Item 1
Kumkum, turmeric, sandal paste, akshata and loose flowers
Gandham and kumkum to dress the lingam after the abhishekam; akshata and flowers for the archana. Sandal water is one of the dravyas poured.
🎁 For Rudrabhishekam
Rudrabhishekam Kit — the Rudrabhishek Samagri List
The rudrabhishek samagri list for a Shiva abhishekam at home — on Maha Shivaratri, on a Monday in Karthika masam, on a Pradosham, or for any sankalpam. The abhishekam dravyas, the bilva, the vibhuti and the copper vessels to pour with are all in one box, each annotated below with its use.
About this kit
What the Rudrabhishekam Kit is for
Rudrabhishekam is the bathing of the Shiva lingam with the dravyas — milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar, tender coconut water, sandal water — while the Sri Rudram is chanted, followed by the archana with bilva leaves. The samagri is defined by the dravyas and by the bilva: the abhishekam items list is largely liquids poured in sequence, and the lingam is dressed afterwards with vibhuti and offered bilva at each name of the Ashtottara.
The kit carries the dry items — sugar, honey, vibhuti, rudraksha, camphor, wicks — the copper dhara patra and panchapatra to pour with, and supplies the bilva, the tender coconut and the tamboolam fresh against the date. Milk and curd are taken from the house. For a Maha Rudrabhishekam or Ekadasha Rudram with many ritviks, ask for the quantities scaled.
What is in the box
Contents — 7 items, and what each is for
Item 2
Bilva (maredu) leaves
Maredu is Shiva's own leaf: trifoliate sprigs offered with each name of the Ashtottara and heaped on the lingam at the end. Supplied fresh; one hundred and eight sprigs where possible.
Item 3
Panchamrutham — milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar
The five dravyas poured over the lingam in sequence during the Rudram; the kit carries the ghee, honey and sugar, and milk and curd are taken fresh from the house.
Item 4
Vibhuti and rudraksha
Vibhuti to dress the lingam in three lines after the abhishekam and for the family; a rudraksha mala for the japam of the Panchakshari during the pooja.
Item 5
Copper abhishekam vessel and panchapatra
The dhara patra hung over the lingam for a continuous stream during the Rudram, and the panchapatra and uddharini for the water offerings.
Item 6
Camphor, agarbatti and cotton wicks
Vathulu for the lamps, agarbatti for the dhoopam and karpuram for the harathi at the close.
Item 7
Tender coconut water
Lethi kobbari neeru — the last of the sweet dravyas before the final water, poured just before the lingam is dressed. Supplied fresh.
Samagri requirements vary with regional tradition, family custom and the performing priest. This list is what the kit is normally assembled with — confirm the final contents with your purohit before dispatch. Fresh items are supplied against your ceremony date.
Through the ceremony
How the samagri is used in Rudrabhishekam
Setting the lingam
The lingam is placed in its basin (panavattam) on the peetham with the spout to the north, the dhara patra hung above it, and the dravyas set out in the order they will be poured.
Sankalpam and Ganapathi Pooja
The purpose is stated with the family's names; Ganapathi is worshipped, and the Rudra dhyanam and avahanam invoke Shiva into the lingam.
The abhishekam
The Sri Rudram Namakam is chanted while the dravyas are poured in turn — water, milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar water, tender coconut, sandal water — with a water abhishekam between each; the dhara patra keeps the stream continuous.
Alankaram
The lingam is dried, dressed with the three lines of vibhuti, sandal paste and kumkum, and the Chamakam is chanted.
Bilva archana
The Shiva Ashtottara with a bilva sprig at each name, and the remaining bilva heaped on the lingam; the Panchakshari japam on the rudraksha follows where the family keeps it.
Naivedyam and harathi
Fruit and the family's offering are placed, camphor harathi and mantra pushpam close the abhishekam, and the abhishekam water is taken as theertham.
Not in the box
What the house provides
- The Shiva lingam and its basin, if the family keeps one — or ask for a small lingam to be added
- Milk and curd, fresh on the morning
- A basin or vessel to catch the abhishekam water
- Fruit for the naivedyam
- Plates, a bell, the harathi plate and cloths to dry the lingam
- A space where liquids can be poured and drained
Common questions
Before you book
What is on the rudrabhishek samagri list?
Sandal paste, kumkum, turmeric, akshata and flowers; bilva leaves; the panchamrutham dravyas — milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar; vibhuti and a rudraksha mala; a copper dhara patra and panchapatra; camphor, agarbatti and cotton wicks; and tender coconut water. The kit carries all of it except the milk and curd, which come fresh from the house.
Which Shiva abhishekam items are poured, and in what order?
Water first, then milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar water, tender coconut water and sandal water, with a plain water abhishekam between each so no dravya sits on the lingam. Some traditions add panchagavya, fruit juice or vibhuti water; the purohit sets the order for your family's form.
Why is bilva essential?
Bilva (maredu) is Shiva's particular leaf; the Shiva Purana and the Bilvashtakam single it out, and the archana after the abhishekam is performed with bilva sprigs at each name. It is in every rudrabhishek list regardless of region. The kit supplies it fresh.
Does the kit include the Shiva lingam?
No — families keep their own lingam, or perform the abhishekam at a temple. If you do not have one, ask when ordering and a small lingam and basin can be added.
Is the same kit used for Maha Rudrabhishekam or Ekadasha Rudram?
The items are the same, the quantities are not — those formats run the Rudram many times with several ritviks and use far more dravyas and bilva. Tell us the format and we scale the kit.
When is Rudrabhishekam performed?
Maha Shivaratri, Mondays in Karthika and Sravana masam, Pradosham, Arudra nakshatram and the family's own sankalpam days. The Panchangam page carries the dates.
How do I order?
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 kits
Also assembled
Ordering the Rudrabhishekam Kit?
Send us the ceremony date and we will confirm availability, the final contents and the price before anything is charged.