Guggulu
Guggulu, “the fragrant resin bdellium”
Grammar: masculine noun, the name of a fragrant resin, bdellium.
Meaning: bdellium, a fragrant gum-resin, burnt as dhūpa (incense) before the devatās and the grahas, offered in homa, and used in medicines.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa names guggulu in some fourteen chapters.
Among the dhūpa substances. The twenty-one dhūpa-dravyas, the substances of incense, include jaṭāmāṃsī, kuṅkuma, lākshā, candana, agaru, devadāru, karpūra, guggulu and śrīnivāsa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 224). In the measures of the offerings into the fire, camphor, sandal, saffron and musk are each the size of a chickpea, and guggulu the size of a jujube seed (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 75).
In the pūjā. In the pratishṭhā of Vāsudeva, after the gems are placed, the pits in the east and the other directions are covered with guggulu with the mantras of Indra and the other dikpālas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 60). In the graha-yajña, guggulu dhūpa is offered to the grahas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 164). In the Bhīshmapañcaka vrata, which Agnideva calls the king of vratas, one bathes the mūrti of Śrī Mahāvishṇu with pañcāmṛta and pañcagavya, anoints it with sandal, burns guggulu mixed with ghee, shows a lamp at dawn and at night, and offers food (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 205).
In homa. In the homa with the Gāyatrī, guggulu is offered for saubhāgya, good fortune (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 215). One who offers guggulu in homa with “tryambakaṃ yajāmahe” sees Śaṅkara (Bhagavān Śiva) in a dream (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 260). Homa of ghee mixed with guggulu destroys all utpātas (portents), and ten thousand ājya homas with ten thousand guggulu homas bring śānti from bhūtas and vetālas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 321). One who does thirty lakh japas of the Aghora mantra and a tenth as many homas of ghee mixed with guggulu gains mantra-siddhi and can achieve everything (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 324).
In remedies. Guggulu, triphalā and vyosha in equal parts mixed with ghee and applied destroy sinus, foul wounds, colic and fistula; guggulu with lukewarm water destroys vāta-roga at once (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 285). For cows troubled by the grahas, a dhūpa of devadāru, vacā, māṃsī, guggulu, hiṅgu and mustard is made, and a bell fumigated with it is tied on the cows’ necks (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 292). When the grahīs seize a child in the days after birth, guggulu is the dhūpa on the first day, and on the sixth day the dhūpa is of rājī, guggulu, kushṭha and gaja-danta (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 299).
The fragrance of the cow. Cows are forms of Surabhi; they have the fragrance of guggulu, they are the support of all living beings and supremely auspicious (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 292).
Related terms: Dhūpa · Homa · Ghṛta · Graha · Utpāta · Surabhi
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 60, 75, 164, 205, 215, 224, 260, 285, 292, 299, 321, 324