offer ‘Dhurva’ or glass blades in odd numbers like 1,3,5,7...

Lord Shiva can be pleased by offering white flowers. However, bilvapatra is the most important in Shiva puja. One must take care that the bilvapatra should not have the chakra and the bajra when it is offered to Lord Shiva. Chakra is the white patch present on the leaves that are made by the insects, whereas the bajra is the thick portion at the stalk. One must not offer torn bilvapatra or that is eaten by insects.

To appease goddess Durga, one can offer red flowers like hibiscus, lotus, mogra flower and bel leaves.

Lord Vishnu’s favourite flowers are the pink lotus, jasmine, and lilies. Offering tulsi is most preferred to please Lord Vishnu. Goddess Lakshmi’s dearest flowers are the pink lotus and roses.

There are some flowers that cannot be offered to specific gods like, the champaka flower cannot be offered to Lord Shiva and tulsi shouldn’t be offered to Lord Ganesh.

So, offer the right flowers and pacify your favourite gods.