Intercourse between India and the Western World from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Rome c11.78

c11.78

Spikenard. This was the stem and leaves of the Nardostachys Jatamansi, a plant of the Valerian class found in the Himālayas. It was used for making the famous "ointment of spikenard" which is chiefly known to English readers from the episode in St Mark XIV. 3. It fetched from 40 to 75 denarii a pound. It was exported from Barygaza, from the Malabar coast (whence it arrived from the mouth of the Ganges), and from Bengal. It must not be confused with nard, which was apparently an essential oil extracted from the citronella or ginger-grass, found in Baluchistān and exported from Barbarikon. See Pliny, XII. 26 ff.