5 items
Havan samagri blended for the fire, samidha cut to length in raavi, medi and the nine graha woods, the hawan kund in copper and brass with its liner, the purnahuti coconut and jaggery, and the sesame and barley that graha and pitru offerings use. Everything a homam's fire consumes, with a note on how each is used and how much a homam needs.
About these items
A homam is a pooja carried into fire: the deity's mantra is offered as ahutis — a spoon of ghee, a pinch of havan samagri, a stick of samidha — into a fire kindled in a kundam. The dravyam is what the fire takes. Havan samagri is the dry blend of herbs, resins, grains and sandal offered by the pinch; samidha is the wood, raavi and medi for most homams and a particular wood for each graha; ghee is the main offering; and the purnahuti at the close is a dry coconut with jaggery.
The kundam is the one durable item — a stepped copper or brass pit in sizes from a household Ganapathi Homam to a Chandi Homam, standing on a copper liner over a sand bed so the floor is not scorched. The quantities the fire takes scale with the homam: a thousand-ahuti Ganapathi Homam uses a kilogram of ghee and a large bundle of samidha; a Chandi Homam several times that. Each item below says how it is used and how much a standard homam needs.
In this category
Bundles
Raavi, medi and graha-specific sticks, cut to length.
Raavi (pipal) and medi (fig) sticks cut to a hand's length for most homams, and the nine graha woods — arka, palasa, khadira, apamarga, pippala, udumbara, sami, durva and darbha — in labelled bundles for a Navagraha Homam. A standard homam uses one large bundle.
250g, 500g, 1kg
The blended offering mix for the homa kundam.
The blended dry offering — guggul, sandalwood, camphor, agar, herbs and grains — offered by the pinch with each ahuti. 250g serves a short homam; 500g a standard one; 1kg a Chandi or Sudarshana Homam.
Per piece, by size
Copper and brass kundam, with the liner.
Stepped copper and brass kundams, in sizes from a household Ganapathi Homam to a Chandi Homam, with the copper liner that goes under them. Sold by size; ask which suits the homam and the space.
Per set
Purnahuti offerings for the closing of the homam.
The dry coconut (kobbari) and jaggery for the purnahuti — the final offering into the fire — with the ghee it is filled with. One set per homam.
250g packs
Til and yava for the graha and pitru offerings.
Black sesame (nuvvulu) and barley (yava) for the graha ahutis, the Shani offerings and the pitru rites — tarpanam, tila homam and the sraddha. In 250g packs.
Sizes and pack quantities vary by supplier and season. Fresh items — flowers, mango leaves, banana stems and tamboolam — are supplied against your ceremony date, so tell us the date when you enquire.
Choosing and using
A thousand ahutis with one purohit takes about a kilogram of ghee, half a kilogram of havan samagri and one large samidha bundle. Tell us the homam and the count and the quantities follow.
Copper under the kundam and two inches of sand keep the floor from scorching in an apartment. The liner is sold with the kundam; the sand is arranged at home.
A Navagraha Homam or a single-graha homam offers that graha's own wood, not raavi and medi. The nine are bundled and labelled; a single graha's bundle can be ordered alone.
A homam needs a room, balcony or terrace where the smoke clears. Choose the kundam size for the space as much as for the homam.
Common questions
A dry blend of guggul, sandalwood powder, camphor, agar, dried herbs, sesame, barley and rice, offered by the pinch with each ahuti. It is the general offering; the deity's particular items — durva, lotus seeds, bilva — are added separately.
For a standard homam of about a thousand ahutis: half a kilogram of havan samagri, one kilogram of ghee, one large samidha bundle. A Chandi Homam uses two to three times that; a short household homam half.
Raavi and medi for Ganapathi, Lakshmi, Sudarshana, Chandi and most other homams. For a Navagraha Homam each graha has its own wood — arka, palasa, khadira, apamarga, pippala, udumbara, sami, durva, darbha — and a single-graha homam uses that graha's alone.
A small stepped kundam of a foot across serves a household Ganapathi or Navagraha Homam; a Chandi Homam or a Sudarshana Homam with several ritviks needs the larger sizes. Tell us the homam and the space and we advise.
Yes, with ventilation and with the copper liner and a sand bed under the kundam. Many Hyderabad apartments use the balcony or the terrace.
Tell us the ceremony date when you enquire. We confirm availability, the final contents and the price before anything is charged; fresh items are supplied against the date.
Other categories
If you are starting from nothing, a ceremony kit gathers all of this in one box with the contents listed.
