Harsingar is also known by many names such as night jasmine, paarijat. Its botanical name is Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. Parijaat or Harsingar is small ornamental tree with fragrant white flowers. The leaves are given for treating chronic fever, rheumatism, arthritis, joint pain, obstinate sciatica. It is a sacred tree mentioned in Hindu mythology. Mythology says Bhagwan Shri Krishna brought this tree from heaven for his beloved wife Satyabhama. It is one of the five tree that exist in heaven. It is mentioned as Kalpavriksh or wishing tree, which came out of ocean during Samudra manthan. It is a divine tree with numerous medicinal uses.
Harsingar flowers are very aromatic and used for making garlands that are used in puja. Harsingar flowers are white and orange in colour. The orange coloured corolla tubes are separated from flower by local people and dried. This is used for dyeing silk and cotton.
In Ayurveda, Parijaat is used for treatment of many ailments. For medicinal purpose leaves, stem, flowers and seeds are used. The leaves are given for treating chronic fever, rheumatism, arthritis, joint pain, obstinate sciatica. For chronic fever, the fresh leaves juice with honey is administered orally. Leaves decoction or Kadha is recommended to treat sciatica.