Atharva Veda 11.3.67: Kanda 11, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 67
Sukta 3
३६॥ तत॑श्चैनम॒न्यैर्दन्तैः॒ प्राशी॒र्यैश्चै॒तं पूर्व॒ ऋष॑यः॒ प्राश्न॑न्
tátas ca enam anyáir dantáiḥ prāśī́r yáiś ca etáṃ pū́rve ṛ́ṣayaḥ prāśnán
Thereafter, with other teeth thou shalt eat him—even with those wherewith the seers of old did eat this (food).
फिर तुम अपने दूसरे दाँतो से उसे खाना। वही दाँत जिससे पुराने रिशि लोग यह खाना खाते थे। उनकी तरह तुम भी खाना।
The meaning
What it says
After the initial consecrated eating, the performer directs the patient to eat again “with other teeth,” explicitly aligning this act with the precedent of the ancient seers who partook of the same food/remedy.
The inner meaning
Teeth stand for functional confidence and the ability to assimilate experience; “other teeth” implies renewal—shifting from damaged, fearful, or weakened capacity to a restored instrument of taking in nourishment (physical and psychic).
The truth in it
Sustenance is not only obtained but *received* through intact instruments; tradition (ṛṣi-precedent) legitimizes healing by placing the individual’s recovery inside a proven lineage of successful restoration.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Restorative) with Paustika overtones
Its aim
Renewal of bodily faculties—especially teeth as instruments of eating—so that nourishment and wholeness can be sustained; legitimization by ancestral ṛṣi precedent.
Word by Word
Pada patha
ततः । च । एनम् । अन्यैः । दन्तैः । प्राशीः । यैः । च । एतम् । पूर्वे । ऋषयः । प्राश्नन् ।
- ततः
- then; thereafterthen, thereafter (sequence marker in ritual narration)Indeclinableअव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त, ‘from/then’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्यय (समुच्चय)Root च
- एनम्
- him/it (this one)him/it (the beneficiary or the odaná; contextually the one being fed/treated)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot एतद्/इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अन्यैः
- with otherwith other, different (i.e., not the ordinary set; suggests replacement/renewal)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- दन्तैः
- with teethNounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot दन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्राशीः
- you ate; you consumedthou didst eat / eat thou (injunctive/aorist of √aś with pra-; ritual ‘partaking’)Verbलुङ् (आorist), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot प्र + अश् (अश्नोति) धातु
- यैः
- with which (ones)with which (relative; refers to the teeth just mentioned)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचनRole KaraṇaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्यय (समुच्चय)Root च
- एतम्
- this (one)this one/this (the same beneficiary/object; deictic reinforcement)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पूर्वे
- former; earlierformer, of old (primordial precedent; ‘ancient’ authority)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषयः
- seersNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्राश्नन्
- they ate; they consumedthey ate/partook (aorist; establishes exemplary tradition)Verbलङ् (imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot प्र + अश् (अश्नोति) धातु
Sandhi Notes
- ततः च एनम् अन्यैः दन्तैः प्राशीः यैः च एतम् पूर्वे ऋषयः प्राश्नन्।
- 1) ततश्चैनम् = ततः + च + एनम् (विसर्गलोपः; च + एनम् → चैनम्)
- 2) अन्यैर्दन्तैः = अन्यैः + दन्तैः (विसर्जनीयस्य रुत्व/रेफः: -ैः + द- → -ैर् द-)
- 3) प्राशी॒र्यैश्च = प्राशीः + यैः + च (विसर्गलोपः; यैः + च → यैश्च)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic prose tradition.
- Devata
- Vital renewal through consecrated eating; implicitly Āyuṣ (life) and Puṣṭi.
- Chandas
- Prose.
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sayana reads ‘other teeth’ as renewal/replacement—an apotropaic restoration of bodily instruments (danta) enabling proper nourishment and longevity. The clause ‘as the former ṛṣis ate’ supplies pramāṇa (authoritative precedent): the rite is validated by primordial usage, making the act of eating itself a consecrated replication.
Atharvanic prose tradition (anukramaṇī-style narrative voice)
Bhaisajya and āyuṣya domestic therapeutics; consecrated ingestion and bodily-faculty restoration through lineage-authorized speech.
The ‘ṛṣi of old’ functions as a guarantor: healing is framed as re-entry into an original, normative wholeness known to the primordial seers.
Āyuṣ & Puṣṭi (implicit), empowered by Ṛṣi-pramāṇa (seer-authority)
Maintains continuity of life through nourishment and the intact functioning of bodily instruments; links individual healing to cosmic order preserved by tradition.
Restores capacity to eat/assimilate; supports regeneration of weakened faculties (teeth as emblem of bodily integrity).
Guards against decline by anchoring the act in an authoritative, time-tested model.
Prose (gadyā), Atharvanic ritual-narrative cadence
Not divided into strict metrical pādas; syntactic cola with emphasis on key lexemes (dantaiḥ, prāśīḥ, pūrve ṛṣayaḥ).
Brāhmaṇa-like instruction embedded in Saṃhitā style; formulaic repetition with small substitutions.
Incantatory through parallelism and the echo of prāś-/prāś-; steady, directive rhythm.
Creates a sense of procedural certainty—each clause feels like a ritual step that ‘clicks’ the body back into function.
Consecrate the prepared food (odaná) with the preceding wholeness-identifications.
Seat the beneficiary facing the ritual fire; the officiant touches the jaw/teeth region (or symbolically indicates it) while reciting this mantra.
Administer a mouthful (prāśana) as the mantra is spoken, framing the act as ‘eating with renewed teeth’.
Optionally repeat for a set number of mouthfuls, aligning with domestic counting conventions (e.g., threefold).
Kauśika Sūtra: prāśana rites and āyuṣya/puṣṭi procedures involving consecrated food and bodily ‘renewal’ formulae (general application; exact numbering depends on edition).
Atharvan priest as healer-operator: he synchronizes bodily touch/gesture with ingestion, and anchors efficacy by invoking ṛṣi precedent.
Administer consecrated soft food/medicine to a weakened person while reciting; emphasize the restoration of chewing strength and appetite.
During recovery, after initial offering/feeding step; ideally at a regular meal-time for ritual-natural alignment.
Householder or family Atharvan practitioner; a purohita may supervise for formal rites.
Kauśika-style therapeutic feeding sequences are typical for AVŚ 11.3 themes; exact sūtra varies by mapping of 11.3 rites in editions.
Use as a spoken affirmation during therapeutic feeding after dental treatment or during convalescence.
ओदन/food (implied object of eating); दन्त (teeth as bodily instrument and symbol of vitality)
Food is the carrier of life (āyuṣ) and fullness (puṣṭi); teeth are the ‘implements’ of receiving prosperity—thus the rite repairs the instrument so the substance can do its work.
Debility affecting eating/assimilation; implied dental weakness/decay or loss of biting strength; general wasting where nutrition cannot be properly taken.
Teeth (dantāḥ); mouth implied.
Consecrated ingestion + verbal authorization: the mantra ‘re-instruments’ the mouth/teeth and normalizes feeding by invoking ṛṣi precedent.
Supports agni/assimilation (jatharāgni via proper mastication); aligns with rasāyana logic—restoring tissues by enabling nourishment intake.
Dental rehabilitation and nutritional recovery; convalescence protocols where ability to chew and adequate intake are central.
Patient/recipient of the rite (the ‘him’ being fed).
Renewed chewing/ingestion capacity and legitimized therapeutic feeding; re-establishing bodily wholeness by restoring the ‘gate’ of nourishment.
Imitative lineage-magic (ṛṣi precedent) + performative speech over ingestion (vāc as pharmakon).
Wasting, frailty, decline of faculties; ritual ‘failure’ of nourishment.
Longevity through sustained nourishment; household vitality.
- दन्त (danta)
- vital faculty of assimilation; durability of life-force; capacity to ‘take in’ nourishment and strength
- प्राशीः / प्राश्नन् (prāśīḥ / prāśnan)
- therapeutic ingestion; sacramental participation; internalization of remedy and mantra
- पूर्वे ऋषयः (pūrve ṛṣayaḥ)
- ancestral authority; tested efficacy; continuity of healing knowledge
- ततः (tataḥ)
- ritual sequence; staged restoration (stepwise rebuilding of faculties)
Assimilation and renewal: receiving nourishment without fear, restoring trust in the body’s capacity to heal.
Manipura (digestion/assimilation) with secondary link to Vishuddha (mouth/speech as healing instrument).
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana before meals; slow exhale while mentally repeating prāś- to settle appetite and reduce aversion.
Imagine the teeth as bright, intact ‘white tools’ that cleanly receive food; the food becomes light spreading through the body.
Grounded, procedural awareness (kriyā-smṛti) rather than ecstatic absorption.
Recite mentally before eating during recovery; keep attention on calm chewing and gratitude, aligning act and word.
Atharvanic prose recitation with clear udātta emphasis on key words (dantaiḥ, prāśīḥ, pūrve, ṛṣayaḥ).
Maintain sentence-flow; slightly lengthen at ‘pūrve ṛṣayaḥ’ to mark authority-clause.
Steady, directive, reassuring.
Best paired with the act itself—recitation synchronized with offering/first bite to bind vāc to ingestion.
3 times
Recovery after illness, dental weakness, poor appetite, or convalescence where eating feels difficult.
Immediately before administering nourishing food/medicine; repeat across several meals for continuity.
Improved confidence in eating, steadier appetite, symbolic ‘re-fitting’ of bodily function to receive nourishment.
Not a substitute for dental/medical care; ensure food texture is safe for the patient’s condition.
Again the medium is alimentary rather than herbal. Teeth are treated as a therapeutic locus: the mantra ‘re-tools’ the eater, so that the food can function as restorative medicine. The rite makes ingestion itself the curative technology.
Authority is grounded in ṛṣi precedent (‘pūrve ṛṣayaḥ’). The priest mediates access to that precedent through correct recitation, reinforcing a lineage-based hierarchy of ritual expertise.
The narrative-procedural sequencing (‘tatas…’) and the quasi-instructional address are closer to brāhmaṇa/ritual prose than RV lyric address. The relative-correlative framing (‘yais…’) supports a didactic, explanatory style.
Gopatha often legitimizes Atharvanic acts by primordial exemplars and by making bodily processes (eating, breathing, speaking) into ritualized sites of efficacy. This verse exemplifies that: the everyday act of chewing is sacralized by ṛṣi-model imitation.
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