Atharva Veda 14.2.10: Kanda 14, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 10
Sukta 2
ये व॒ध्वश्च॒न्द्रं व॑ह॒तुं यक्ष्मा॒ यन्ति॒ जनाँ॒ अनु॑ । पुन॒स्तान् य॒ज्ञिया॑ दे॒वा नय॑न्तु॒ यत॒ आग॑ताः
yé vadhváś candráṃ vahatúṃ yakṣmā́ yánti jánāṃ ánu | púnas tā́n yajñíyā devā́ náyantu yátá ā́gatāḥ
What wasting ills, in bridal guise, pursue the shining bridal-bearing, following the folk—those let the sacrifice-worthy Gods lead back again, to the place from which they came.
जो बीमारियाँ दुल्हन के साथ चलती हैं, लोगों के पीछे पीछे, उनको वापस भेजो। देवियाँ उनको उस जगह ले जाएँ जहाँ से वो आई थी।
The meaning
What it says
The wasting afflictions (yakṣmāḥ), disguising themselves as a “bride,” follow the people along the wedding procession; the worship-receiving gods are invoked to lead these afflictions back to their point of origin.
The inner meaning
At a liminal rite (marriage/procession), anxiety, contagion, and inherited family fears can “dress up” as celebration and attach to the couple. The mantra externalizes intrusive vulnerability and reasserts a protected boundary by returning the disturbance to its source.
The truth in it
Transitions amplify both blessing and risk; naming the threat and ritually “sending it back” restores agency, cohesion, and health.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Strikarmani (Women's Rites) with Bhaisajya (Healing) overlay
Its aim
To repel yakṣma-like afflictions that might attach to the bride or the wedding procession, sending them back to their source.
Word by Word
Pada patha
ये । व॒ध्वः । च॒न्द्रम् । व॒ह॒तुम् । य॒क्ष्माः । यन्ति॑ । जनान् । अनु॑ । पुनः । तान् । य॒ज्ञियाः । दे॒वाः । नय॑न्तु । यतः । आग॑ताः
- ये
- who (those who)which; those whoPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वध्वः
- brides / young womenbrides; women in bridal state (as vulnerable liminal persons)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot वधू (प्रातिपदिक)
- चन्द्रम्
- the moonshining/bright; (also ‘moon-like’ auspiciousness) here qualifying the bridal conveyance/rite as radiantNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- वहतुम्
- to carry / to bear (as a burden)bridal carrying/leading; the wedding conveyance/processionVerbतुमुनन्तम् (infinitive), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगःRole Prayojana (उद्देश्य) / Karma-arthakaRoot वह् (धातु) → वहतुम् (तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त)
- यक्ष्माः
- diseases; consumption (yakṣmāḥ)diseases/consumptions; personified wasting afflictions (yakṣma)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot यक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
- यन्ति
- gogo, proceed; attack/approachVerbलट् (वर्तमानकालः), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role KriyāRoot या (धातु)
- जनान्
- peoplepeople; the folk/participantsNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot जन (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after; followingafter, along; in pursuit ofIndeclinableअव्ययम्Role Upapada (क्रियाविशेषण) / Adhikaraṇa-भावRoot अनु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- पुनः
- again; backback, again; away-back (reversal)Indeclinableअव्ययम्Role Kriyā-viśeṣaṇaRoot पुनः (अव्यय)
- तान्
- themthose (yakṣmas)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञियाः
- worthy of sacrifice; sacrificialworthy of sacrifice; the properly worshipped gods (effective through yajña)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role Kartā (देवानां विशेषणम्)Root यज्ञिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- देवाः
- the godsNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- नयन्तु
- may (they) lead / bringlet them lead/drive (them away)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-समकक्षः), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role KriyāRoot नी (धातु)
- यत्
- that whichPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (सम्बन्धसूचकं) अथवा अव्ययीभाववत्Role Karma / SambandhaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आगताः
- having come; who have comethey have come; arisen/approachedVerbक्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (past participle), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role Kartā (तान् इति सम्बन्धः)Root आ-गम् (धातु) → आगत (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
Sandhi Notes
- ये | वध्वः | चन्द्रम् | वहतुम् | यक्ष्माः | यन्ति | जनान् | अनु | पुनः | तान् | यज्ञियाः | देवाः | नयन्तु | यत् | आगताः ।
- 1) वध्वश्चन्द्रम् → वध्वः + चन्द्रम् (विसर्गः ‘ः’ + ‘च’ → ‘श्च’)
- 2) यक्ष्मा यन्ति → यक्ष्माः + यन्ति (पदसंहितायां विसर्गलोप/विसर्ग-परिवर्तनं; पाठभेदेन ‘यक्ष्मा’ इति संहितारूपम्)
- 3) जनाँ अनु → जनान् + अनु (नकारस्य अनुनासिकत्वं/चन्द्रबिन्दु-लेखनं पदसंहितायाम्)
- 4) पुनस्तान् → पुनः + तान् (विसर्गः ‘ः’ + ‘त’ → ‘स्त’)
- 5) यत आगताः → यत् + आगताः (तकारस्य परे स्वर आरम्भे संहितायां लोप/सन्ध्यनुसारः; पदपाठे ‘यत्’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (vivāha hymn complex).
- Devata
- Yajñiya Devāḥ (the worship-receiving gods) as expellers; adversary: Yakṣma.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta and Bhayankara
Sayana reads yakṣma as personified disease that may ‘follow’ the bridal procession, exploiting the liminality of the bride. The gods, as yajñiya (accessible through correct worship), are invoked to ‘lead back’ the afflictions to their origin—an apotropaic reversal formula common in AV healing.
AVŚ 14.2 (marriage procession and house-entry sequence); AVŚ yakṣma-bhaiṣajya cycles (general parallel theme, not identical wording)
Atharvanic domestic tradition (AV 14.2 vivāha complex; anukramaṇī attributions vary)
Vivāha-protection, apotropaic boundary-making, and yakṣma-expulsion in household rites
Represents Atharvanic ‘benevolent magic’: the gods’ ritual legitimacy is leveraged to unmask and eject hidden affliction during a socially vulnerable passage.
Yajñiyā Devāḥ (worship-receiving gods) as expellers; adversary: Yakṣma
Guardians of ṛta through the sacrificial order; they re-route disorder (disease) away from the community and back to its improper locus.
Restorative by removal: disease is not ‘treated’ but ritually displaced and neutralized by divine authority.
Procession-protection; sealing the social body (jana) against unseen affliction.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; AV scansion may tolerate resolution/overlap around consonant clusters
Domestic-chant cadence; slightly speech-near delivery in gṛhya performance
Even, marching rhythm suitable for procession-protection
Creates a ‘forward motion’ while simultaneously performing reversal (punaḥ…nayantु), a sonic enactment of sending-back.
As the bride is set in motion (or at the moment of departure), the priest recites this mantra facing the direction of travel.
A gesture of ‘sending back’ is performed: casting away (symbolic) dust/grass or making a backward motion with the hand to enact reversal.
The party proceeds; the mantra may be repeated if ominous signs occur (stumbling, animal cries, etc.).
Kauśika Sūtra: Vivāha—protective recitations during the bride’s transport; yakṣma-repelling formulas used at departure/thresholds (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan as healer-protector: identifies disease as an external pursuer and ritually reverses its trajectory through divine authorization.
Recited during bridal procession or at thresholds to prevent ‘procession-borne’ affliction
As the party moves among people / before entering the husband’s domain
Atharvan priest or family elder recites as protective speech; may be paired with gesture of ‘sending away’
KauśS: vivāha/saṃskāra applications for AV 14.2 are traditional; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition
Use as a spoken boundary-setting prayer before major life transitions or crowded ceremonies
No materia is named; the operative ‘substance’ is vāc as pharmakon. The crowd (janān) functions as a medium of transmission; the gods function as the counter-current.
Yakṣma (wasting/consumption-like affliction; broad category of debilitating illness)
Apotropaic expulsion and reversion to source; social/ritual quarantine through speech-act
Yakṣma overlaps with kṣaya/rajayakṣmā discourse (wasting, depletion of dhātus) in later Ayurvedic framing; here treated as a roaming affliction.
Infection-control symbolism; managing ‘exposure anxiety’ at gatherings; psychosomatic stress reduction via protective ritual.
Yakṣma personifications following the people
Prevent afflictions from attaching to bride/procession; return them to origin
Naming + identification of disguise, then ‘return-to-source’ command empowered by yajña-legitimacy
Wasting illness, misfortune that ‘travels’ with crowds
- यक्ष्माः (yakṣmāḥ)
- any draining force: chronic sickness, depletion, inherited frailty, psychosocial ‘contagion’
- वध्वः (vadhvaḥ)
- masking/disguise; the way harm can appear auspicious at liminal times
- चन्द्रम् (candram)
- radiance of fortune/beauty of the bride and rite; vulnerable luminosity
- यज्ञियाः देवाः (yajñiyā devāḥ)
- ordered cosmic powers that accept offerings and restore right placement
- पुनः…नयन्तु (punaḥ…nayantु)
- reversal/uncrossing; apotropaic ‘return-to-sender’ logic
Reversal of depletion: visualize radiance protected and drains returning to their source
anahata (heart) / manipura (vitality)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana for steadiness before transitions
A luminous escort around the couple; shadow-forms turn back at the perimeter
Protective clarity (saṃyama on boundaries)
Chant with the intent ‘nothing harmful may accompany us’; end with a brief silence to ‘seal’ the boundary.
AV recitation with udātta/anudātta/svarita; keep clear udātta on key imperatives (nayantु)
Sustain udātta peaks; avoid flattening ‘yakṣmāḥ’ and ‘yajñiyāḥ’ which carry semantic weight
Firm, protective, not harsh; ‘escort’ tone
Best paired with a slight outward hand-gesture (‘send back’) at punaḥ…nayantु.
Wedding/house-entry; any public transition where ‘exposure’ feels high
Before entering crowds, before crossing into a new home, or at the start of a procession
Sense of safety, reduced fear of contagion/misfortune; strengthened communal boundary
Not a substitute for medical care for chronic wasting illness; treat as supportive ritual
No herb is named; the ‘medicine’ is the reversal trope (púnas… yátá ā́gatāḥ). In Atharvanic therapeutics, expulsion and redirection can substitute for pharmacology, especially in liminal rites.
Disease is conceptualized as a quasi-agent that targets communal events; priestly speech mediates divine power to protect the social institution of marriage, reinforcing the priest’s indispensable role in domestic transitions.
Yakṣma as a central, personified medical adversary is far more developed in AV than RV. The formula ‘send back whence it came’ is a hallmark of Atharvanic charm diction.
Gopatha tends to validate Atharvanic healing by framing afflictions as removable entities; divine ‘leading’ (nī) is a sanctioned mechanism for expulsion when properly voiced by the Atharvan.
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