Panch Pallava is a ritual assortment of five different leaves used as a devak

Devak

A devak, in Marathi culture, is a family guardian or totem in the form of a physical object, such as a tree. Some sources define devak as being distinct from the more generic word totem....

 (totem) by the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 culture in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Among those clans holding the panch pallava as a devak, it is used ritually for marriages, funerals, and other important rites.

These five leaves used are generally from trees esteemed in Hindu belief, such as the kalamb

Kalamb

Kalamb is a village in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra state in India. It is famous today for its temple devoted to the Hindu god Ganesha. The temple is known as Shree Chintamani Temple, based on another name for Ganesh that emphasizes the belief that praying to him can remove worries...

, rui, agada

Agada

Agada is one of the eight branches into which ayurveda medicine is traditionally divided. Literally, gada means a disease and agada means any agent which makes the body free from disease; however the term agada is used specifically for the branch dealing with toxicology, the description of the...

, and umbar

Umbar

Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...

. The specific assortment varies by locality and availability.

Maratha clans using the panch pallava as their clan devak include: Bhoite, Bhonsale, Bagawe, Dalvi, Dharmaraj, Devkante, Devpunje, Gavhane, Gangaik, Ghatge, Harphale

Harphale

Harphale is Surname of Subclan of Maratha 96 clans,who is legendary among Maratha Royalties.They Honoured as Sardar, Patil, Deshmukh etc...

, Kale, Shisode, Surve, Shirsagr, Zaware and their sub clans.

Sources

• Maráthas and Dekhani Musalmáns: Handbooks for the Indian Army. By R. M. Betham. Published by Asian Educational Services, 1996. ISBN 8120612043, 9788120612044. Page 153
• Census of India, 1901. India. Census Commissioner. Printed at the Rajputana Mission Press, 1903. V. 1 pg. 99. http://books.google.com/books?id=vyUUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=panchpallav&source=bl&ots=NkG2vQfD90&sig=oBw_SOG9SBjbDEUGOe0Ngb33aZk&hl=en&ei=DqpHSpCrIo7Ctwf6mvWuAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5