Sukta 17
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (specific ṛṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī; commonly Atharvan/Angiras-type for protective hymns).
Devata: Protective power personified as Sikātāvatī and the Bow (Dhanuḥ), with Bṛhatī as magnified might.
Chandas: Likely Anuṣṭubh/related short meter; ‘bṛhatī’ here is primarily adjectival/personified (meter-identification requires padic count confirmation from a critical text).
AV 1.17 এটা সংক্ষিপ্ত আথৰ্বণিক ৰক্ষামন্ত্ৰ; ইয়াৰ উদ্দেশ্য ৰক্ষাক স্থিৰভাৱে স্থাপন কৰা আৰু ঢিলা হোৱা, সৰি যোৱা বা ভাবুকি/আক্ৰমণত পৰি বিঘ্নিত হোৱা দেহগত/গঠনগত শৃঙ্খলাক পুনৰ সঠিক কৰি তোলা। ই সকলো অৱস্থানত (তল–দূৰ/বাহিৰ–মধ্য) এক স্থিতিকাৰক শক্তি স্থাপন কৰে, নাড়ী-স্ৰোত আৰু অংগ-প্ৰত্যংগক ‘শৃঙ্খলিত’ কৰে, আৰু শেষত সিকাটাৱতী আৰু উচ্চ ধনুঃ ৰূপে ব্যক্ত এক চাৰিওফালৰ বাধা নিক্ষেপ কৰে—যাতে ৰক্ষিত পৰিসৰ গলি নাযায় আৰু কল্যাণ দৃঢ় হৈ থাকে।
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
रुधिरस्रावनिवृत्तये धमनीबन्धनम्। अ॒मूर्या यन्ति॑ यो॒षितो॑ हि॒रा लोहि॑तवाससः । अ॒भ्रात॑र इव जा॒मय॒स्तिष्ठ॑न्तु ह॒तव॑र्चसः
ৰুধিৰস্ৰাৱণ নিবৃত্তিৰ বাবে ধমনীবন্ধন। আনন্দহীন হৈ যায় সেই স্ত্ৰীগণ—হিৰা-বৰ্ণ, ৰক্তসদৃশ বস্ত্ৰপৰিধান কৰা। ভ্ৰাতৃহীন জামাই-সম্বন্ধীয় আত্মীয়ৰ দৰে, যশ হ্ৰাসপ্ৰাপ্ত হৈ, সিহঁতে স্থিৰ হৈ থাকক।
Mantra 2
तिष्ठा॑वरे॒ तिष्ठ॑ पर उ॒त त्वं ति॑ष्ठ मध्यमे । क॒नि॒ष्ठि॒का च॒ तिष्ठ॑ति॒ तिष्ठा॒दिद्ध॒मनि॑र्म॒ही
অধম স্থানে থিয়াহ; দূৰ স্থানে থিয়াহ; আৰু তুমি, মধ্যত থিয়াহ। কনিষ্ঠিকা আঙুলিও দৃঢ়ভাৱে থিয়াই থাকে; নিশ্চয়েই তাই থিয়াই থাকক—অচল, অকম্পিত।
Mantra 3
श॒तस्य॑ ध॒मनी॑नां स॒हस्र॑स्य हि॒राणा॑म्। अस्थु॒रिन्म॑ध्य॒मा इ॒माः सा॒कमन्ता॑ अरंसत
এশ ধমনীৰ, হাজাৰ হিৰণাৰ (সুৱৰ্ণ-সূতাৰ) — এই অস্থিধাৰী মধ্য অঙ্গসমূহ, প্ৰান্তসমূহৰ সৈতে একেলগে, যথাযথভাৱে শৃঙ্খলিত হৈ স্থিত হ’ল।
Mantra 4
परि॑ वः॒ सिक॑तावती ध॒नूर्बृ॑ह॒त्यऽक्रमीत्।तिष्ठ॑ते॒लय॑ता॒ सु क॑म्
তোমালোকৰ চাৰিওফালে বালুবহনকাৰী (শক্তি) আগবাঢ়িল; মহান ধনু আগুৱাই আহিল। ই স্থিৰ হৈ থিয় আছে—গলি নাযাবা; শুভ কল্যাণ (সুকম্) আনক।
Inside Sukta 17
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn begins by commanding the protective agency to ‘stand’—installed in lower, outer/far, and middle positions—so nothing is displaced.
- What it asks
That the body/space be set in correct order (channels, middle members, ends), and that protection remain fixed and unshaken.
- Where its power lies
The verses speak performatively: what is named is made to stand; the ordered arrangement ‘duly sets itself,’ and the encircling power advances around the beneficiaries.
- How it closes
A final perimeter-seal: Sikātāvatī and the lofty Bow step forth all around—‘stand fast, do not dissolve’—ending with the wish for fair welfare (su-kam).
Famous verses
tiṣṭha… madhyame / anirmāhī
śatasya dhamanīnām… sahasrasya hiraṇām
pari vaḥ sikātāvatī dhanūrbṛhatī’kramīt
Kind of hymn
Abhicarika / Apotropaic (Protective warding; boundary-defense)
What it is for
To fix a protective agency in every position, restore internal order (channels/limbs), and create an unbreakable encircling defense that blocks enemies and preserves welfare.
Who it is for
Householders and ritual specialists seeking boundary-defense for a person, household, or settlement; also healers/charmer-priests addressing loosened joints, fracture-like disarray, or systemic ‘unsettling’.
Also used as
- Rakṣā (apotropaic protection)
- Bhaisajya (restoration/setting of bodily order)
- Shāntika (pacificatory stabilization)
The deity
A personified defensive potency that encircles and hardens the boundary (pari), using sand/grit imagery (sikātā) and the bow as a repelling weapon-symbol; ‘bṛhatī’ functions as ‘the great/lofty’ force that makes the protection expansive and unbreakable.
Powers of the deity
- Encircles and seals a protective perimeter (pari-bandha)
- Repels hostile approach, sorcery, and intrusion (apotropaic recoil)
- Stabilizes what is loosened: limbs, joints, channels, and the installed charm
- Orders the body’s ‘channels’ and members so the whole stands correctly
- Prevents dissolution/undoing of the rite (“do not melt/dissolve”)
Why the deity is called
Invoked to establish a firm, all-around defensive barrier and to ‘set’ the protected person/body in correct order so that harm, loosening, and hostile counteraction cannot take hold.
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgiras-type seer (anukramaṇī varies)Atharvan. Rakṣā (apotropaic warding), maṇi/amulet-installation, and bhaisajya-style ‘setting’ charms for bodily integrity (bones, limbs, channels).
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 1.2 (rakṣā/warding type, Atharvanic attribution common)
- AV 1.6 (protective/repellent type in early AV collections)
- AV 2.31 (rakṣā/amulet-oriented type, Atharvanic cluster)
Preparing for the rite
- Choose a clean boundary-space (threshold, bed-space, or perimeter of the dwelling/person).
- Prepare a small quantity of clean sand/grit (sikātā) or earth; optionally mix with water for sprinkling.
- If using a maṇi/amulet, tie it with a cord/thread; keep a bow or bow-symbol (reed/wood) present as a repellent emblem.
- Seat the beneficiary facing east or toward the protected boundary; establish silence and intention (saṃkalpa) for ‘standing firm’ (tiṣṭha).
The rite
- Recite the fixing/stabilizing verse(s) while touching or indicating lower/outer/middle positions on the body or boundary (as in 1.17.2).
- Recite the ‘ordering of channels/members’ verse while laying hands lightly on torso and limbs (center and extremities) to ‘set’ them (as in 1.17.3).
- Recite the encircling-barrier verse while circumambulating the person/space or sprinkling sand in a ring (pari) and presenting the bow-symbol outward (as in 1.17.4).
- Conclude by tightening the amulet-knot/cord and declaring firmness and welfare (su-kam).
What it needs
- Sand/grit (sikātā) or clean earth
- Thread/cord for binding (amulet cord)
- Amulet/maṇi (optional, implied by installation language)
- Gold/golden element (hiraṇya) as bead/foil/thread (optional, per 1.17.3 imagery)
- Bow or bow-symbol (dhanuḥ) as protective emblem
When
At dawn or before a journey; also immediately after a fright, quarrel, suspected hostile rite, or when instability/dislocation is perceived.
The main substance
Sand/grit (sikātā) used to mark and harden a protective ring
Amulets
- Maṇi/amulet tied with a cord
- Hiraṇya (gold bead/foil/thread) as a protective ‘golden’ component
- Bow or bow-symbol (dhanuḥ) displayed outward as repellent emblem
How it is prepared
Form a ring of clean sand around the person/space (or sprinkle in a circumambulating line); tie the amulet securely; optionally add a small gold element to the cord and ‘set’ it with the stabilizing recitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used to establish a firm, all-around protective boundary and to stabilize what feels loosened or unsettled—both in a person (limbs/channels) and in a protected space (home, threshold, travel).
Sikātāvatī is a personified protective force associated with sand/grit—imagery of hardening and sealing a perimeter—advancing ‘all around’ to prevent intrusion and undoing.
Traditionally the imagery is enacted with a sand/earth ring and a bow (or symbol) as a repellent sign, but the core function is the spoken installation—‘stand fast’—which can be performed with minimal materials such as a cord/amulet and a marked boundary.
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