Sandalwood Tree

Location in BHU campus:Planted in Botanical and Ayurvedic gardens

Botanical name : Santalum album L.

Family : Santalaceae

Vernacular / local Name : Bengali - Chandan, peetchandan, srikhanda, sufaid - chandan; Gujarati-Sukhad, sukhet; Hindi-Chandan,sandal;Kannada - Srigandha, gandha, agarugandha, bavanna, bhandrarri; Malayalam- Chandanam; Marathi - Chandan, gandha - chakoda; Oriya - Chondono, gondassaro; Sanskrit - Chandana, anaditam, taliaparnam; Tamil- Chandanam; Telugu – Chandanamu.

English names : Sandalwood Tree

A small evergreen tree usually up to 10 m high. Leaves glabrous, thin, elliptic-lanceolate. Flowers brownish-purple, ca 4 mm diameter, in terminal and axillalry paniculate cymes. Fruit a drupe, globose, ca 1.3 cm diameter, purple-black.

Flowering: September-Novermber

Fruiting : February-April

• Sacred value

According to Vamana Purana the fragrant wood is recommended for worshipping Mahadeva. Goddess Lakshmi resides in this tree as per Brahma Vaivarta Purana. According to astrologers the roots are used as talisman to have the benevolent effect of the celestial body Rahu.

In Rajasthan it is believed that if the wood is used in the pyre, the soul of the dead person goes to heaven. It is used in sacred fire (Hawan) and in worship.

The paste obtained by rubbing the wood on stone with a little water is used for applying on the body and forehead after bath.The wood is largely employed in the religious ceremonies of the Hindu. Large quantities of wood are used by the Parsis in their fire temples.

• Uses

Sandalwood is one of the finest woods for carving. The heartwood yields a fragrant oil used in perfumery and soaps. The oil is also widely employed as a base for co-distillation of some of the other essential oils of delicate fragrance. Both the wood and oil are diuretic, diaphoretic, refrigerant and expectorant, finding several applications in household remedies.