Śivasaṃhitā 5.234

The four homa ingredients have precise elemental correspondences: the karavīra flower (associated with Śiva and purification through poison) represents transformation; the guḍa (unrefined sugar) the sweetness and world of Venus-Śukra; milk (kṣīra) the lunar and Soma-nourishment; ghee (ājya) the solar fire that transforms everything offered to it.

Karavīra = oleander (Nerium oleander), white or pink-flowered toxic sacred tree (kara = hand, that which acts, vīra = hero), prasūna = flower, guḍa = unrefined cane sugar, kṣīra = milk, ājya = clarified butter (ā-jyā = that which is completely anointed).

In tantric homa tradition, ingredients are chosen according to the propitiated deity and the practice’s objective. Karavīra is specifically Śiva’s flower in Śaiva iconography—its flowers were used in śivalinga-pūjā and rudra-abhiṣeka rituals. The combination of plant poison, sweetness, nourishment and pure fire in the homa creates an offering reflecting tantric reality’s complexity: everything apparently contradictory is integrated in the sacred fire.