The use of perfume, cosmetics and scent in India is an age-old tradition. They are an indispensable part of puja and worship in Hinduism. Atharva Veda, Samkhayana as well as Asvalayana Grihya Sutra and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to the use of scents. Arthashastra of Kautilya presents a vivid account of the elaborate perfumery used especially in the royal court. Kalika Purana states that offering perfumes to the divinity would doubtless enable a devotee to achieve the four-fold values of life – dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Perfumed pastes and fragrant fumes or incenses have been an inseparable part of worship both in Hindu homes and temples. Vishnudharmottara Purana lists as many as 21 aromatic raw materials for preparing special incenses as well as several types of perfumes. The most popular perfume for offering to the gods and goddesses in Hindu religion was, and continues to be, dhupa (incense), regarded not only as a purifier of the temple ambience but also, accor