Which Attar for Puja? What Is Traditional, and How to Offer It

Attar is a natural fragrance oil, distilled from wood or flowers and made without alcohol, and in puja it is offered as gandha, the fragrance offering. For Krishna and Vishnu worship the traditional choice is sandalwood, because sandal paste is the fragrance named in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, the Vaishnava manual of worship. We found no text that gives each deity its own attar, so a chart that does is a shop's habit and not scripture. To offer it, put one drop on a fresh flower or a cotton pad and set it before the deity after the lamp is lit.

In this article

• Where does attar fit in a puja?
• Which attar is traditional for puja?
• Is there a deity by deity attar chart?
• What about musk or kasturi attar?
• Why should attar for puja be alcohol-free?
• How do you offer attar at home?
• How do you choose an attar for puja?
• Frequently asked questions

Where does attar fit in a puja?

A traditional puja is a sequence of offerings called upacharas. The shortest form has five: gandha (fragrance), pushpa (flowers), dhupa (incense), dipa (lamp) and naivedya (food). Longer forms run to sixteen. Attar belongs to the first of these.

In the standard lists, gandha means fragrant materials such as sandalwood, agarwood and musk, applied to the deity. In the Bhagavata Purana (11.27.33), Krishna lists what a worshipper should offer him: water for his feet and mouth, fragrance, flowers, unbroken grains, incense and lamps. Attar is one way a household offers the fragrance today. Incense is an offering of its own, so a home puja can offer either or both. Our daily puja guide puts a drop of attar at the same point as incense.

Which attar is traditional for puja?

Sandalwood. The clearest evidence is the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, the Gaudiya Vaishnava manual of worship associated with Sanatana Goswami of Vrindavan. In its English translation, sandal paste (candana), aguru (agarwood), camphor and musk are the fragrances offered to the Lord, matched to the seasons, and sandal paste is the summer offering. The same text pairs tulasi with sandal paste among the services of worship. A passage it quotes from the Vishnu-dharmottara has the worshipper anoint the deity with sandal paste and worship with white jasmine flowers.

Sandalwood attar is not the paste those texts describe. It comes from the same tree and serves the same purpose, and it keeps for years where fresh paste does not, which is why many households use it. If you want to follow the text exactly, offer chandan paste.

Is there a deity by deity attar chart?

Many guides pair each deity with an attar, and they do not agree. In two of the guides we read in full, Shiva gets kasturi in one and sandalwood in the other, Vishnu gets sandalwood in one and saffron in the other, and Krishna gets jasmine in one and mogra in the other. We found no verse behind the Krishna or Vishnu pairings, and the one Vaishnava manual we searched does not mention attar by name.

A workable rule is sandalwood for any deity, and your own family's or temple's custom where it differs. If you follow a particular sampradaya, ask your guru or family priest what your lineage offers.

What about musk or kasturi attar?

Musk does appear in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, as the winter offering, and it is the one animal product the text allows in incense. Natural musk comes from the musk deer, listed in Schedule I, the highest level of protection, of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and dealing in its musk is regulated by that Act. When a shop lists a musk or kasturi attar, ask what it is made from.

Why should attar for puja be alcohol-free?

Perfume is a fragrance diluted in alcohol, which carries the scent outward and evaporates quickly. Attar is an oil with no alcohol in it, and it stays where it is placed and releases slowly. Many households do not bring alcohol into the puja space, and an alcohol-free attar removes the question.

How do you offer attar at home?

1. Bathe and light the lamp first. Attar comes at the same point as incense in the daily sequence.
2. Put one drop on a fresh flower or a small pad of clean cotton. Attar is concentrated, and one drop is enough.
3. Place it before the deity with the water and the flowers.
4. Keep the oil off paper prints, painted surfaces and cloth. It leaves a mark, which is why the flower or the cotton pad is the safer place.
5. Wear a trace afterwards, if you like. In the Bhagavata Purana (11.6.46), Uddhava speaks of adorning oneself with the garlands, fragrances and clothes the Lord has already enjoyed. A dab on the wrist after the offering is a small home version of that idea.

How do you choose an attar for puja?

Three questions settle most of it.

• What is the base? Traditional attars are generally distilled into a sandalwood base, so ask whether a sandalwood attar is real sandalwood.
• Is there any alcohol? For the altar, there should be none.
• How and where was it made? Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh is the historic centre of attar-making. The traditional method, deg and bhapka, distils in a copper still (the deg) over a wood fire and collects the vapour in a receiver (the bhapka).

We do not say that a scripture prescribes this attar for Krishna. What the texts support is sandalwood as the fragrance, and sandalwood is what this attar is. How offerings are made, and what we do not claim about them, is set out on the How Our Offerings Work page.

Related reading

• How to set up your daily puja at home, the full sequence, and where fragrance sits within it.
• Tulsi in Hindu worship, why tulsi is central to Krishna worship and how a mala is used for japa.

Frequently asked questions

Which attar is best for Krishna puja?

Sandalwood is the traditional choice. The Hari-bhakti-vilasa, the Gaudiya Vaishnava manual of worship, names sandal paste as an offering to the Lord, and sandalwood attar is a liquid form many households use. We found no text that assigns a particular attar to Krishna, so other fragrances rest on family or temple custom.

Is there a correct attar for each deity?

No text we found assigns one. Shop guides disagree with each other, so treat a deity by deity chart as custom. Sandalwood is the fragrance the Hari-bhakti-vilasa names for Vishnu and Krishna, and your family's own practice comes first.

Can attar be used in puja?

Yes. Fragrance, called gandha, is one of the five basic offerings in puja, alongside flowers, incense, a lamp and food. Attar is one way to offer it. Choose an alcohol-free attar, and offer a single drop on a flower or a cotton pad.

Can I put attar on the murti?

The traditional direct application is sandal paste. Attar is an oil, and oil marks paper prints, painted surfaces and cloth, so a drop on a flower or a small cotton pad set before the deity is the safer offering. If your family has its own practice, follow that.

Is alcohol-based perfume allowed in puja?

Many households do not bring alcohol into the puja space, so they use an attar, which is an oil with no alcohol. There is no need to give up fragrance on the altar, only to choose an alcohol-free one.

How much attar should I use for puja?

One drop per offering is enough, because attar is concentrated. At a drop a day, a small bottle lasts a long time.

Does any scripture mention attar?

In the English translation of the Hari-bhakti-vilasa that we searched, attar is not named. The text names sandal paste, aguru, camphor and musk as fragrances offered to the Lord, and the Bhagavata Purana (11.27.33) lists fragrance among the offerings Krishna asks for. Attar is how many households offer gandha today.