Witnessed by: Unani
Kashmir aconite (Aconitum chasmanthum), of the Ranunculaceae family. Erect alpine perennial with hooded blue flowers and a paired conical tuberous root; native range: alpine slopes of Kashmir and the western Himalaya. Globally recognized as beesh, beesh mudabbar (the detoxified root) in Arabic/Urdu, and Kashmir aconite, Indian aconite in English. The part used is the detoxified (mudabbar) tuberous root. A dark shrivelled root, at first tasteless then leaving a persistent tingling numbness on the tongue and lips.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
KASHMIR ACONITE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Kashmir aconite
- Scientific name
- Aconitum chasmanthum Stapf ex Holmes
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Form
- Part used
- the detoxified (mudabbar) tuberous root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- acrid · pungent
Temperature
- Unani
- hot & dry (4th degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- nerves · joints · heart
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- musakkin-e-alam (analgesic), muhallil (resolvent), munabbih (stimulant and nervine tonic), musakhkhin (warming), daf-e-humma (antipyretic in intermittent fevers)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- hot temperaments, pregnancy, the young and the weak; never the raw undetoxified root
- Toxicity
- the raw root is a lethal cardiotoxic and neurotoxic poison (aconitine); even the detoxified root is dangerous in excess, causing tingling, salivation, arrhythmia and collapse
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