Atharva Veda 13.3.4: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 4
Sukta 3
यः प्रा॒णेन॒ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी त॒र्पय॑त्यपा॒नेन॑ समु॒द्रस्य॑ ज॒ठरं॒ यः पिप॑र्ति॒ तस्य॑ दे॒वस्य॑ क्रु॒द्धस्यै॒तदागो॒ य ए॒वं वि॒द्वांसं॑ ब्राह्म॒णं जि॒नाति॑ । उद् वे॑पय रोहित॒ प्र क्षि॑णीहि ब्रह्म॒ज्यस्य॒ प्रति॑ मुञ्च॒ पाशा॑न्
yáḥ prāṇéna dyā́vāpr̥thivī́ tarpáyaty apānéna samudrásya jaṭháraṃ yáḥ pípārti tásya devásya krúddhasyáitád ā́go yá eváṃ vidvā́ṃsaṃ brāhmaṇáṃ jinā́ti | úd vepaya rohita prá kṣiṇīhi brahmajyásya práti muñca pā́śān
He who with prāṇa refreshes Heaven and Earth, who with apāna fills the ocean’s belly—of that god, when angered, this is the offence: he who, knowing thus, wrongs a learned Brahmin. Up, make him tremble, O Rohita; waste him away: against the brahma-injurer loose forth the nooses.
वो भगवान सांस से दुनिया और धरती को ताज़ा रखता है, और सांस अंदर खींचके समुंदर को भरता है। अगर कोई जान-बूझके किसी पंडित का बुरा करे, तो भगवान गुस्सा हो जाता है। रोहिता, उसे हिला दे, उसका खतम कर। जिसने पंडित को दुख दिया, उसे पकड़के फांसी में डाल।
The meaning
What it says
The deity who refreshes Heaven-and-Earth with prāṇa and fills the ocean’s belly with apāna is invoked; wronging a learned Brahmin is declared an offense against that angered god. Rohita is commanded to make the offender tremble, waste away, and be bound by nooses.
The inner meaning
Breath is mapped onto cosmos: prāṇa as uplifting nourishment, apāna as downward containment and filling. Misuse of power against wisdom disrupts this breath-balance, turning sustaining currents into punitive depletion and constriction.
The truth in it
The same forces that sustain life (inhalation/exhalation; upward/downward currents) become destabilizing when ethics and reverence for knowledge are violated; balance is moral as well as physiological.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Punitive) with Adhyatma (breath-cosmology)
Its aim
To mobilize prāṇa/apāna cosmology as a punitive engine: trembling, wasting, and binding of the brahmajya offender.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यः । प्राणेन । द्यावा-पृथिवी । तर्पयति । अपानेन । समुद्रस्य । जठरम् । यः । पिपर्ति । तस्य । देवस्य । क्रुद्धस्य । एतत् । आगः । यः । एवम् । विद्वांसम् । ब्राह्मणम् । जिनाति । उत् । वेपय । रोहित । प्र । क्षिणीहि । ब्रह्म-ज्यस्य । प्रति । मुञ्च । पाशान्
- यः
- who (he)whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) य-
- प्राणेन
- with/in the vital breath (prāṇa)with prāṇa (in-breath; vital force)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्यावापृथिवी
- heaven-and-earth (the two)Heaven-and-EarthNoun (dual compound)स्त्रीलिङ्गः (द्वन्द्वः), द्वितीया, द्विवचनम्Role KarmaRoot द्यावापृथिवी (समास-प्रातिपदिक; द्यौ + पृथिवी)
- तर्पयति
- satisfies, nourishessatisfies, nourishes, refreshes (keeps in vigor)Verbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KartāRoot तृप् (धातु) → तर्पयति (णिच्)
- अपानेन
- with/in the downward breath (apāna)with apāna (down-breath; eliminative force)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot अपान (प्रातिपदिक)
- समुद्रस्य
- of the oceanNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- जठरम्
- belly, womb, interiorbelly, womb, cavity (reservoir; containing depth)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- who (he)whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) य-
- पिपर्ति
- fills, sustainsfills, replenishes, makes fullVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KartāRoot पॄ (धातु; पॄ/पॢ) → पिपर्ति (द्वितीयगण-लिट्/लट्-रूप; here present-like)
- तस्य
- of thatPronounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवस्य
- of the godgodNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रुद्धस्य
- of the angeredangeredAdjective (participle)पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Viśeṣaṇa (of देवस्य)Root क्रुध् (धातु) → क्रुद्ध (कृदन्त; भूतकृदन्त)
- एतत्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role Karma (with implied ‘is/constitutes’)Root एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आगः
- sin, offenceoffenceNounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role Karma (predicate/accusative sense)Root आगस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) य-
- एवम्
- thus, in this waythusIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role AdverbialRoot एवम् (अव्यय)
- विद्वांसम्
- a knowing one, learnedlearned knowerNoun/Adjective (participle used substantively)पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot विद् (धातु) → विद्वांस् (कृदन्त; वर्तमानकृदन्त/परस्मैपदी)
- ब्राह्मणम्
- a BrahminBrahminNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role Karma (apposition to विद्वांसम्)Root ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
- जिनाति
- harms, overpowersinjuresVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KartāRoot जि (धातु) / ज्या? (here: जि ‘to overpower, injure’) → जिनाति
- उत्
- up, forthupIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययम्Role Upasarga (with वेपय)Root उत् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वेपय
- make (him) tremble!make trembleVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role Kartā (imperative to addressee)Root विप्/वेप् (धातु ‘to tremble’) → वेपय (णिच्-आज्ञार्थ)
- रोहित
- O RohitaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role SambodhanaRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक; देवता/विशेषण-नाम)
- प्र
- forth, fullyforthIndeclinable (preverb)अव्ययम्Role Upasarga (with क्षिणीहि)Root प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- क्षिणीहि
- destroy! waste away!waste awayVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role Kartā (imperative to addressee)Root क्षि (धातु ‘to destroy, waste away’) → क्षिणीहि
- ब्रह्मज्यस्य
- of the Brahmin-slayer / of the sin of harming a Brahminof the brahma-injurerNounपुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role Sambandha (genitive relation)Root ब्रह्मज्य (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्मन् + ज्या/ज्य ‘injury’)
- प्रति
- back, in return, againstagainstIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role Adverbial/Upasarga (with मुञ्च)Root प्रति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- मुञ्च
- release, let loosereleaseVerbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role Kartā (imperative to addressee)Root मुच् (धातु ‘to release’) → मुञ्च
- पाशान्
- nooses, bondsnoosesNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot पाश (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी → द्यावापृथिवी (dvandva, dual object)
- (2) त॒र्पय॑त्यपा॒नेन॑ → तर्पयति + अपानेन (i + a → ya)
- (3) ज॒ठरं॒ यः → जठरम् + यः (anusvāra before y)
- (4) क्रु॒द्धस्यै॒तदागो॒ → क्रुद्धस्य + एतत् + आगः (…स्य + ए…; and final -t of एतत् before vowel; orthography in saṃhitā merges)
- (5) ए॒वं वि॒द्वांसं॑ → एवम् + विद्वांसम् (anusvāra before v)
- (6) ब्राह्म॒णं जि॒नाति॑ → ब्राह्मणम् + जिनाति (anusvāra before j)
- (7) उद् वे॑पय → उत् + वेपय (final -d assimilates to -t before voiceless/word boundary; written ud)
- (8) रोहित॒ प्र → रोहित + प्र (vocative)
- (9) पाशा॑न् → पाशान् (acc. pl.)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic/Angiras-type (anukramaṇī-dependent)
- Devata
- Rohita; prāṇa/apāna sustaining deity (Prajāpati/Āditya-like)
- Chandas
- Mixed; refrain-driven (edition-dependent)
- Rasa
- Raudra and Adbhuta
Sayana foregrounds the adhyātma correspondence: prāṇa/apāna are cosmic operators, sustaining dyāvāpr̥thivī and the ocean’s ‘belly’. The offence is therefore against the very breath-principle that maintains the cosmos; punishment is conceived as breath-withdrawal (kṣaya) and binding (pāśa).
Anukramaṇī-dependent; Atharvanic/Āṅgirasa milieu
Cosmic breath-theology applied as a juridical charm: prāṇa/apāna cosmology weaponized to restrain brahmajya.
Shows Atharvavedic ‘adhyātma-cosmos’ equivalence: physiological breath and cosmic maintenance are one continuum, enabling ritual speech to redirect breath as sanction.
Rohita as agent; prāṇa/apāna sustaining high deity (Prajāpati/Āditya-like)
Maintains cosmic respiration: nourishment of the upper-lower worlds and containment of the deep reservoir; turns punitive when sacred order is violated.
Indirect: teaches prāṇa/apāna balance as the basis of stability (though used here punitively).
Protects the learned and the rite by threatening prāṇic imbalance and binding for offenders.
Irregular cosmological clause + repeated imperative refrain; cadence carried by the refrain across the sequence.
Atharvanic prose-like expansions in the first half, stabilized by a fixed charm-refrain.
Wave-like in the cosmological description (prāṇa/apāna), then sharp in the commands.
Creates a sense of cosmic inevitability: breath fills everything—there is no escape from sanction.
Seat the performer; regulate inhalation (prāṇa) and exhalation/downward breath (apāna) while reciting the first hemistich.
At ‘tarpayati’ touch chest/heart region (nourishment); at ‘jaṭharam’ touch navel/abdomen (ocean-belly correspondence).
Bind a cord with two principal knots (prāṇa/apāna pairing).
At the refrain, direct the cord/noose toward the offender’s quarter; at ‘muñca pāśān’ enact the ‘release’ of bonds upon him.
Kauśika Sūtra: adhyātma-style recitation in brahmajya protection/punishment; accompanied by breath-control and binding acts.
Atharvan as breath-ritual operator: integrates somatic mapping (chest/abdomen) with cord-binding to externalize internal cosmology.
Protective imprecation in disputes involving teachers, officiants, or learned elders; could accompany symbolic ‘cord-casting’ away from the household boundary.
At the start of a protection rite, or during adjudication/settlement to restrain further harm.
Atharvan specialist recites; household maintains silence during the refrain for heightened effect.
Reframed as a boundary-setting prayer: ‘may harmful actions be restrained’; avoid literal malediction.
prāṇa; apāna; pāśa
Ocean (samudra) as cosmic water-reservoir; symbolizes depth, containment, and Varuṇic jurisdiction.
Breath is treated as the ‘subtle substance’ that feeds heavens and fills the deep; water-depth imagery amplifies the sense of inescapable containment for the offender.
jaṭhara (belly) appears cosmically (ocean’s belly), not as patient anatomy.
Conceptual parallel to vāta regulation and apāna-vāyu functions (containment/expulsion), but employed here as cosmological rhetoric rather than therapy.
Breath dysregulation linked to anxiety and wasting; ‘trembling’ and ‘depletion’ mirror stress responses when one feels morally/legally threatened.
Wrongdoer of a learned Brahmin.
To destabilize and restrain a brahmajya by invoking prāṇa/apāna as cosmic regulators turned punitive: trembling, wasting, binding.
Cosmic identification (breath sustains worlds) + offense declaration (āgaḥ) + imperative coercion + pāśa-binding visualization.
Violation of priestly knowledge and ritual authority.
- प्राण (prāṇa)
- uplifting life-current that ‘refreshes’ and stabilizes worlds
- अपान (apāna)
- containing, grounding current; the capacity to ‘hold’ and ‘fill’—also to expel/close
- द्यावापृथिवी (dyāvā-pṛthivī)
- total field of experience; polarity held in balance by breath
- समुद्रस्य जठर (samudrasya jaṭhara)
- cosmic reservoir; the unconscious/depth that is filled and contained
- तर्पयति (tarpayati)
- breath as nourishment and satisfaction
- रोहित (rohita)
- red punitive brilliance activating breath-cosmology as sanction
- पाश (pāśa)
- restriction of harmful agency; karmic restraint
Observe prāṇa (uplift) and apāna (ground) as ethical forces: when aligned, they sustain; when violated, they constrict.
manipura
Gentle diaphragmatic breathing emphasizing smooth exhale (apāna) to cultivate containment and restraint.
Two breath-streams: golden upward current refreshing dyāvā-pṛthivī; deep blue downward current filling an ocean-reservoir; harmful intent tied and released into the deep to dissolve.
Steady, contained vigilance.
Use as contemplation on restraint: bind your own harmful speech first; then seek restitution in the outer world.
Maintain identical melodic contour for the repeated refrain; let the cosmological portion flow slightly more legato.
Clear separation: prāṇéna … apānéna …; emphasize jaṭháraṃ with crisp retroflex ṭh.
Controlled and weighty; crescendo into the refrain.
Because breath-terms are central, avoid breath-holding while reciting; keep respiration smooth to prevent self-agitation.
7 times
When dealing with harassment, defamation, or exploitation of a teacher/mentor; also as an internal vow to restrain one’s own wrongdoing.
Before speaking in a conflict; before mediation; during a protective household rite for elders.
Strengthened boundaries; reduction of impulsive aggression; symbolic containment of harmful forces.
Do not weaponize against vulnerable persons; prioritize lawful/ethical resolution; pair with cooling practices if agitation rises.
The hymn replaces materia medica with physiological-cosmological correspondences: prāṇa/apāna are the ‘active ingredients’. The ritual body becomes the laboratory for punitive efficacy.
It intensifies Brahmin protection by tying it to the maintenance of cosmic respiration; the Brahmin is positioned as aligned with the sustaining breath-order.
The explicit prāṇa/apāna pairing and adhyātma framing anticipate later speculative idioms; the RV has breath motifs but less systematic somatic-cosmic mapping in a punitive legal refrain.
Gopatha’s Atharvanic hermeneutic legitimizes such mappings: internal breath is the microcosm of cosmic function; mantra activates that identity to punish disorder (brahmajya) through binding and depletion.
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