Among all the fragrances used in India since ancient times, agaru or aguru or agar wood is one of the most famous ones. Sandal and agaru have been used as aromatic cosmetics since time immemorial. In Mahābhārata (Mahabharata) and Purāṇas (Puranas), sandal and agaru have almost always been mentioned together as perfumes. People of yore, irrespective of their sex, used […]

In Bhāgavatapurāṇa (Bhagavatapurana), after the slaying of Putanā (Putana), mother Yośomatī (Yasomati)uttered rakṣāmantra (rakshamantra; protective hymns) as a benediction for her child, considering Putanā as an evil spirit. She also uttered hymns for the exorcism of ghosts and Piśāca(s)(Pisacha; a kind of deadbody-eating ghostly being). Among these evil deities, the order of evil deities called […]

Atibalā (Atibala)  is one of the eight herbs used in consecration or bathing ceremony of a deity (or his/her idol). Apart from Balā (Bala) and Atibalā, some of the other herbs mentioned in this context are Byāghrī (Byaghri), Śaṅkhapuṣpī (Sankhapushpi) and so on. In Rāmāyaṇa (Ramayana) we find Sage Viśvāmitra (Viswamitra) imparting to Rāmacandra (Ramachandra) and […]

The dictionary-meaning of the term ‘eraka’ is a kind of watery weed or grass, known in local Bengali as ‘Nalkhagra’ or ‘Hogla’.In the annotations of Carakasaṁhitā (Charakasamhita), the meaning of the term ‘eraka’ is mentioned as ‘Hoggala’ or ‘Hogla’. Cursed  by the sages, Śāmva (Samva), the son of Kṛṣṇa (Krishna), gave birth to a muṣala […]

In Brāhmaṇa-texts, the branches of an Udumvara tree is referred to as the manifestation of anna and rasa (food and nectre). At the time of Somayāga, the Udumvara branch is grounded onto the mahāvedī (grand altar), and touching that, the Udgātā and his associates sing stotra(s). In Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, about the origin of Udumvara, it […]