Bilva
The root of the bael tree, whose three-part leaves are offered to Shiva. Bilva is the first of the five tree roots of dashamoola.
- Settles Kapha
- Settles Vata
- Can raise Pitta
How Ayurveda reads bilva
- Rasa · taste
- Astringent, bitter (kaṣāya, tikta)
- Guṇa · nature
- Light, dry (laghu, rūkṣa)
- Vīrya · potency
- Heating (uṣṇa)
- Vipāka · after digestion
- Pungent (kaṭu)
- Part used
- Root
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
The bael tree is sacred to Shiva: its three-lobed leaf is offered on the linga, above all on Mondays and at Mahashivratri, and the tree grows beside temples across India. Its name Śrīphala, "fruit of Lakshmi", is for the hard, round fruit.
Bilva root is one of the greater five roots (bṛhat pañcamūla) of dashamoola.
How Ayurveda reads it
Bilva root is astringent and bitter, light and dry, and heating. It is described as settling Kapha and Vata.
In the Indian kitchen
The ripe fruit makes bel sharbat, the summer drink of north India, and bel murabba. The root isn't used in cooking.
How we use it
We use dried bilva root as one of the ten in our Dashmoola Kwath, and through it in our Kali Haldi & Dashmool Kahwa.
Bilva in our blends
From the texts: Caraka Saṃhitā, Sūtrasthāna 4 (in the daśamūla); Suśruta Saṃhitā, Sūtrasthāna 38 (bṛhat pañcamūla); Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Guḍūcyādi varga.
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