Introduction Spikenards is a famous medicine grown in the Himalayas. Spikenards is a plant whose stem is 10 to 60 cm long. Spikenards leaves are 15 to 20 cm long and are found in bunches. Its flowers are white, pink or blue in colour and grow in a bunch. The fruits are small and round with white hairs. Its root is long and has dark brown threads. Spikenards grows on its own in hilly areas like Kashmir, Bhutan, Sikkim and Kumaon. It is also known as 'Balchhadash'. Spikenards is produced in cold climate, hence it is not easily available everywhere. It is called Spikenards because its root has hair-like fibres. Allopathic doctors find all its properties in a medicine called 'Valerian'. Harmful effects Using spikenard excessively can harm the kidneys and cause stomach pain. Treatment for various diseases 1. Hysteria: Mix 4 spoons of spikenard root powder, 2 spoons of vacha powder and one spoon of black salt and take half a spoon of it with honey three times a day. Taking it for 1 week will cure the disease. 2. Making hair black and long: Massage your hair with spikenard decoction and apply it every morning and take a bath after 2 hours. Doing this daily will be beneficial. 3. Cleaning the face: Grind spikenard root in rose water and apply it on the face like a paste. This will brighten the face in a few days. 4. In high blood pressure: Mix equal quantity of powder of Spikenard, Brahmi and Ashwagandha and take 1 spoon each 3 times a day. 5. Insomnia: Take 1 spoon of Spikenard root powder with fresh water 1 hour before going to bed. This cures insomnia. 6. Piles: Grind equal quantity of Spikenard and Turmeric and apply on warts. This cures piles. Applying Spikenard oil on warts dries them. 7. Swelling and pain: Grind Spikenard powder in water and make a paste and apply on the swelling. This cures swelling and pain. 8. Teeth ache: If you make fine powder of Spikenard root and use it as toothpaste, then you get relief from toothache, gum pain, swelling, pus, bad breath etc. Toothache can be cured by grinding Spikenard finely and making powder (toothpaste) and brushing teeth with it daily. 9. Stomach ache: Grind 200 grams Spikenard, 200 grams sugar candy and 50 grams cinnamon, 50 grams fennel, 50 grams dry ginger and 50 grams cinnamon with sugar candy and make powder. Consuming it in the morning and evening in the amount of 3 to 6 grams gives relief from stomachache. Mix equal amounts of Spikenard, dry ginger, Indian gooseberry and black salt and grind it and take one spoon of it 3 times a day. 10. Body tremor: If hands and legs tremble or any other body part starts moving on its own, take 2 teaspoons of decoction of Spikenard every morning and evening. By taking 28 to 56 milligrams of Spikenard powder two to three times a day, the tremor of the body goes away. 11. Menstrual disorders: Mix 20 grams of Spikenard powder, 10 grams of black cumin and 5 grams of black pepper and make a powder and take one teaspoon each three times a day for a few days. This will relieve menstrual pain, mental stress and physical depression. In case of painful menstruation, by taking 60 milligrams to 1.80 grams of Spikenard powder two to three times a day, menstruation starts happening freely without pain. 12. Impotence: Spikenard, dry ginger, nutmeg and clove. Take all of them in equal quantity and grind them. Take 1 teaspoon each three times a day. This cures impotency. 13. Erysipelas (cluster of small boils): Taking 600 mg to 1200 mg of Spikenard with ammonium chloride is beneficial. Pain is reduced by applying paste of the bark of Spikenard.
14. Flatulence (formation of gas): Mix 200 grams of Spikenard, 400 grams of sugar candy, 50 grams of cinnamon, 50 grams of cinnamon, 50 grams of fennel and 50 grams of dry ginger and keep them aside. Then, consuming this mixture in the amount of 3 to 6 grams in the morning and evening cures stomach pain. 15. Mouth ulcers: Keeping pieces of Spikenard in the mouth and sucking them reduces the burning sensation and pain in the mouth. 16. Bad breath: Take 10-10 grams of Spikenard, Kut, fennel seeds, Narakachura, big cardamom, white cumin seeds and Balchad and grind them. Mix 70 grams of raw sugar in this grind. Consuming 5-5 grams of this mixture with water every morning and evening stops bad breath and salivation. Chewing Spikenard eliminates bad breath. 17. Pains after menopause (end of menstruation): To eliminate all mental and physical problems during menopause, 600 mg to 1.20 grams of Spikenard powder should be given three times a day. 18. Hematemesis: Consuming 600 mg to 1.20 grams of Spikenard powder with ammonium chloride in the morning and evening cures hematemesis and vomiting of blood. 19. Nimracharati or sleepwalking: Consuming approximately 600 mg to 1.2 grams of Spikenard in the morning and evening is very beneficial in this disease. 20. Dhanushtankar (Tetanus disease): Mix 10 grams of cinnamon, 10 grams of dry ginger, 40 grams of spikenard and 80 grams of sugar candy and prepare a powder. Consuming 3 to 9 grams of this powder every morning and evening cures the disease of the patient. Consuming 600 to 1200 milligrams of spikenard powder in the morning and evening cures the crookedness of the body of a tetanus patient. Preparing a decoction of spikenard and taking 280 to 560 milligrams of it in the morning and evening cures tetanus. 21. Trembrance of fingers: Breaking 280 to 560 milligrams of spikenard and consuming it two to three times a day is beneficial.
