Mahakal is another name for Lord Shiva, the Hindu Cosmic Dancer and God of Time, so the fragrance will be ambient and suggestive of divinity and magic rather than specific to any particular scent. I tend to prefer such creative incenses - they tend to be looser, more inventive, and less of a potential disappointment when the incense almost inevitably fails to live up to the expectation of the named scent, be it rose or sandalwood. Here we can either just enjoy the fragrance, or gently engage in contemplation of how the incense creator plays with the concept of Mahakal. This is the first incense I've had with the name Mahakal, though there are others, such as Jai Mahakal by Ajanta - described as "using high-quality natural aromatic oils inspired by traditional Shaivite fragrances". Shaivite fragrances are such as sandalwood, vetiver, and camphor - natural fragrance products found in India, and those scents are present in the cold throw fragrance on the stick of this Jai Mahakal -pale creamy wood, sweet caramel, warm earth, lamb's wool, brown sugar, and cooling menthol. It's a lovely, beguiling, calming scent.
The fragrance on the burn is gentle, calming, clean, attractive, and centred on sandalwood and resin. Pleasant, though perhaps a little too everyday to be especially charming.
Available from Vedic Vaani at 100gm for £5.31 plus shipping (at least £25).
Date: May 2026 Score: 32/50
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The appearance and the way how you described this incense reminds me of like how most of the masala Shiva incenses are in the market (BIC Shivam, Shalimar Bhakti, Cycle Shiva etc.)
ReplyDeleteBtw I really loved your new makeover of your blog. The color scheme is more vibrant and refreshing!
I might start a new page just for Shiva incense.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments on the makeover. Some folks have messaged me, but I think you are the first to say so publicly. It's always heart warming when people appreciate some of the input into the blog. I generally get more complaints than support. Its way better now than it was in the early days, when people used to tell me how scruffy and amateurish it looked. But I still think my blog is one of the least professional looking out there. Yours has always impressed me. And I like Samsa's as well - especially the logo she has.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I just realised I lost the small cartoon mouse in my most recent tweaking of the header image!
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