Atharva Veda 13.2.17: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 17
Sukta 2
अप॒ त्ये ता॒यवो॑ यथा॒ नक्ष॑त्रा यन्त्य॒क्तुभिः॑ । सूरा॑य वि॒श्वच॑क्षसे
ápa tyé tāyávo yáthā nákṣatrā yánty aktúbhiḥ | sū́rāya viśvá-cakṣase ||
Away—like yonder thieves—as the stars depart with the nights: (away) for Sūrya, the All-seeing.
দূৰ হওক—সেই দূৰৰ চোৰবোৰৰ দৰে—যেনেকৈ নক্ষত্ৰবোৰ ৰাতিৰ সৈতে আঁতৰি যায়; সৰ্বদৰ্শী সূৰ্যৰ বাবে (দূৰ হওক)।
The meaning
What it says
The mantra drives away hostile forces ‘like thieves’ as stars depart with the nights; it is directed to Sūrya, the all-seeing (Viśvacakṣas).
The inner meaning
Night symbolizes fear, secrecy, and intrusive thoughts. Calling the all-seeing sun is invoking lucid awareness that exposes and expels hidden anxieties, compulsions, and ‘stealth’ harms.
The truth in it
What thrives in secrecy loses power in clear seeing; illumination—ethical, mental, or social—drives out covert harm.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya / Rakṣoghna (Healing & Apotropaic)
Its aim
Expulsion of stealthy harms (night-moving disease-agents, thieves, hostile sorcery) by invoking Sūrya’s all-seeing power.
Word by Word
Pada patha
अप । त्ये । तायवः । यथा । नक्षत्रा । यन्ति । अक्तुभिः । सूराय । विश्व-चक्षसे ।
- अप
- away; forth (as a preverb/intensifier)away, off; a banishing particle used for expulsion (apakarṣaṇa)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (directional particle)Root अप (avyaya-prātipadika)
- त्ये
- those (they)those (yonder); deictic pointing to the entities being driven offPronounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Vedic form of ते)Role KartāRoot तद् (sarvanāma-prātipadika)
- तायवः
- thieves; robbersthieves/robbers; by Atharvanic extension, stealthy harms (disease-demons, night-terrors) that ‘steal’ vitalityNounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot तायु (prātipadika)
- यथा
- as; just asas, just as; establishing a simile that functions as a ritual model (dṛṣṭānta)Indeclinableसम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थक-अव्ययम्Root यथा (avyaya)
- नक्षत्राणि
- stars; constellationsNounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot नक्षत्र (prātipadika)
- यन्ति
- go; movego, depart; the desired motion of the hostile agentsVerbलट्, परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root या (धातु)
- अक्तुभिः
- with nights; by night-times (darkness)with nights/darknesses; instrumental of the nocturnal medium in which such harms operateNounपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot अक्तु (prātipadika)
- सूराय
- to the Sunto/for Sūrya; dative of the Sun as the apotropaic revealerNounपुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot सूर (prātipadika)
- विश्वचक्षसे
- to the all-seeing oneto the all-seeing one; epithet of Sūrya whose sight dispels concealmentAdjective (used as epithet)पुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम् (ending -e of -as stem in dat. sg.)Role SampradānaRoot विश्व-चक्षस् (prātipadika; bahuvrīhi/karmadhāraya compound)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) त्ये = Vedic pronominal form for ते (tad-, nom. pl. m.).
- (2) नक्षत्रा (pada-text) is taken as नक्षत्राणि (nom. pl. n.) by Vedic shortening/metrical form
- syntactically it is the subject of यन्ति.
- (3) विश्वचक्षसे is a compound stem विश्वचक्षस् ‘all-seeing’
- dative singular -e (as-stem). No further external sandhi required beyond pada segmentation: अप | त्ये | तायवः | यथा | नक्षत्राणि | यन्ति | अक्तुभिः | सूराय | विश्वचक्षसे
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Traditionally ascribed within the Sūrya-cycle of AV 13; seer attribution varies by anukramaṇī tradition.
- Devata
- Sūrya (Viśvacakṣas, the All-seeing Sun)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (with Atharvanic cadence)
- Rasa
- Vira and Bhayankara
Sāyaṇa takes tāyavaḥ primarily as ‘thieves,’ but in Atharvanic usage they signify covert injurers (rakṣaḥ, piśāca-like agencies) that move by night. The simile ‘as stars vanish at sunrise’ is a paradigmatic expulsion: the Sun’s universal eye makes hidden harm impossible; hence the mantra is fit for driving off nocturnal afflictions and secret enemies.
Sūrya-hymn tradition of AVŚ 13.2 (seer attribution variable)
Rakṣoghna expulsion by solar invocation; Atharvanic apotropaic technique using daybreak imagery to rout night-agents.
Embodies the Atharvan principle that light is a medicinal substance: Sūrya’s seeing itself is a weapon against hidden harm.
Sūrya (Viśvacakṣas)
Sūrya is the cosmic witness whose rising orders time, reveals truth, and breaks nocturnal concealment; he ‘polices’ the boundary between safe day and dangerous night.
Solar clarity counters lethargy and ‘cold/damp’ afflictions symbolically; supports restoration of circadian rhythm and vitality.
Rakṣoghna: exposes and expels stealth harms, sorcery, and night-walking dangers.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; crisp imperative opening (apa) gives punch.
Slight rhythmic freedom in the simile pāda; emphasis often on the expulsion word ‘apa’.
Quick, cutting, apotropaic.
Feels like sweeping/clearing; suitable for repeated japa during protective actions.
At dawn, the Atharvan priest leads the patient/householder to face the rising sun.
He recites the mantra while making a forward ‘casting away’ gesture (apākaraṇa) with the right hand, as if driving off thieves/demons.
Optionally, he circumambulates the patient once sunwise, ending with a final outward flick of the hand toward the west (direction of departing night).
The rite concludes with silent gazing at the sun (without strain) as a sealing act of ‘revelation’ against hidden harm.
Kauśika Sūtra: Sūrya-darśana / rakṣohāṇa-prayoga (general solar apotropaic application; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as rakṣohā (warder-off of malign beings), timing the act precisely at sunrise to align cosmic and ritual expulsion.
Recite at dawn while opening doors/windows to sunlight; also at thresholds or around sleeping space to dispel nightmares and ‘night harms’.
Pre-sunrise to sunrise (most fitting); can be used whenever fear/hidden danger is felt.
Householder performs; can be accompanied by simple sweeping outward (symbolic expulsion).
Pair with morning sunlight exposure and a brief home ‘airing out’ routine.
Sūrya (solar light as substance/agency); Night/darkness (aktú) as the hostile medium to be dispelled
Implicit: solar fire/light as the operative substance.
Light is the medicine; darkness is the carrier of harm. The mantra ‘administers’ sunrise as a purifying substance.
Stealth afflictions conceptualized as night-moving agents: feverish episodes, malaise of unknown cause, parasitic/‘invisible’ harms; also mental anxiety and nightmares in Atharvanic idiom.
Apotropaic expulsion by invoking solar seeing; ‘exposure’ is the cure—dark agents cannot remain under Sūrya’s gaze.
Supports dinacaryā (sun-aligned routine); symbolically reduces tamas and kapha-like heaviness through light/heat principle.
Anxiety reduction via morning light exposure; sleep hygiene and circadian entrainment; safeguarding against hidden risks through vigilance.
Tāyavaḥ (‘thief-like’ agents): hostile sorcery, unseen afflictions, night terrors, stealthy enemies.
Drive away covert harms as daylight drives off night-signs; establish a protective field under Sūrya’s all-seeing gaze.
Simile-based expulsion (stars departing with night) + direct address to Sūrya as cosmic witness; imperative banishing (apa).
Rakṣas-like influences, nocturnal dangers, secret malice, ‘unknown-cause’ troubles.
- अप (apa)
- banishing gesture; cutting off contamination
- तायव (tāyava)
- stealth afflictions: parasites, infections, intrusive influences, hidden malice
- नक्षत्र (nakṣatra)
- night-signs; scattered lights of partial knowledge
- अक्तु (aktú)
- medium of concealment; ignorance, vulnerability
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- clarity, immunity-by-light, witness-consciousness
- विश्वचक्षस् (viśvacakṣas)
- total surveillance of dharma; nothing hidden remains hidden
Witness-consciousness: invoke the ‘all-seeing’ awareness that notices and releases intrusive patterns.
Ājñā (clarity/seeing)
Short, firm exhale on ‘apa’ (banish), followed by calm inhale imagining sunrise filling the head and chest.
Golden light sweeping from crown to feet, pushing out grey ‘thief’ shapes beyond the boundary of the aura/home.
Alert, clear, protected vigilance.
Chant facing east; after chanting, sit silently 1 minute with eyes half-open, letting light be the ‘guard’.
Crisp Atharvanic delivery; emphasize the imperative ‘apa’ with a slight pitch lift; keep the simile line flowing, then land firmly on sūrāya viśvacakṣase.
Do not soften conjuncts: nakṣatrā; viśvacakṣase. Keep anusvāra in janām̐ (if reciting adjacent verses).
Commanding, outward-projecting.
Coordinate with a physical expulsion gesture (sweeping motion outward) to match Atharvan domestic magic style.
21 times
Fear of hidden hostility, nightmares, unexplained malaise, or entering an uncertain environment.
At sunrise; before travel; after a disturbing dream; when feeling ‘watched’ or unsafe at night’s aftermath.
Sense of safety, mental clarity, reduction of fear; traditional protection against covert harms.
For persistent anxiety/sleep disorder or illness, seek professional care; use mantra as supportive practice.
No explicit herb appears; the operative ‘substance’ is solar light. In Atharvanic therapeutics, light functions analogously to a drug: it reveals, dries, and disperses the nocturnal medium in which affliction is imagined to thrive.
The priest mediates access to cosmic surveillance (Sūrya as viśvacakṣas). Social threats (thieves) and metaphysical threats (rakṣas) are treated in one register, implying a household economy where security, health, and ritual authority are intertwined.
The diction is RV-like (Sūrya as all-seeing; expulsion formula ápa), but the semantic extension of ‘thieves’ to occult harms is characteristically Atharvanic, reflecting a broadened ritual-therapeutic pragmatics.
Gopatha frequently grounds Atharvanic efficacy in correspondences between cosmic order and domestic rite: dawn’s removal of stars models the removal of hidden harms. The mantra’s force lies in aligning speech with the observable daily victory of light over concealment.
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