Atharva Veda 6.40.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 40, Mantra 2
Sukta 40
अ॒स्मै ग्रामा॑य प्र॒दिश॒श्चत॑स्र॒ ऊर्जं॑ सुभू॒तं स्व॒स्ति स॑वि॒ता नः॑ कृणोतु । अ॒श॒त्र्विन्द्रो॒ अभ॑यं नः कृणोत्व॒न्यत्र॒ राज्ञा॑म॒भि या॑तु म॒न्युः
asmái grāmā́ya pradíśaś cátasra ūrjáṃ subhūtáṃ svastí savitā́ naḥ kṛṇotu | aśátrv índro abháyaṃ naḥ kṛṇotv anyátra rā́jñām abhí yātu mányuḥ ||
For this our village may Savitar make welfare—nourishing strength, good being—in the four quarters. May Indra, foe-dispelling, make fearlessness for us; elsewhere, against the kings, let wrath depart.
Für dieses unser Dorf — in den vier Himmelsrichtungen — möge Savitar Heil bereiten: nährende Kraft, gutes Gedeihen, Wohlergehen. Möge Indra, der Feinde niederstreckt, uns Furchtlosigkeit schaffen; und der Zorn — möge anderswohin gehen, fort von den Königen.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition
Devata: Savitar; Indra; Manyu (as hostile force to be redirected)
Chandas: Triṣṭubh tendency (two long pādas; protective-political style)
Primary: vira
Secondary: shanta
Sayana glosses ‘grāma’ as the inhabited, ritually bounded space; ‘pradiśaś catasraḥ’ indicates a complete protective enclosure. ‘Manyu’ is treated as a real, transmissible hostile force; the mantra does not merely calm it but redirects it ‘elsewhere’—specifically toward rival ‘kings’, reflecting political competition and boundary anxiety.
To secure the village in all quarters with welfare and to divert hostile wrath toward external political rivals.
Indirect: reduces collective stress and threat perception; supports social stability which protects health determinants (food, safety).
Community ‘ojas’ metaphor via ūrj; calming of manyu parallels pitta/rajas pacification at the social level.
Community safety interventions; stress-buffering through perceived security and cohesion.
mixed
Hostile forces associated with rival rulers (rājñām) and their aggression.
Secure welfare and nourishment in all directions for the village; establish fearlessness; divert hostile wrath outward toward external rivals.
Directional installation (dig-vyāpti) + deity empowerment (Savitar/Indra) + transference/expulsion of manyu (redirective banishment).
Political hostility, raids, intimidation, social unrest.
Village welfare: nourishment (ūrj), auspiciousness (svasti), stable good-being (subhūta).
A village-protection prayer: Savitar is asked to establish welfare, nourishment, and good-being in the four quarters; Indra is asked to make fearlessness; hostile wrath (manyu) is redirected elsewhere, toward rival kings.
Social fear and political threat are managed by two moves: (1) stabilize the community’s life-force (ūrj, subhūti, svasti) in every direction; (2) redirect anger away from the vulnerable center. The mantra treats ‘manyu’ as a transferable current that can be diverted.
Communal well-being depends on both nourishment and boundary-making: prosperity must be distributed in all directions, and destructive emotion must be displaced from the center of life.
- ग्राम (grāma)
- the lived social body needing a protective perimeter
- प्रदिशः चतस्रः (pradiśaś catasraḥ)
- total environmental field; directional vulnerabilities
- ऊर्ज् (ūrj)
- resilience, communal vitality
- सुभूत (subhūta)
- harmonious social health
- स्वस्ति (svasti)
- protective fortune; stable conditions
- अशत्रु-इन्द्र (aśatru-indra)
- assertive boundary-defense; deterrence
- मन्यु (manyu)
- hostile intent/collective rage that must be rerouted
Expand protective awareness to the four quarters; stabilize communal intention as a field of svasti.
Maṇipūra (will/agency) balanced by Anāhata (benevolence).
Square breathing (4-4-4-4) while mentally placing svasti in east/south/west/north.
Golden Savitar rays extending to four directions; Indra as a forward-facing shield; a dark stream of manyu pushed beyond the boundary line.
Calm command—non-reactive strength.
Begin with svasti intention for all; then set boundaries without hatred; end by releasing manyu outward, not storing it within.
Clear, declarative Atharvanic chant; emphasize cadence at ‘svasti’ and ‘abhayam’.
Maintain separation of compounds: aśatru-indraḥ; do not blur pradiśaś catasraḥ; keep manyuḥ as a sharp final expulsion.
pradiśaś: palatal ś, not retroflex ṣ, aśatru: short a + śa, avoid ‘ashatru’ with retroflex, rājñām: conjunct jñ, nasalized properly
Public, steady, boundary-setting.
Often effective when paired with walking the perimeter and voicing the final ‘anyatra… manyuḥ’ as an outward-directed dismissal.
Community conflict, fear of external threat, need for collective welfare and morale.
Before community meetings, during unrest, before important village events, at boundary-marking.
Strengthened sense of communal safety; reduced hostility within; clearer boundaries against external aggression.
Avoid using the ‘wrath transfer’ line to justify real-world harm; maintain ethical restraint and focus on de-escalation.
पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्य): अस्मै | ग्रामाय | प्रदिशः | चतस्रः | ऊर्जम् | सुभूतम् | स्वस्ति | सविता | नः | कृणोतु || अशत्रु | इन्द्रः | अभयम् | नः | कृणोतु | अन्यत्र | राज्ञाम् | अभि | यातु | मन्युः । विशेष-सन्धि/रूप-टिप्पणी: (1) ‘प्रदिशश्चतस्रः’ = ‘प्रदिशः चतस्रः’ (विसर्ग + च → श्च). (2) ‘अशत्र्विन्द्रो’ = ‘अशत्रु इन्द्रः’ (उ + इ → वि; संहितायां ‘अशत्र्विन्द्रः’). (3) ‘कृणोत्वन्यत्र’ = ‘कृणोतु अन्यत्र’ (उ + अ → व). (4) ‘अभि यातु’ संहितायां ‘अभि या॑तु’ इति; ‘अभि’ उपसर्गवत् क्रियाविशेषणम्। (5) ‘नः’ वैदिके षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एन्क्लिटिक-रूपेण प्रयुज्यते; प्रथम ‘नः’ = ‘of/for us’ (षष्ठी), द्वितीय ‘नः’ = ‘to us’ (चतुर्थी) इति ग्रहणम्।
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