Mantra 23

Sukta 6

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

यआमं मांसमदन्ति पौरुषेयं च ये क्रविः । गर्भान् खादन्ति केशवास्तानितो नाशयामसि

IAST Transliteration

yé āmáṃ mā́ṃsam adánti paúruṣeyaṃ ca yé kravíḥ | gárbhān khā́danti keśávās tā́n itó nāśayāmasi ||

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Those who eat raw flesh, and those raw-flesh devourers who feed on human (flesh); the hairy ones who chew up embryos—those from hence we cause to perish.

Translation

जो कच्चा मांस खाते हैं, और जो क्रवि (कच्चे-मांस के भक्षक) मनुष्य-देह का भक्षण करते हैं; जो केशव (रोमयुक्त) गर्भों को चबाते हैं—उन सबको हम यहाँ से नष्ट कर देते हैं।

Word by Word

यामम्a watch of the night / a night-period

मांसम्flesh

अदन्तिthey eat

पौरुषेयम्human (belonging to a man)

चand

येwho (those who)

क्रविःa raw-flesh eater; a flesh-devouring being

गर्भान्embryos / fetuses

खादन्तिthey devour

केशवाःthe Keśavas (hairy ones; a class/name of demons)

तान्them

इतस्from here; hence

नाशयामसिwe drive away / we destroy

Attribution

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (unspecified).

Devata: Rakṣas/pisāca adversaries (as targets); protective speech-act as operative ‘deity’.

Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable).

Mantra Rasa

{"primary_rasa":"raudra","secondary_rasa":"vira","emotional_arc":"From disgust and fear at predation to forceful triumph through expulsion.","listener_experience":"Protective fury; a sense of taking back the womb-space.","intensity":8}