Atharva Veda 13.4.8: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 4, Mantra 8
Sukta 4
तस्यै॒ष मारु॑तो ग॒णः स ए॑ति शि॒क्याकृ॑तः
tásya eṣá mārúto gaṇáḥ sá eti śikyā́kṛtaḥ ||
Of him this Marut-host is here: it comes, wrought as a hanging net.
هذا هو حشدُ الماروتاتِ له؛ إنه يأتي مصنوعًا كشبكةٍ مُعلَّقة.
The meaning
What it says
The Marut-host attendant upon him (Mahendra/sovereign power) arrives, ‘made as a śikyā’—a hanging net/bag—forming a protective mesh.
The inner meaning
Protective energies are not solitary: they come as a coordinated ‘group intelligence’ that can hold, contain, and carry the practitioner—like a net catching what would fall into harm.
The truth in it
Safety is often collective and structural: a woven network (relationships, disciplines, guardianship) protects better than isolated force.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Rakṣā (Protective) / Apotropaic troop-invocation
Its aim
To summon an attendant host that forms a mesh-like enclosure around the patron, functioning as a living protective net.
Word by Word
Pada patha
तस्य । ए॒षः । मारु॑तः । ग॒णः । सः । ए॒ति । शि॒क्याऽकृ॑तः ।
- तस्यै
- to herPronounस्त्रीलिङ्गे चतुर्थी-एकवचनम् (दत्तिव्) — ‘तस्यै’ = ‘तस्याः/तस्यै’ (to her)Role सम्प्रदानRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → तस्यै (तद्-शब्दः)
- एषः
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्ताRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → एषः
- मारुतः
- Marut-like; belonging to the MarutsMarut-like, of the Maruts (storm/warrior troop; energetic attendants)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्ता (एषः … मारुतः) / विशेषणम्Root मारुत (प्रातिपदिक; मरुत्-सम्बद्ध) → मारुतः
- गणः
- troop, hosttroop, host, company (organized collective force)Nounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्ताRoot गण (प्रातिपदिक)
- सः
- he/that (one)he/that one (the troop itself, as a unit)Pronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्ताRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → सः
- एति
- goes, comes, proceedsgoes/comes (approaches in attendance)Verbलट् (वर्तमाने), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (क्रिया) — कर्तृ-सम्बन्धः ‘सः’Root इ (धातु) — ‘to go’
- शिक्याकृतः
- made/formed as a ‘śikyā’ (sling/bag); sling-shapedAdjective (past participle)पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (एषः/गणः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role विशेषणम्Root शिक्या (प्रातिपदिक ‘झोली/थैली/स्लिङ्ग’) + कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त, क्त) ; समास/तत्पुरुषः: शिक्या-कृत
Sandhi Notes
- तस्यै | एषः | मारुतः | गणः | सः | एति | शिक्याकृतः । (i) तस्यै + एषः → तस्यैषः (स्वर-सन्धिः: एषः-आदौ ‘ए’ इत्यस्य संयोगः) । (ii) शि॒क्याकृ॑तः = शिक्या + कृतः (कृ धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘कृत’), समासेन ‘शिक्याकृत’ इति विशेषणम् ।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (anukramaṇī-dependent)
- Devata
- Marut-gaṇa (as attendants of the invoked sovereign power)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (shorter, 1-line cadence)
- Rasa
- Vira and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa explains the Marut-gaṇa as the energetic retinue of the invoked sovereign power. ‘śikyākṛta’ is taken as ‘net-like/sling-like arrangement’: a clustered, interlaced formation—apt for Atharvanic imagery of binding and enclosing (a protective mesh).
Anukramaṇī-dependent; Atharvanic transmission for AVŚ 13.4
Troop-invocation (gaṇa) and enclosure imagery; converting meteorological divinities (Maruts) into domestic guardians.
Shows a hallmark Atharvan move: translating a cosmic retinue into a tangible household metaphor (the hanging net) for protection.
Marut-gaṇa (attendants of Mahendra/Indra)
Storm-winds that move in disciplined companies; they clear, surround, and energize the space of the sovereign.
Can ‘shake loose’ stagnation and fear; supportive for lethargy framed as tamasic heaviness (wind/energy mobilization).
Forms a living mesh—swift, vigilant, and surrounding—blocking intrusion and dispersing malevolent approach.
Compressed anuṣṭubh segment (2 pādas × ~8) functioning as a brisk tag-line.
Short cadence used as an apotropaic ‘seal’—common in Atharvan refrains and ritual snippets.
Quick, snapping arrival-feel—summoning a troop.
Creates immediacy: the host is ‘here’ and ‘coming,’ then instantly ‘formed’ as enclosure.
The priest prepares a physical analogue of ‘śikyā’ (a small netted pouch or sling) or gestures a netting motion with the hands.
While reciting, he symbolically ‘hangs’ protection over the head/threshold (upari-bandhana).
He then circumambulates once, imagining the Marut-host interlacing like a mesh around the space.
Kauśika Sūtra: protective net/binding metaphors (bandhana) and gaṇa-invocations in rakṣā rites; exact sūtra mapping for AVŚ 13.4.8 requires paddhati verification.
Atharvan as bandhana-kartṛ: creates an enclosing ‘net’ of protection through mantra plus a net/pouch analogue.
Recite while hanging a small cloth-bag/mesh near the threshold or bed as a mnemonic ‘net’ of protection.
At dawn with the surrounding verses; also at nightfall as a boundary-setting.
Householder recitation; a helper may physically ‘hang’ the śikyā-object during chanting.
General fit with Kauśika rakṣā where physical enclosures/knots/household objects are paired with brief invocations; exact sūtra depends on ritual framing.
Use as a short protective affirmation when leaving home, imagining a mesh of safety around you.
Śikyā (hanging net/bag) as protective mesh metaphor; Marut-host (gaṇa) as energetic guardians
śikyā as household object-metaphor; can be ritually substituted by an actual hanging net/bag near bed/door as a reminder of enclosure.
The ‘substance’ is woven structure: protection as interlaced strands—social, ritual, and energetic—suspending danger away.
Summon a guardian retinue that encloses the patron like a hanging net, preventing entry/impact of harm.
Gaṇa-invocation + enclosure-metaphor (śikyā) = imaginal construction of a protective boundary.
Intrusion, evil influence, ‘falling into’ danger, unseen approach.
- mārutaḥ gaṇaḥ
- storm-vitality as guardians; coordinated protective impulses
- śikyā
- mesh-enclosure; apotropaic ‘carrier’ that suspends danger away from the body/house
- kṛta
- protection is constructed—ritually and psychologically—through deliberate formation
Visualize a breathable net of wind-light around the body, flexible yet impenetrable.
Maṇipūra (protective vigor) with supportive Anāhata (bounded openness).
Light, rhythmic breathing; feel ‘winds’ forming a ring on exhale.
Alert, guarded composure (rakṣā-bhāva) without aggression.
Recite 3 times, then imagine the net extending one arm’s length in all directions; keep it ‘hung’ around you during transitions.
Keep crisp articulation; treat as a ‘call-and-form’ formula.
tásya | eṣáḥ | māru̍taḥ | gaṇaḥ || sáḥ | éti | śikyā́-kṛtaḥ (maintain compound break).
Bright, commanding but not harsh.
Effective as a short refrain while physically ‘hanging’ or ‘tying’ a symbolic object (cloth bag/cord) as boundary-marker.
3 times
Entering crowded/unstable environments; feeling psychically ‘exposed’; household boundary-setting.
Before stepping out; at dusk; during travel; before sleep.
Sense of being backed by a protective network; reduced vulnerability and startle-reactivity.
No herb appears; instead a material-culture object (śikyā net/pouch) provides the operative analogue. Atharvanic efficacy often transfers from tangible binding devices to verbal ‘binding’ and back again.
It presumes domestic objects and household architecture (hanging/threshold) as ritual sites, with the priest converting everyday technology (net/pouch) into sacral protection—an interface of household economy and priestly expertise.
‘śikyā’ is more domestic-technical than typical Rigvedic diction; the compound ‘śikyākṛta’ exemplifies Atharvanic concretization—turning a household implement into a ritual-visual epithet.
Through correspondences between ‘mesh/binding’ and protection: what is interlaced cannot be penetrated. The Marut-host supplies force; the net-form supplies structure—together producing an efficacious enclosure.
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