Rakta-candana

Rakta-candana · rakta-candana, “red sandal”

Grammar: neuter noun; rakta (red) and candana (sandal): “red sandal”.

Meaning: red sandal, the red sandalwood and its paste, used in pūjā, in the mūrtis of the grahas and in medicine.

In rites:

  • The abhisheka kalaśa. In the kumbhādhivāsa that Hayagrīva teaches Brahmā, for the abhisheka of Śrī Hari in the pratishṭhā, four kalaśas are set in the four directions in the snāna-maṇḍapa. The south kalaśa holds lotus, gorocanā, dūrvā grass, darbha grass, jātī and kunda flowers, candana, rakta-candana, white mustard, tagara and rice grains (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 57).
  • The vāstu pūjā. In the vāstu pūjā each devatā of the vāstu-maṇḍala receives his own offering, and to Vivasvān, who presides over the six padas south of Brahmā, one offers red sandal (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 93).
  • The materials of pratishṭhā. Among the herbs to be gathered for the pratishṭhā (the installation of a mūrti) are vetiver, vishṇukrāntā, red sandal, aguru, śrīkhaṇḍa, kushṭha and śaṅkhinī (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 95).
  • The arghya to Sūrya. In the Sūrya pūjā, gorocanā, kuṅkuma, water, rakta-candana, akshata, sprouts, bamboo seed, barley, śāli rice, millet, tila and japā (hibiscus) flowers are put in the arghya vessel; holding it on the head and kneeling, one gives arghya to Sūrya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 301).
  • The mūrti of Kuja. In the homa for the nine grahas, the mūrtis are made, in order, of copper for Sūrya, crystal for Candra, rakta-candana for Kuja, gold for Budha and Bṛhaspati, silver for Śukra, iron for Śani, and lead for Rāhu and Ketu (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 164).

In tilaka and lepa. In the Yuddhajayārṇava, Agnideva gives a tilaka of rocanā, raktacandana, turmeric, manaḥśilā, priyaṅgu, mustard, mohinī, dūrvā, vishṇukrāntā, sahadevā and śikhā, ground in citron juice and placed on the forehead: by it even the devatās with Indra come under one’s control, let alone men. A lepa (paste) of mañjishṭhā, raktacandana, kaṭukandā, vilāsinī and punarnavā brings even the Sun under control (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 123).

In medicine:

  • Dhanvantari gives, among the siddha-yogas that revive the dying, a yoga of bhūnimba, pāṭhā, triphalā, guḍūcī and rakta-candana, which removes fever and destroys kushṭha and eruptions (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 285).
  • In Śālihotra‘s treatment of horses, for rakta-prameha the horse is kept without food and given cooled goat’s milk boiled with mañjishṭhā, madhuka, drākshā, bṛhatī, rakta-candana, the seeds and roots of trapushī, śṛṅgāṭaka and kaśeruka, with sugar. A medicated oil of śatāhvā, nāgara, rāsnā, mañjishṭhā, kushṭha, saindhava, devadāru, vacā, the two haridrās and rakta-candana, given with guḍūcī water or milk as a rub, an enema or nasal drops, removes all the doshas named “liṅgita” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 289).
  • In the Bāla-tantra, for the great grahī Ūrdhvagrahī, who seizes a child on the ninth day, dhūpa and lepa are made with rakta-candana, kushṭha and the like (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 299).

Related terms: Candana · Kalaśa · Arghya · Kuja · Navagraha · Tilaka · Lepa

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 57, 93, 95, 123, 164, 285, 289, 299, 301