Diwali - The Festival of Lights

The festival of Diwali—often called the Festival of Lights—marks the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and goodness over evil. Alongside the glowing lamps, rangoli designs, and fireworks, one of the subtler yet deeply meaningful elements in many Diwali homes and temples is the use of sandalwood (chandan). Sandalwood plays both a symbolic and sensory role in the celebrations.

In Hindu ritual practice the fragrant heartwood of the sandalwood tree is ground into paste or distilled into oil, and is valued for its purifying, cooling and sacred qualities. It is applied to deities, used in pujas and placed in offerings to create an atmosphere of peace, purity and spiritual focus. During Diwali, when homes are cleaned, decorated and rituals performed to welcome the goddess Lakshmi (wealth and prosperity) and Lord Ganesha (remover of obstacles), the sandalwood fragrance enhances the ritual ambience and signifies readiness, reverence and auspiciousness.

The aromatic quality of sandalwood also supports the inward turn associated with Diwali—beyond outward festivity, the festival invites reflection, renewal and inner light. The scent soothes the mind and body, helping to calm distractions and elevate the setting to something sacred. Furthermore, the use of sandalwood in ritual actions—such as applying a tilak of sandal paste on the forehead—symbolises purification, consecration and the marking of the self as ready for spiritual reception.

In practical terms, many households include sandalwood paste in their Diwali puja kit, or burn sandalwood incense as the lamps are lit. The fragrance lingers quietly but meaningfully through the festival’s nights, supporting both the visible lights and the less-visible inner light. In this way, sandalwood becomes a bridge between the material preparations of Diwali (cleaning, lamps, sweets, gifts) and its deeper meaning of awakening, clarity and renewal.

Photo by Umesh Soni on Unsplash