Talk:Dhupa
By Swami Harshananda
Dhupa literally means ‘the smoke which destroys diseases’.
Pujā or ritualistic worship is an important aspect of the religion. The central part of it is the offering of upacāras. The upacāras are various articles ceremonially offered to the deity with appropriate mantras. These upacāras can be 5, 10, 16 or even 64.
One of the upacāras common to all these is the ‘dhupa.’ It can be offered by lighting some incense sticks and waving them before the deity along with the ringing of the bell. Instead of the incense sticks, one can also wave lighted embers in which fragrant powders like loban have been put and scented smoke is being emitted.
This ancient technique is used for curing certain diseases or for removing pollution from the atmosphere. This technique has been recommended in the textbooks of Ayurveda. The term ‘dhupa’ might have been derived from this practice.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore