Sukta 25
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (exact r̥ṣi not specified in the provided excerpt; commonly anonymous/Angiras-type attribution in AV healing clusters)
Devata: The charm’s target is the disease-agent (vākāḥ) as a personified affliction; operative power is the mantra itself (brahman)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (Atharvanic healing verses frequently approximate anuṣṭubh; exact metrical scan may be irregular)
Mantras
Mantra 1
मन्याविनाशनम् पञ्च॑ च॒ याः प॑ञ्चा॒शच्च॑ सं॒यन्ति॒ मन्या॑ अ॒भि। इ॒तस्ताः सर्वा॑ नश्यन्तु वा॒का अ॑प॒चिता॑मिव
A charm for the undoing of wrath: the five—and the fifty—that gather and assail as wraths; from hence let them all vanish away, like cows of the untended that stray.
Mantra 2
स॒प्त च॒ याः स॑प्त॒तिश्च॑ सं॒यन्ति॒ ग्रैव्या॑ अ॒भि। इ॒तस्ताः सर्वा॑ नश्यन्तु वा॒का अ॑प॒चिता॑मिव
The seven, and the seventy also, which gather and press upon the neck— from hence let all those Vākā-disorders vanish away, as (spots) of the wasting one (pass off).
Mantra 3
नव॑ च॒ या न॑व॒तिश्च॑ सं॒यन्ति॒ स्कन्ध्या॑ अ॒भि। इ॒तस्ताः सर्वा॑ नश्यन्तु वा॒का अ॑प॒चिता॑मिव
The nine, and the ninety also, which gather and press upon the shoulder— from hence let all those Vākā-disorders vanish away, as (spots) of the wasting one (pass off).
Frequently Asked Questions
In AV 6.25, vākāḥ are treated as personified eruptive or pressure-like afflictions—agents that ‘gather and press upon’ the body and can be commanded to leave.
The counting formula ‘totalizes’ the illness: it ritually includes every hidden strand of the affliction, so the command ‘let them all vanish’ leaves nothing behind.
The verses themselves prescribe no medicine; the primary instrument is the spoken charm with a banishing gesture. Some traditions add washing or a simple protective thread, but these are optional supports.
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