Incense sticks also called agarbattis are fragranced sticks used from ancient period by people all over the world. The evolution of incense stick could be from the burning of aromatic woods in the primitive period. As mankind gained civilization and became more religious, these fragranced agarbattis played important role in daily rituals.
Agarbatti is an Indian Hindi terminology which is otherwise popularly known worldwide as ‘Incense Sticks’ and as the name itself suggests, they are thin bamboo sticks of about 8” to 12” length coated with paste of fragrance of natural ingredients extracts of scented flowers or majorly forest yield. Agarbattis have huge potential as a manufacturing business because its demand is at all-time high and go even higher during festivals. More than 90 countries use Agarbattis and India is the sole producer of these Incense Sticks that caters to the demands of all countries worldwide.
Cultural Beliefs:
The purpose of burning agarbatti is to purify the bad air. The holy smoke prevents unwanted bad energy and bad spirit from entering home. This is used for fragrance which symbolically suggests the presence of the deity and the love of deity.
The use of incense stick is recorded in Old Testament, the Vedas, and other ancient books. Agarbattis were commonly used in different places of worship like churches, monasteries, mosques, and temples. Incense was widely in countries like Egypt, Greece, China, Japan, and India.
People belonging to different religion used agarbattis in their ritual worship. Offering to God was made by lighting these agarbattis as it purifies the atmosphere. The refreshing fragrance of the incense stick spreads into the air to make a serene atmosphere helping the devotees to have calm frame of mind. The soothing and purified atmosphere helps in meditation.