The city of Kannauj popular as the perfume city of India is famous for distilling of scents. It is known as "India's perfume capital" and itself has more than 200 perfume distilleries. The story of the name of Kannauj relates to king ‘Kusa’ and hence the city was also called Kusathala, because ‘kusa grass’ used for sacrificial fires grew here, in abundance. The history of perfume and fragrance once again can therefore be traced back to the ancient Indian era.

Study of different literature available about the perfume industry of Kannauj. Visit to the city for a study about the itr production in Kannauj.

After the dismemberment of the GurjaraPratihara Empire, there were repeated incursions in this region. The Gahadvala dynasty ruled the region after the downfall of the Pratiharas.ChandraDeva founded the Gahadavala dynasty at Kanyakubja after defeating a local chief named Gopala. The rule of the Gahadavala dynasty over the district is incontestably proved by the discovery at Kudarkot of a copper plate.Chandra Deva’s jurisdiction extended almost over the whole of present Uttar Pradesh including the district of Kannauj. ChandraDeva was succeeded by Madanpala. However, he ruled for a very short period. Madanapala was succeeded by his son Govind Chandra. Two copper plate grants of GovindChandra, dated respectively Samvat 1161, or A. D. 1104, and Samvat 1174 or 1117 A. D. have been found in village Bisahi, two miles north-east of tahsil Bidhuna of the district. Another copper plate grant of this king dated Samvat 1166 or A. D. 1109 has been found at Rahan in the district. Govind Chandra seems to have wielded substantial power in the state while he was only a "yuvaraja" or crown prince. Govind Chandra was succeeded by his son VijayaChandra sometime in 1155A.D.who was succeeded by his son Jaichandra in 1170 A. D. He may be described as the last great king of the Gahadavala dynasty,whose power and extensive jurisdiction struck the contemporary historians. During the reign of Jaichandra of Kannauj, the Chauhans of Ajmer,were  bidding for supremacy in North Indiaunder the rule of Prithviraj Chauhan.The Chandellas at this time  wereformidable in the south and their  power was at its height.Apart from this, there were repeated Muslim invasions in North-western India which had already threatened the unity of India. Amidst sucha  political set up an important event happened,the Swayamvara of Jaichandra’s daughter  Sanyogita, whoesacped in the midst of the ceremonies with Prithviraj Chauhan.This incident sowed the seed of enemity between these two northIndian  kingdoms. Though there is no reliable evidence of a  conflict between these two kings, it is quite probable that they were positively hostile to each other; lack of sympathy between these two kings is shown by their mutual non-cooperation on the eve of the final conquest of India by Mohammad Ghori.The "Glory of Imperial Kannauj" ended with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.The historic city however continued to hold its existence throughout the period of medieval and modern Indian History and is known throughout the world for its rich aromatic culture.

The city popular as the perfume city of India is famous for distilling of scents. It is known as "India's perfume capital" and itself has more than 200 perfume distilleries. The story of the name of Kannauj relates to king ‘Kusa’ and hence the city was also called Kusathala, because ‘kusa grass’ used for sacrificial fires grew here, in abundance. The history of perfume and fragrance once again can therefore be traced back to the ancient Indian era. The word perfume is derived from the Latin word “per fumus," meaning through smoke. India has a prosperous history of perfumes and scented articles.In India perfume/fragrance is the pathway to attain spirituality and wellbeing. We offer perfume/incense to the Gods  in the form of incense stick, fragrant water, and fragrant flowers. It is believed in mythology that every God has its own favourite perfume.The Vedic era was intimately linked to the Yagnas or fire sacrifices. Oblation consisting of various aromatic and medicinal herbs, resin, barks, leaves,twigs, roots,  along with food and ghee were offered to Agni, the God of Fire. This was done to please the gods for showering prosperity or evading misfortunes.In Rigveda-Srak is used for flower garlands and Aswins were called as Pushkarasrajau, wearing garlands of Lilies.

Om Tryambakamyajamahesugandhimpushtivardhanam,

Urvaarukamivabandhanaanmrutyormukshiyamaamrutat || (Rigveda. 59.12.1)

(The word Sugandhi is used for Agni (the god of fire), well-wisher of men, who carries the oblations with his redolent-mouth. The fragrant mouthed Agni was also considered as augmenter of material prosperity and ensures of immortality through divine grace)

Thus, the attar culture of India existed in India since the ancient times. It was the source of rich commercial and trading benefits for the historic towns of Kannauj, Benaras, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Patna and the surrounding regions of the states of Awadh, Bihar and Orissa. These cities had grown in importance due to perfumery trade in ancient and medieval India as they were strategically positioned on the Uttarapatha (the Northern road) and were connected with the Dakshinapath (the Southern road). This contributed to the tremendous inland trade and tourist traffic. This link and locational advantage gave them additional commercial and trade benefits when they established contact and communication with the Silk Road. The Grand Trunk Road revived their importance during the British period. Shah Nama of Firdousi (1030AD) mentions big centres of perfumery industry at Kannauj, Jaunpur and Ghazipur.

Christopher McMahon a horticulturist from California who visited India several times recorded  in 1996 the existence of 650 perfumery units in Kannauj a city  which has been the nation’s ‘Khushboo’ city. Evidenced from archaeo-botany, ethno-botany, study of material culture, scripts, inscriptions, seals and work by archaeologists like Ernest Mackay and John Marshall,atreasure of  vessels for expensive perfumes, incenses, powders and pastes since ancient times has been recovered from Mohenjo-Daro.

Yuan Chwang or Huien Tsang has referred to Kannauj as a wealthy and prosperous state and has recorded that the houses were decorated with ‘flowers of the season’, ‘fruits and flowers were abundant’ and ‘people wore garlands on their bodies’. He has praised the people of ‘Mid India’ probably meaning Kannauj and the adjacent territories at the time of Harsha.He says that Kannauj was the centre of culture, crafts, power, politics, riches and religion to be coveted by the  conquerors of medieval India. It fell from its position with the repeated aggression and conquests by Mahmud Ghazni and Mohammad Ghori. The city  hasundoubtedly  had the most envious positions of importance in the past. Regarding the Indian subcontinent, it can be claimed that the inhabitants of the Indus Valley had mastered the process of extracting aromatic waters and combining diverse plant extracts for therapeutic purposes long before the Aryans could develop the art of writing. These techniques were eventually used by the Vaids and the Hakims. According to Ayurveda, the art of perfumery developed further throughout the Vedic era. Incense, makeup, and fragrances are also mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The use of sandal wood and rose water for spraying at Draupadi's Swayamvara is described in the Bhagvad Geeta.

In 100 BC, a South Indian scholar named Nagarjuna wrote a dissertation on incense candles. The practice of creating "attars" and "floral waters" was well-established in antiquity, especially during the Gupta era. In fact, the Charaka Samhita mentions "JalyeayaAaswan," which means water distillation.The art of making of ‘attars’ and ‘floral waters’ was well established during the Gupta period. Kannauj became the biggest centre in aromatic trade ,its ruler Harshavardhan for the first time had imposed a tax on vetiver grass (khus). ‘Khus’ probably grew wild as a forest product but had economic value. The seventh century Sanskrit poet Vanabhatta who was the court laureate of King Harsha, has given a vivid description of the use of incense in the marriage ceremony of Rajyashree who was married to King Grahvarman of Kannauj.

About 2000 years ago,‘Gandhi-kan’ on the sealsindicate that the state had recognized the rights of the makers of attars even before the era of Harshavardhan. Assam in this period and the preceeding centuries was an important source for sandalwood as is revealed by the gifts sent by the king of Assam to Harsh through Hamsavega. King Harsha anointed his body with  sandalwood paste before a battle. The possibility of the link with the Silk Road becomes double fold as Hashshavadhan’s kingdom extended from East to West and the trade in aromatics from Kannauj could have channelled through Assam and through  Mathura.

Under the Mughals, centres developed at Ghazipur, Jaunpur and particularly Kannauj, attars manufactured at the ‘Gandhian Mohalla’ of Kannauj, used to be sent to Delhi for the Emperor’s use. Under Jahangir, an official was appointed named as ‘khushbu-daroga’ to supervise andarrange for the proper supply of attars. The account on royal perfumery is given in the ‘Regulations of the Perfume Office of Akbar’ in Ain-i-Akbari.

From ancient to medieval times Kannauj was the envy of every ruler and each one vied to control it. It had witnessed the rise and fall of mighty empires, ruling dynasties from the Guptas to the Muslim conquest. The Puranas and Mahabharata have given a fabulous account of the region called Panchala comprising of what can be referred to as Bareily, Badaun and Farrukhabad. The importance of Kannauj since ancient times was probably due to the strategic advantage of the city, for it stood on the right bank of the Ganga which was the highway of commerce and communication. Cunningham has observed “ the situation is a commanding one and before the use of the cannon the height alone must have made Kannauj a strong and important position.” In medieval times the Gangetic plain was a region of interest to Ghazni, Ghori, the Slave Dynasty rulers,the  Khaljis, the Sayyids and the Mughals.

The region was of particular interest to the British as Clive, Wellesley and Dalhousie, had important stakes in the area.However, Kannauj seems to have lost its prime position of importance during the British era which was more obvious by the absence of Christianity in the city during the said period. Importance of Kannauj may have vanished as the importance of water highway and road transit was negated and replaced by a number of other works of public utility such as railways and telegraph by the British Government.The harmony that existed between the Hindus and Muslims  raised apprehensions of the British who permitted decay of the city through neglect, decline and destruction of the local industry.

1. Historical Study of attars and essence making in Kannauj, UGC major Project by Dr. Jyoti Marwah. The Ittar Industry of Kannauj: A Saga of Commodification of Olfactory Aesthetics, September 2023, Journal of Land and Rural Studies. DOI:10.1177/23210249231192757,Satish Kumar Shukla
2. Indian History of Perfume, its Evidences and Evolution from different Era ,Pamela Das, Nibha Bajpai
3. Mrs. Radha Krishnamurthy,1987,Perfumery in ancient India. Indian Journal of History of Science
4. Aashaq Hussain Bhat, 2017, Indus Valley Civilization. International Journal of Research and Review.
5. https://perfumery.co.in/blogs/the-perfumologist/the-process-of-making-attars-in-the-fragrance-capital-of-indiakannauj.
6. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/attar-losing-fragrance-in-kannauj-perfurmers-unhappy-with-yadav-clan/articleshow/34068440.cms
7. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/how-did-kannauj-become-a-perfume-capital
8. https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/living-culture/kannauj-attar
9. https://www.vogue.in/beauty/content/kannauj-the-perfume-capital-of-india-and-the-dying-art-of-natural-perfumery