Sukta 85
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras rubric; specific r̥ṣi attribution requires pada-anukramaṇī confirmation)
Devata: Varana/Vanaspati as divine healer; secondarily ‘the Gods’ as expellers of yákṣma
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; to be confirmed against metrical scansion in a critical edition)
AV 6.85 est un bref charme de guérison visant à expulser yákṣma (dépérissement/consomption) et à empêcher son retour en établissant autour du patient une limite protectrice « d’entrave ». Il associe la puissance végétale (Varana en tant que Vanaspati) à la force d’autorité de la Parole divine (Indra–Mitra–Varuṇa et tous les Dieux) ainsi qu’à la chaleur purificatrice et contraignante d’Agni Vaiśvānara. Une analogie mythique (Vṛtra retenant les Eaux) est mobilisée pour « retenir » la propagation et le mouvement de la maladie dans le corps.
Mantras
Mantra 1
यक्ष्मनाशनम्। व॒र॒णो वा॑रयाता अ॒यं दे॒वो वन॒स्पतिः॑ । यक्ष्मो॒ यो अ॒स्मिन्नावि॑ष्ट॒स्तमु॑ दे॒वा अ॑वीवरन्
Destructeur de la consomption : que Varana, ce dieu, Seigneur des arbres de la forêt, la repousse. La consomption qui est entrée en cet homme — les dieux l’ont chassée dehors et tenue au loin.
Mantra 2
इन्द्र॑स्य॒ वच॑सा व॒यं मि॒त्रस्य॒ वरु॑णस्य च । दे॒वानां॒ सर्वे॑षां वा॒चा यक्ष्मं॑ ते वारयामहे
Par la parole d’Indra, par celle de Mitra et de Varuṇa, oui, par la parole de tous les dieux, nous écartons de toi la consomption et la repoussons.
Mantra 3
यथा॑ वृ॒त्र इ॒मा आप॑स्त॒स्तम्भ॑ वि॒श्वधा॑ य॒तीः । ए॒वा ते॑ अ॒ग्निना॒ यक्ष्मं॑ वैश्वान॒रेण॑ वारये
Comme Vṛtra arrêta ces eaux, s’écoulant de toutes parts, et les retint — de même, par Agni, par Vaiśvānara, j’écarte de toi la consomption et la repousse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yákṣma is a wasting, consuming illness (often compared with chronic consumption). In this hymn it is treated as an intrusive affliction that can be expelled and kept away by mantra and protective substances.
Vanaspati means “lord of the forest/plant,” a way of personifying a powerful medicinal tree as a divine healer. The hymn asks Varana-as-Vanaspati to actively repel the disease and guard the patient.
It uses a mythic example of restraint—Vṛtra ‘checking’ the Waters—to symbolize stopping the disease’s spread and movement. Agni Vaiśvānara is then invoked to perform that restraining, purifying action in the patient.
Ask anything about Sukta 85 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.