Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Indian aconite (Aconitum ferox), of the Ranunculaceae family. Erect alpine herb with palmate leaves and hooded blue-purple flowers; native range: alpine Himalaya, 3000–5000 m, from Kashmir to Sikkim and Nepal. Globally recognized as vatsanabha in Sanskrit, bachnag / mitha telia in Hindi, bish / khaniq-ul-nimr in Arabic, and Indian aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane in English. The part used is root tuber (purified). A dark, paired tuber like a small turnip; a mere touch to the tongue numbs and tingles, warning of the aconitine within — never tasted unpurified.
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.
INDIAN ACONITE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Indian aconite
- Scientific name
- Aconitum ferox Wall. ex Ser.
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Form
- Part used
- root tuber (purified)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- pungent · acrid
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (atyushna — extreme)
- Unani
- hot & dry (4th degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- nerves · heart
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- jwaraghna (antipyretic), vedanasthapana (analgesic), deepana (kindles agni), and in minute dose rasayana and vrishya; a supreme yogavahi
- Unani
- musakkin-e-alam (analgesic), muhallil (resolvent), muharrik (nervine stimulant), and a violent poison (samm-e-qatil) in any but the smallest corrected dose
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy, children, the weak and the aged; all pitta and heat states; never given unpurified
- Toxicity
- one of the most poisonous of drugs — aconitine causes tingling, numbness, salivation, cardiac arrhythmia, collapse and death; the unpurified root is lethal in tiny amounts
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