Dashamula, the Ten Roots
Dashamula is not a plant. The word means ten roots, and it refers to a fixed group of ten used as a single unit. It is one of the oldest compound preparations in Ayurveda and it turns up constantly in formulations for lower back and joint complaints.
- Botanical name
- A ten-root formulation
- Sanskrit / Hindi
- दशमूल
- Part used
- Roots of ten plants
- Known compounds
- Five brihat (tree) roots, Five laghu (shrub and herb) roots, Combined glycosides, alkaloids and volatile fractions
What the ten are
The group splits into two halves. The brihat panchamula is the five larger roots, from tree species. The laghu panchamula is the five smaller ones, from shrubs and herbaceous plants. Used together they make Dashamula.
Because it is a compound rather than a single herb, the chemistry is broad by design. Classical practice treats the combination itself as the medicine, not any one constituent.
Its classical indication
Dashamula is described as vata-pacifying, and vata is the category Ayurveda places most stiffness, dryness and nerve-related pain in. That is why it appears in preparations aimed at the lower back, the hips and sciatic-type pain.
It is used both as a decoction taken internally and as an ingredient in medicated oils for external application.
In this oil
Dashamula is one of the reasons Dr. Granny's Magic is used on the lower back as well as the joints. It sits alongside Nirgundi-family herbs and Rasna in the sesame and mustard oil base.
Questions about Dashamula
What does Dashamula mean?
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It is Sanskrit for ten roots. Dasha is ten, mula is root. The name describes the preparation rather than a single plant.
Is Dashamula one herb or many?
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Many. It is a fixed combination of ten roots, five from trees and five from smaller plants, used together as one unit.
What is Dashamula traditionally used for?
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It is classed as vata-pacifying and is used in Ayurvedic preparations for stiffness and pain, particularly of the lower back and hips.
Where this sits in the bottle
Indica & Dashamulais one entry in the 25-herb blend in Dr. Granny's Magic Pain Relief Oil, carried in a base of sesame, mustard, yellow mustard, black seed, clove and eucalyptus oils for external massage use.
Other ingredients
Ayurvedic product. For external use only. Not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.