Atharva Veda 5.19.5: Kanda 5, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 19, Mantra 5
Sukta 19
क्रू॒रम॑स्या आ॒शस॑नं तृ॒ष्टं पि॑शि॒तम॑स्यते । क्षी॒रं यद॑स्याः पी॒यते॒ तद् वै पि॒तृषु॒ किल्बि॑षम्
krūrám asyā́ āśásanaṁ tṛṣṭáṁ piśitám asyate | kṣīráṁ yád asyā́ḥ pī́yate tád vái pitṛ́ṣu kílbiṣam ||
Cruel is the eating of her—her flesh is devoured in greedy thirst; and the milk of her that is drunk, that verily is guilt among the Fathers.
Grausam ist ihr Verzehr: in gierigem Durst wird ihr Fleisch verschlungen. Und die Milch von ihr, die man trinkt — das ist wahrlich Schuld (kilbiṣa) unter den Vätern, den Pitṛs.
The meaning
What it says
The verse condemns the cruel act of consuming a Brahman’s cow—devouring her flesh in greedy thirst—and declares that even drinking her milk becomes a transgression recorded as guilt in the realm of the Fathers (pitṛs).
The inner meaning
Unrestrained appetite (tṛṣṇā) turns nourishment into moral injury: when desire overrides reverence, one internalizes “ancestral guilt,” i.e., a deep psychic stain that disrupts continuity with one’s lineage and conscience.
The truth in it
Food is never merely material; it participates in an ethical ecology. When sustenance is taken through harm, exploitation, or sacrilege, it rebounds as social and spiritual debt that corrodes belonging across generations.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Deterrent curse) / Dharmic-social regulation
Its aim
To stigmatize consumption of a Brahman’s cow (meat or milk) as a cruel act producing ancestral-world guilt.
Word by Word
Pada patha
क्रूरम् । अस्याः । आशसनम् । तृष्टम् । पिशितम् । अस्यते । क्षीरम् । यत् । अस्याः । पीयते । तत् । वै । पितृषु । किल्बिषम् ।
- क्रूरम्
- cruel, harshcruel, dreadful; of grim consequenceAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (विशेषणरूपेण ‘आशसनम्’ इत्यस्य)Root क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्याः
- of herPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of her’)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आशसनम्
- eating/consumption; devouringthe eating/consumption; (also ‘injury by eating’)—the act of devouring as offenseNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (वाक्ये ‘अस्यते’ इत्यस्य कर्तृपदम्)Root आ-शस् (धातु) → आशसन (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; भाव/करणार्थ)
- तृष्टम्
- parched/dried; hardthirsted-for, greedily desired; consumed with cravingAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (विशेषणरूपेण ‘पिशितम्’ इत्यस्य)Root तृष् (धातु) → तृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; भूतकृदन्त)
- पिशितम्
- flesh, meatflesh; meat (explicitly marking slaughter-food)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (यत् ‘अस्यते’—भक्ष्यते)Root पिशित (प्रातिपदिक; ‘मांस’)
- अस्यते
- is eaten/consumedVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot अस् (धातु; ‘भक्ष्/अद्’ अर्थे वैदिकप्रयोगः)
- क्षीरम्
- milkmilk; the cow’s nourishing essenceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (यत् ‘पीयते’)Root क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- which/thatwhich/that whichPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (सम्बन्धसूचकं—‘that which’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्याः
- of herPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of her’)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पीयते
- is drunkis drunk; taken inVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि (passive)Role क्रियाRoot पा (धातु; ‘पिब्’ अर्थे) → पीयते (कर्मणि)
- तत्
- thatPronoun (demonstrative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Kartā/प्रत्यवस्थान (copular subject: ‘that indeed is…’)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वै
- indeedindeed, verily (emphatic particle)Indeclinableअव्ययRole सम्बोधक/निपात (emphasis)Root वै (निपात)
- पितृषु
- among the Fathers (manes)among the Fathers (ancestral realm); in relation to the PitṛsNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (locative: ‘among/in the fathers/manes’)Root पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- किल्बिषम्
- sin, guilt, offencesin, stain, transgression; a guilt that clings and bears fruit after deathNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole प्रत्यय (predicate noun with implied ‘अस्ति’)Root किल्बिष (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- क्रूरम् अस्याः आशसनम् तृष्टम् पिशितम् अस्यते । क्षीरम् यत् अस्याः पीयते तत् वै पितृषु किल्बिषम् । Sandhi:
- (1) क्रूरम॑स्या = क्रूरम् + अस्याः (म् + अ → म् अ; संहितायां ‘मस्या’ इव)
- (2) यद॑स्याः = यत् + अस्याः (त् + अ → द् अ; जश्त्व)
- (3) तद् वै = तत् + वै (त् + व् → द् व्; जश्त्व)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition
- Devata
- Pitṛs (as moral witnesses) and brahma-tejas (as sanctioning force)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Raudra and Bhayankara
Sayana emphasizes that both meat and milk of the sacral cow are tainted: the sin is not only social but eschatological, reaching the Pitṛ-world. ‘Pitṛṣu kilbiṣam’ indicates obstruction of ancestral satisfaction (śrāddha efficacy) and post-mortem demerit.
Unknown (Anukramaṇī attribution to be verified for AVŚ 5.19); Atharvan–Āṅgirasa milieu
Dharmic-social regulation through apotropaic imprecation; sacral protection of brahmanic property and persons
Represents Atharvanic moral magic: speech acts enforce taboo and protect the brahmanic-sacral economy by projecting consequences into pitṛ-loka.
Pitṛs (Fathers) as moral witnesses; Brahma-tejas as sanctioning force
Pitṛs preserve lineage-order and receive offerings; as witnesses they register breaches that disrupt ancestral continuity. Brahma-tejas functions as the sacral heat that penalizes violations against brahmanic sanctity.
Protects the brahmanic sphere by stigmatizing sacrilegious consumption; deters taboo-breaking through fear of ancestral guilt and social-spiritual exclusion.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables (with Atharvanic flexibility and sandhi-driven contractions)
Mild irregularity possible due to compounded/participial clusters (e.g., tṛṣṭaṃ piśitam) typical of AV ethical-imprecatory diction
Clipped, juridical cadence; accusatory and declarative
Produces a ‘verdict’ effect—each pāda lands like a pronouncement, suitable for deterrent recitation.
Recite as a public admonitory formula at cattle-related rites (branding/protection) to sacralize the herd.
In expiation, recite while offering milk/ghṛta (not from the offending cow) to the fire, redirecting ‘milk’ from sinful drinking to lawful oblation.
Conclude with sprinkling and a vow of abstention (saṁyama) for the offender.
Kauśika Sūtra: AV 5.19 employed in prāyaścitta and rāṣṭra-protection sequences concerning brahma-droha and cattle-violations (general rubric).
Atharvan as expiator and moral-technologist: he converts a socially disruptive act into a ritually containable fault through mantra + oblation + vow.
Recited as a deterrent formula in disputes over cow-produce, theft, or tabooed consumption; can be used in a household admonition context to reinforce brahmanic hospitality boundaries.
When suspicion of transgression arises; during reconciliation/settlement discussions
A brahman reciter or elder pronounces as a social-ritual warning; functions like a spoken ‘ban.’
Ethical vow-taking around non-violence and respect for sacred/communal resources; recitation as a reflective restraint practice.
piśita (meat); kṣīra (milk); pitṛ-loka (ancestral sphere as moral ledger)
Meat and milk are not treated as neutral substances but as carriers of adharmic charge when sourced through taboo-violation; pitṛ-loka functions as the ‘container’ in which that charge is stored as kilbiṣa.
Ethical deterrence around harm and exploitation in food systems; parallels to moral injury/shame dynamics in psychology.
Potential violator/consumer of the Brahman’s cow or its produce
To stigmatize and ritually mark the consumption of a Brahman’s cow (meat or milk) as cruel and ancestrally culpable, thereby deterring the act and socially ‘binding’ the offender with guilt.
Verbal imprecation + moral reclassification (food → offense) + appeal to pitṛ-loka as an inescapable witness-realm.
Sacrilege against brahmanic property; erosion of social-ritual order
- क्रूरम् (krūram)
- violence normalized as consumption; moral numbness
- आशसनम् (āśasanam)
- appropriation; predatory taking
- तृष्टम् (tṛṣṭam)
- craving/tṛṣṇā as the driver of ethical collapse
- पिशितम् (piśitam)
- the stark materiality of harm; tabooed gain
- क्षीरम् (kṣīram)
- legitimate nurture turned illicit by context; “stolen blessing”
- पितृषु (pitṛṣu)
- intergenerational moral ledger; communal memory
- किल्बिषम् (kilbiṣam)
- pollution/debt that follows the agent beyond this life
Transforming craving (tṛṣṇā) into discernment (viveka) about harm and consequence
Moderate, steady nāsikā-breathing; exhale on the ‘verdict’ words (krūram, kilbiṣam) to release compulsive appetite
Ethical recollection (smṛti) and restraint (yama-like orientation)
Contemplate food as relationship: source, harm, and lineage. Resolve to take nourishment without cruelty; dedicate meals mentally to pitṛs through gratitude rather than debt.
Samhitā-style accenting with udātta/anudātta/svarita as transmitted; keep the emphatic stress on krūram and kilbiṣam.
Land the caesura after āśasanam; give clear separation to kṣīraṃ yat… / tad vai…
Firm, admonitory, ‘court-of-dharma’ tone
Best used as a deterrent recitation; avoid casual chanting over food—treat as a boundary-setting formula.
Boundary disputes, unethical appropriation of protected resources, or when restraining harmful consumption habits
Before taking a vow of restraint; when counseling someone tempted toward exploitative gain
Strengthens conscience, deters taboo-violation, reinforces respect for protected persons/resources
Not for shaming vulnerable individuals; apply as ethical instruction, not as license for coercion or abuse
Again non-botanical: the ‘pharmakon’ is moral. Milk and meat are treated as carriers of ritual contagion; ingestion becomes the mechanism by which guilt is internalized and transmitted into the ancestral register.
It polices boundaries of permissible consumption by tying Brahman property to cosmic sanction. The Pitṛs are recruited as enforcers, extending Brahman-centered norms into the afterlife economy of merit.
The explicit moralization of diet (meat/milk) and the phraseology of ‘kilbiṣa’ in relation to Pitṛs is more developed than typical RV usage, aligning with Atharvanic concern for domestic transgression and its unseen consequences.
Gopatha’s linkage of correct offerings to Pitṛ-satisfaction underwrites the threat: wrongful consumption disrupts the sacrificial/ancestral circuit, producing ‘kilbiṣa’ that manifests as misfortune and impaired rites.
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