Scripture Scents

Spikenard (Nard)

Hebrew nerd · Greek nardos

Song of Songs 4:13–14 · Mark 14:3 · John 12:3

By Mario Andino, Founder and perfumer, Maranatha Parfums · November 6, 2026

Spikenard is the perfume of extravagant love. Days before his death, Jesus was anointed with a flask of pure nard so costly that the disciples objected, and the house “was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

In Scripture

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

John 12:3 (ESV)

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.

Mark 14:3 (ESV)

Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all choice spices …

Song of Songs 4:13–14 (ESV)

Mark tells of a woman who broke an alabaster flask of “ointment of pure nard, very costly” over Jesus’ head. John names her as Mary of Bethany, who poured a pound of it on his feet and wiped them with her hair. Both Gospels record the protest that it could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, close to a year’s wages for a laborer, and Jesus’ answer that she had prepared his body for burial. In the Song of Songs nard appears twice among the beloved’s finest spices.

What it is today

True spikenard is Nardostachys jatamansi, a small plant of the valerian family that grows high in the Himalayas of Nepal, India and Tibet. Its fragrant root was carried west along trade routes as a luxury, which is why it was so expensive in first-century Judea. Wild harvesting has made the plant endangered, so look for cultivated or certified sources.

In the bottle

Earthy, musky and woody with a valerian-like sweetness. Deep and grounding.

First sniff: Earthy, musky-woody with a sweet valerian edge. Once it settles: Deep, grounding, musky-earthy warmth. Reminds people of: Damp roots, valerian tea, musky earth.

Spikenard smells earthy, woody and musky, with a damp, root-like warmth and a hint of valerian. On its own it can feel heavy, but at a low dose it gives a blend a deep, almost animal intimacy. It sits well with myrrh, frankincense, rose and sandalwood. The Atlas study formula “Nard & Myrrh” was inspired by John 12:3.

Blends well with

Myrrh, Frankincense, Rose, Lavender, Patchouli, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Labdanum.

Study formulas in the Atlas

Nard & Myrrh (Intermediate): Inspired by the pound of pure nard in John 12:3. Earthy spikenard and bitter myrrh softened by sandalwood, rose and benzoin. Open it in the Scent Atlas.