India GO
Juhi jasmine: the small white flower of Braj garlands
जूही
Juhi (Jasminum auriculatum) is a small climbing jasmine with satin-white flowers that open towards evening and carry a scent far stronger than their size. It grows wild in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, is cultivated for its fragrant oil and for garlands, and in the Braj country around Govardhan it is one of the flowers strung for the evening offerings.
A scrambling jasmine with small white flowers that open in the evening and scent the air far more strongly than their size suggests. It is strung into garlands.
👀 How to recognise it
A loose shrub climbing over walls and other bushes, with small leaves often in threes. The flowers are white with narrow petals and a thin tube, and they open towards dusk — the scent will find you before the plant does.
Where to see it
Govardhan
Juhi, along with bela and chameli, is what the garland stalls at the tanks are stringing in the evening, and the flowers are offered fresh rather than dried. It is grown in temple gardens and on courtyard walls all around the circuit.
Govardhan Hill & Parikrama Marg (often) · Mansi Ganga (often)
How to recognise juhi
Juhi is a small, bushy climber that scrambles over walls and other shrubs. The leaves are opposite, dark green and often soft and greyish-velvety; some are simple, others made of three leaflets, with the middle leaflet up to 3.5 cm long and the side ones tiny. The flowers come in many-flowered clusters: white, with a slender tube about 1.5 cm long and narrow, elliptic lobes up to 8 mm. The fruit is a small black berry about 5 mm across.
The simplest test is the evening. Juhi flowers open towards dusk, and the heavy, gardenia-like scent usually reaches you before you see the plant.
Juhi in Hindi and other languages
Juhi (जूही) is the Hindi name, and the one used in Braj. In Sanskrit the plant is yuthika, in Marathi jai, in Telugu virajaji, in Assamese juti, and in Kannada sanna mallige or suji mallige, “small” or “needle” jasmine. In Tamil it is known as mullai. Botanically it is Jasminum auriculatum, of the olive family.
Where to find juhi: Govardhan
The India GO database records juhi at Govardhan, the hill town on the Braj pilgrimage circuit. Juhi, together with bela and chameli, is what the garland stalls at the tanks string in the evening, and the flowers are offered fresh rather than dried. The plant grows in temple gardens and on courtyard walls all along the parikrama, the 21-kilometre walk around Govardhan Hill. The database also records it at Mansi Ganga, the stone tank in the middle of town where the parikrama customarily begins and ends: around the gardens and shrines above its ghats, with the scent strongest in the evening.
Beyond Braj, juhi is grown commercially in India for its essential oil and used for decoration and at festivals. In Hindu worship the flower is held sacred to the forms of Devi, the goddess.
Come at dusk
Juhi is a flower to smell rather than to look at. Walk the lanes around Mansi Ganga as the light goes, when the flowers open and the stalls are stringing garlands. Flowers on temple and private walls belong to someone, so buy a string at a stall rather than picking.
❓ FAQ
What is juhi called in English?
It is usually just called juhi or juhi jasmine; the botanical name is Jasminum auriculatum.
When do juhi flowers open?
Towards evening. The flowers open at dusk, and that is when the scent is strongest.
Where can I see juhi in Govardhan?
On courtyard walls and in temple gardens along the parikrama, and around the gardens and shrines above the ghats of Mansi Ganga, especially in the evening.
Is juhi used in worship?
Yes. In Braj it is strung into fresh garlands for the temples, and the flower is held sacred to the forms of the goddess Devi.