It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, often planted in parks and large gardens for its drooping foliage. Among Hindus, as the etymology of deodar suggests, it is worshiped as a divine tree.The inner wood is aromatic and used to make incense and distilled into essential oil. As insects avoid this tree, the essential oil is used as insect repellent on the feet of horses, cattle and camels. It also has antifungal properties and has some potential for control of fungal deterioration of spices during storage. The outer bark and stem are astringent.