Incense of India

Incense being sold in an Indian market in Bangalore

Indian incense is known as agarbattī in Hindi (अगरबत्ती) and other Indian languages. India has a rich tradition of incense making that goes back millennia. Many Indian incenses have a unique scent that is not found in any other part of the globe.

A uniform and codified system of incense-making first began in India. Although Vedic texts mention the use of incense for masking odors and creating a pleasurable smell, the modern system of organized incense-making was likely created by the medicinal priests of the time. Thus, modern, organized incense-making is intrinsically linked to the Ayurvedic medical system in which it is rooted.

History of incense in India

The oldest source on incense is the Vedas, specifically, the Atharva-veda and the Rigveda. Incense-burning was used both to create pleasing aromas and a medicinal tool. It's use in medicine is considered the first phase of Ayurveda, which uses incense as an approach to healing. Incense-making was thus almost exclusively done by monks.

The specific knowledge of incense as a healing tool was assimilated into the religious practices of the time - early Hinduism. As Hinduism matured and Buddhism was founded in India, incense became an integral part of Buddhism as well. Around 200 CE, a group of wandering Buddhist monks introduced incense-making to China.

Ingredients

Various ingredients used in incense-making

Indian incense-making involves a wide variety of ingredients. In accordance with Ayurvedic principles, all the ingredients that go into incense-making are categorized into five classes:

• 1. Ether (fruits)
  • examples: Star anise
• 2. Water (stems and branches)
  • examples: Sandalwood, Aloeswood, Cedarwood, Cassia, Frankincense, Myrrh, Borneol
• 3. Earth (roots)
  • examples: Turmeric, Vetiver, Ginger, Costus root, Valerian, Indian Spikenard
• 4. Fire (flowers)
  • examples: Clove
• 5. Air (leaves)
  • examples: Patchouli

Classification

Indian incense can be divided into two categories: masala and charcoal. Masala incenses are made of dry ingredients, while charcoal incenses contain liquid scents. Masala incenses have several subgroups.

Masala

Masālā is a word in Hindi (and other Indian languages) meaning "spice mixture". It is commonly used when referring to curries or other food dishes. Masala incenses are made by blending several solid scented ingredients into a paste and then rolling that paste onto a bamboo core stick. These incenses usually contain little or no liquid scents (which can evaporate or diminish over time). An excellent example of such an incense is Woods, a masala agarbatti that is pleasantly packed with distinctive woody scents, produced by incense maker Cycle Agarbathies. Another example is Yagna, which is composed of many of the ingredients used in traditional yajnas such as dried tree bark, kasturi, chandan, karpoora, etc and gives out the same heavenly fragrance. This is again from the makers of Woods.

• Durbars

Durbars are a sub-group of masala incense. They often contain ingredients entirely unfamiliar in the West and contain very complex scents. They are usually very slow-burning and are quite sweet and spicy in scent. They contain both solid and liquid perfumes in a binder which never quite dries out, making the incense sticks soft to the touch.

• Champas

Champas are a sub-group of durbars. They contain a natural ingredient indigenous to India called "halmaddi". Halmaddi is a grey semi-liquid resin taken from the Ailanthus Malabarica tree. It smells like the flowers of the plumeria tree. Plumeria flowers are known as champa flowers in India, hence the name of the incense group. Halmaddi is hygroscopic which means it absorbs moisture from the air. This can cause champa incenses to have a wet feeling to them. Nag Champa is probably the most famous incense of the champa group.

• Dhoops

Dhoops are another masala sub-group. They are an extruded incense, lacking a core bamboo stick. Many dhoops have very concentrated scents and put out a lot of smoke when burned. The most well-known dhoop is probably Chandan Dhoop. It contains a high percentage of Sandalwood.

Charcoal

Charcoal incenses are made by dipping an unscented "blank" (non-perfume stick) into a mixture of perfumes and/or essential oils. These blanks usually contain a binding resin (sometimes sandalwood) that holds the sticks' ingredients together. Most charcoal incenses are black in color.

Dhupa

For most Indians, incense remains an important part of the daily puja ritual, which is a religious offering performed by all Hindus to their deities, especially during the beginning of a new venture, or to commemorate some special occasion. The aspect of the ritual known as dhupa involves the offering of incense before the picture of a deity, as a token of respect.

A sādhu will regularly burn incense in this fashion, as a gesture to Agni, the God of Fire. For the sadhu, the world is alive with unseen forces that must be continually propitiated with offerings and cleansing rituals. Their sacred fireplaces, known as dhuni, perform the same function as incense, on a larger scale, which is to transform matter into aether. Burning incense is thus a reminder, of the sacred power of fire to transform, and the ultimate journey of all physical matter towards spirit.