Atharva Veda 3.13.4: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 13, Mantra 4
Sukta 13
एको॑ वो दे॒वोऽप्य॑तिष्ठ॒त् स्यन्द॑माना यथाव॒शम्। उदा॑निषुर्म॒हीरिति॒ तस्मा॑दुद॒कमु॑च्यते
éko vo devó ’py átiṣṭhat syándamānā yathāvaśám | úd ā́niṣur mahī́r íti tásmād udakám ucyate
One god among you took his stand, while ye flowed on at will. ‘The mighty ones brought it up,’—thus; therefore it is called udaká, the Water.
તમામાં એક દેવ સ્થિર ઊભો રહ્યો, જ્યારે તમે ઇચ્છાનુસાર વહેતા રહ્યા. ‘મહાનીઓએ તેને ઉપર લાવ્યું’—એમ; તેથી તેને ‘ઉદક’ (જળ) કહેવામાં આવે છે.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (unspecified)
Devata: Āpas / presiding Deva over waters (not explicitly named here)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable)
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa reads the first hemistich as asserting a single presiding deity who ‘stands’ over the waters’ free flow. The second hemistich offers an etymological explanation: udaka is so named because the great waters ‘raise up’ (ud-√nī) or ‘bring forth’ the water—supporting the ritual notion that water is an emergent, life-bearing substance.
To authorize water’s potency through etiological naming and the idea of a presiding divine regulator, strengthening confidence in consecrated water.
Consecration by mythic authorization: water becomes an empowered carrier for cleansing, cooling, and restoring order (ṛta) in the body/mind.
Supports āpya-dravya function: hydration, cooling pitta, soothing vāta by stabilizing ‘flow’; used as anupāna (vehicle) for remedies.
Hydration and ritual reassurance/placebo-enhanced compliance; water as a safe carrier for oral rehydration or calming routines.
bhaisajya
Ritual water used for drinking/aspersion/bathing.
To authorize and intensify the potency of ritual water by grounding it in a cosmological etiology and presiding regulation.
Nāmadheya/etiological speech-act (name-derivation) + installation of a presiding deva within the substance.
Impurity, inauspiciousness, diffuse ‘unregulated’ forces (seen as causes of malaise).
An etiological (name-explaining) statement about water: while the waters flow freely, one presiding deva “stands” among them; because “the mighty ones brought it up,” it is called udaká (water).
The psyche’s “flow” (feelings, impulses, thoughts) becomes healing when a steady regulating intelligence is present. Naming (udaka) is not mere label but a ritual act that stabilizes trust in water as a carrier of order and cure.
Life’s primal fluidity becomes beneficent when guided by a single stabilizing principle (dharma/ṛta). Consecration works by aligning substance (water) with cosmic governance and meaningful speech.
- āpaḥ / udakám
- the life-field of flow: vitality, purification, emotional-current, medium of blessing
- devaḥ (ekaḥ)
- regulating consciousness; the one stabilizer within multiplicity
- syandamānāḥ
- uncontrolled dispersion; the untrained mind’s movements
- yathāvaśám
- impulse-driven movement; natural tendency without restraint
- ud-ānīṣuḥ (udānīṣur)
- drawing healing potency upward; retrieval of life-essence from depth
- mahīḥ
- great powers—waters as vast mothers; also potent forces of restoration
- ucyate
- the performative power of vāc: naming authorizes efficacy
Stabilize inner ‘flow’ by invoking a single steady witness within changing sensations and thoughts.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (water/flow) with support from Ājñā (regulating intelligence).
Slow nasal breathing; exhale-lengthening to ‘govern’ flow (e.g., 4–6 inhale, 6–8 exhale).
See a clear stream; within it a luminous still pillar (the presiding deva) making the waters orderly and safe.
Śānta-dhāraṇā (calm, steady attention).
Recite, then drink a few sips mindfully; note the shift from scattered to regulated attention.
Recite in AV-style with clear udātta emphasis on accented syllables; keep a steady, declarative cadence.
Maintain the contrast of ‘ekaḥ … atisṭhat’ (firm) versus ‘syandamānāḥ’ (flowing) by slight rhythmic shaping.
udakám: short u-, dental -d-, clear -ka-, syandamānāḥ: palatal ‘sy’, nasalization in -mā-, atisṭhat: retroflex ṣṭh cluster—articulate cleanly
Clear, steady, consecratory (not emotional).
Often used as a ‘setting’ verse before other water-healing verses; treat as authorization (adhiṣṭhāna) mantra.
3
Preparing consecrated water for illness, anxiety, or household purification.
Before sipping/sprinkling/bathing; before giving medicine mixed with water.
Increased sense of safety and order; supports calming and compliance with hydration/cleansing routines.
Use only clean potable water; mantra is not a substitute for medical care in serious illness.
पदच्छेदः (सन्धि-विग्रह): एको॑ → एकः; दे॒वोऽपि → देवः अपि (अः + अ → ओऽ); अतिष्ठ॒त् (अ + तिष्ठत्, लुङ्-रूप); स्यन्द॑माना → स्यन्दमानाः (पादान्त-प्रयोगे बहुवचन-प्रथमा); यथाव॒शम् → यथा अवशम्; उदा॑निषुर्म॒हीरिति॒ → उद् आनिषुः महीः इति; तस्मा॑दुद॒कमु॑च्यते → तस्मात् उदकम् उच्यते (त् + उ → द् उ, वैदिक-सन्धि).
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