Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c5.352

c5.352

Flowers were grown in large quantity, as we saw, and were gathered and brought to the garland-makers (mālākāras) who made beautiful garlands and bouquets with them.¹⁶ Perfumes and essential oils were also prepared. Sandal-wood, specially the kāsikacandana, was the chief raw material and also a finished product in itself.¹ Sandal-wood-powder (cuṇṇa) and oil were manufactured.² There were several kinds of perfumes,³ the prominent among them being that prepared from the piyaṅgu flowers.⁴ There used to be manufactured a rich perfume called the Sabbasaṃhāraka, compounded of many different scents.⁵ Agaru and tagara were commonly used for scenting purposes.⁶ Perfumes and various other scented articles were sold in the market, and the seller, the gandhika as he is called, was an expert in his profession, could make out what perfume a particular thing scented of.⁷ India has always been famous for its scents—attars.