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 पञ्च च याः पञ्चाशच्च संयन्ति मन्या अभि। इतस्ताः सर्वा नश्यन्तु वाका अपचितामिव
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
सप्त च याः सप्ततिश्च संयन्ति ग्रैव्या अभि। इतस्ताः सर्वा नश्यन्तु वाका अपचितामिव
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
नव च या नवतिश्च संयन्ति स्कन्ध्या अभि। इतस्ताः सर्वा नश्यन्तु वाका अपचितामिव
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.