A Gajra is a flower garland that is worn by

dharmic Dharma (; sa, wikt:धर्म#Sanskrit, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is Untranslatabili ...

women across the world during festive occasions, weddings, or as part of everyday traditional attire. They are made usually of varies types of

jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

flowers but

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

crossandra ''Crossandra'' is a genus of plants in the family Acanthaceae, comprising 54 species that occur in Africa, Madagascar, Arabia and the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiog ...

and

barleria ''Barleria'' is a genus of plants in the family Acanthaceae. Some species include: * '' Barleria acanthoides'' Vahl * '' Barleria aculeata'' Balf.f. * '' Barleria albostellata'' C.B.Clarke, the grey barleria * '' Barleria compacta'' Malombe & I. ...

are also widely used in gajras. It can be worn both on the bun and with the braid coiling. Women in India usually wear them with traditional attire. It is also worn on the wrist by women in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

mainly during festive occasions and weddings. Hindu goddesses are usually portrayed wearing gajra and it is believed to have

ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

relevance behind it. The gajra is an ornament that has religious significance but is also meant to decorate a hairstyle and does not generally aid in holding a bun in place. Gajra also refers to a type of pearl workmanship done on jewelry in India.

Gallery

File:Ajanta Paintings.jpg, Historically, jasmine gajra has been worn around hair bun,

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

. File:Green Tara. Sumtsek hall at Alci monastery, Ladakh, ca. 11th century.jpg,

Green Tara Tara ( sa, तारा, ; bo, སྒྲོལ་མ, ), Ārya Tārā, or Shayama Tara, also known as Jetsun Dölma (Tibetan: ''rje btsun sgrol ma'') is an important figure in Buddhism, especially revered in Tibetan Buddhism. She appears as a f ...

with jasmine gajra around hair bun. ca. 11th century A.D. File:Kuchipudi Performer DS.jpg,

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

dancer with gajra. File:Sitara Thobani Odissi classical dance mudra India (10).jpg, Traditional imitation Gajra is made from ''

Sholapith Sholapith or shola pith (also referred to as shola and Indian cork) is a dried milky-white spongey plant matter from ''Aeschynomene'' species. It can be pressed and shaped into objects of art, or for practical use. It is the "pith" used for pith he ...

'' plant-based sponges and are worn by

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Indian clothing Hairdressing Pakistani clothing {{india-culture-stub