Atharva Veda 18.4.28: Kanda 18, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 4, Mantra 28
Sukta 4
द्र॒प्सश्च॑स्कन्द पृथि॒वीमनु॒ द्यामि॒मं च॒ योनि॒मनु॒ यश्च॒ पूर्वः॑ । स॒मा॒नं योनि॒मनु॑ सं॒चर॑न्तं द्र॒प्सं जु॑हो॒म्यनु॑ स॒प्त होत्राः॑
drapsáś caskanda pṛthivī́m ánu dyā́m imáṃ ca yóniṃ ánu yáś ca pū́rvaḥ | samānáṃ yóniṃ ánu saṃcárantaṃ drapsáṃ juhómy ánu saptá hótrāḥ |
The Drop hath streamed—along the Earth, along Heaven, along this womb, and that which is the former. The Drop that moves along the self-same womb, in ordered course—this Drop I offer, following the Seven Hotṛ-calls.
वो बूँद ज़मीन पर गिरी, आसमान तक गयी, इस जगह पहुँची और उस जगह भी जो पहले था। वो बूँद वहीं चलती रहती है जहाँ पहले थी। मैं अभी उस बूँद को बलि दे रहा हूँ, सात लोग बोल रहे हैं।
The meaning
What it says
A sacral “Drop” (drapsa)—the oblation—streams along Earth, Heaven, and the womb/source (yoni), moving in the same channel as the primordial course; the speaker offers it in sequence with the seven Hotṛ-invocations.
The inner meaning
Grief and disorientation are gathered into a single, orderly “flow.” The mind is trained to see death not as rupture but as movement along an established track—from visible stations (earth/sky) back to origin (yoni).
The truth in it
What is offered with right order (ṛta) becomes a vehicle of transition: when actions align with the deep channels of reality, passage through liminal states becomes unobstructed.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Antyeṣṭi / Sacral-cosmological offering within funerary liturgy
Its aim
To align the offering for the dead with cosmic order (earth-sky-source), ensuring unobstructed passage and correct placement in the ancestral realm through homologizing the oblation with a ‘cosmic drop’.
Word by Word
Pada patha
द्र॒प्सः । च॒स्क॒न्द॒ । पृ॒थि॒वीम् । अनु॑ । द्याम् । इ॒मम् । च॒ । योनि॑म् । अनु॑ । यः । च॒ । पूर्वः॑ । स॒मा॒नम् । योनि॑म् । अनु॑ । स॒म्-चर॑न्तम् । द्र॒प्सम् । जु॒हो॒मि॒ । अनु॑ । स॒प्त । होत्राः॑ ।
- द्रप्सः
- the drop; (sun-)drop, shining dropthe drop; a falling drop (often of soma/ghṛta/water—here a cosmically coursing ‘drop’)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot द्रप्स (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRoot च
- अस्कन्दत्
- leapt/fell/moved forthVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √स्कन्द् (गत्यादौ/पतने)
- पृथिवीम्
- the earthNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- along; after; followingalong; following; in accordance with (tracking a path)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (अनुगमनार्थे)Root अनु
- द्याम्
- the skythe heaven; skyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (द्यौः), द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot द्यौ/दिव् (प्रातिपदिक: द्याम्)
- इमम्
- thisPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole विशेषण (कर्मणः)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRoot च
- योनिम्
- womb; source; abodewomb; source; seat (ritual/cosmic origin-place)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- along; afteralong; after; according toIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अनु
- यः
- whowhich; whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRoot च
- पूर्वः
- former; earlier; primordialformer; primordial; earlier (the first source/track)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (कर्तुः)Root पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- समानम्
- same; identicalthe same; identical (same source/track)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole विशेषण (कर्मणः)Root समान (प्रातिपदिक)
- योनिम्
- womb; source; abodewomb; source; seatNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- along; afteralong; in pursuit ofIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अनु
- संचरन्तम्
- moving about; roamingVerbवर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), द्वितीया, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole विशेषण (द्रप्सम्) / कर्मणि-सम्बन्धRoot सम्-√चर् (गत्यर्थे)
- द्रप्सम्
- the drop; shining dropthe drop (as oblation-object)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot द्रप्स (प्रातिपदिक)
- जुहोमि
- I offer; I pour as oblationI offer; I pour into the fire (sacrificial oblation-act)Verbलट्, परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √हु (होमादौ)
- अनु
- following; in accordance within accordance with; following (the established hotṛ-pattern)Indeclinableअव्यय (अनुगमन/अनुक्रमार्थे)Root अनु
- सप्त
- sevenNumeralअव्ययवत्/संख्याशब्दः; (यहाँ) पुंलिङ्गे बहुवचनस्य विशेषणम्Role विशेषण (होत्राः)Root सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- होत्राः
- Hotṛ-priests; invokershotṛ-functions/offerings; the seven priestly invocations (or seven offering-calls)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Adhikaraṇa (अनु-सम्बन्धे: ‘in/according to the seven Hotṛs’) / सहचर्य-सम्बन्धRoot होतृ (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- द्रप्सः च अस्कन्दत् पृथिवीम् अनु द्याम् इमम् च योनिम् अनु यः च पूर्वः । समानम् योनिम् अनु सं-चरन्तम् द्रप्सम् जुहोमि अनु सप्त होतॄन्/होत्राः। मुख्य सन्धयः:
- (1) च॑स्कन्द → च + अस्कन्दत् (अ + स्क → स्क; त् पदान्ते छन्दसि लोप/अनुदात्त-प्रयोगभेद).
- (2) द्यामि॒मं → द्याम् + इमम् (म् + इ → मि).
- (3) जुहो॒म्यनु॑ → जुहोमि + अनु (इ + अ → य).
- (4) होत्राः: वैदिक-पाठे प्रथमा बहुवचन
- अर्थतः ‘सप्त होतॄन्’ (द्वितीया) भी सम्भव, परन्तु प्रदत्त पाठानुसार होत्राः ग्रहणम्।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Hymn-level funerary seer attribution per anukramaṇī (Atharvanic tradition).
- Devata
- Drapsa as sacralized oblation; implicitly Agni (recipient) and cosmic stations (Dyāvāpṛthivī).
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh-like cadence is plausible; exact metrical classification requires full pada scansion by edition.
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa glosses drapsa as an oblation-substance (commonly ghṛta/soma-like ‘drop’) whose cosmic movement mirrors the rite: it ‘falls/streams’ through the great stations (dyāvāpṛthivī, yoni as source-seat). ‘Former womb’ is taken as the primordial origin (ādya-sthāna). The sacrificer offers the drapsa in conformity with the established sevenfold hotṛ-pattern (saptahotrāḥ), thereby aligning domestic/funerary offering with cosmic circulation.
AVŚ 18.4 (funerary sequence, adjacent verses); AVŚ 18.2–18.3 (Pitṛ and Yama-focused materials, broadly parallel in function)
Anukramaṇī attribution for AV 18.4 (Pitṛmedha/funerary seer complex; not a single named ṛṣi in many traditions)
Antyeṣṭi/Pitṛmedha liturgy; cosmological homologization of offerings for safe passage to the ancestral realm
Represents the Atharvan craft of making a material act (a ‘drop’ into fire) into a cosmological map—speech guiding substance, substance guiding destiny.
Drapsa (sacralized oblation) with implicit Agni and Dyāvāpṛthivī
The oblation as a world-traversing carrier: it links earth–mid–heaven and the originating ‘womb’ so the rite mirrors cosmic circulation.
Re-stabilizes the psyche/household through ordered rite; ‘heals’ ritual rupture caused by death by reweaving continuity.
Protects the deceased’s transition by preventing misplacement and ritual error; protects the living by restoring correct cosmic alignment.
Triṣṭubh-like (needs pada scansion in a critical edition)
Likely 4 pādas with triṣṭubh cadence; Atharvanic diction may stretch with enclitics and compound weight
Funerary AV often shows triṣṭubh/jagatī admixture and formulaic expansions (e.g., repeated anu)
Processional, forward-driving; repetition of anu creates a ‘following’ gait
Induces a sense of guided movement/escort—appropriate for a psychopompic offering.
Kindle/maintain the ritual fire appropriate to the funerary sequence.
Take a small measured oblation (a ‘drop’) of ghṛta or other prescribed liquid.
Offer (juhoti) into the fire while reciting the mantra, mentally mapping the oblation’s course to earth, heaven, and the ‘womb/source’.
Repeat/coordinate the offering with the sevenfold hotṛ-structure as required by the rite (seven calls/acts).
Kauśika Sūtra: funerary fire-offering sequences (homa/juhoti) within Antyeṣṭi; mantra used while offering a ‘drop’ oblation (edition-dependent mapping).
Atharvan/Brahman supervises correctness; the offering-performer (householder or designated priest) pours, while the Atharvan ensures the mantra’s cosmological identification is properly intended.
During cremation/ancestral offering sequence: mentally visualize the oblation’s path while making the offering; recite to maintain correct order.
At offering moments within the funerary liturgy—especially when making liquid oblations
Hotṛ/Adhvaryu functions may be domesticated; family officiant recites while offering
KauśS: Pitṛmedha/antyeṣṭi applications broadly correspond to AV 18 materials (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition)
Can be adapted as a memorial lamp/offering with recitation emphasizing ‘ordered passage’ (non-sectarian framing).
drapsa (drop: ghee/soma/water as oblation); fire (implied by juhomi); yoni (source-seat as ritual locus)
Implicit in ‘drop’ as liquid essence; can be ghee/soma/water depending on rite-layer
Implied by juhomi (I offer into fire)
Liquid essence becomes a vehicle: when poured into Agni, it ‘streams’ through stations—earth/sky/source—turning a domestic act into a cosmic transfer.
Ritual-cognitive regulation: converting grief/liminality into ordered sequence (ṛta)
Indirect: supports sattva (mental steadiness) through rite and mantra; no direct doṣa therapy
Bereavement support/ritualized closure; structured memorial practices reducing complicated grief risk.
The deceased (preta → pitṛ) and the ritual space
Pacify the liminal danger of the funeral threshold by aligning the oblation with cosmic pathways; ensure unobstructed passage and correct ‘placement’ among ancestors.
Homologization (bandhu): mapping the drop’s course onto earth/sky/source; sequential offering with seven hotṛ-calls as an escort protocol.
Ritual obstruction, misdirection of the departed, inauspicious return/haunting anxiety
- द्रप्स (drapsa)
- condensed life-essence; the portable ‘seed’ of offering that can traverse worlds
- योनि (yoni)
- origin-point and ritual matrix; the ‘channel’ that holds continuity across death
- अनु (anu)
- alignment with tradition/ṛta; correct sequencing in rite and cosmos
- सप्त होत्राः (sapta hotrāḥ)
- complete liturgical order; totality of sacrificial speech that ‘escorts’ the dead
Flow of offering as flow of consciousness through stations (earth–sky–source)
Muladhara ↔ Sahasrara axis (earth to heaven); yoni as generative center
Slow nāḍī-śodhana or even-count breathing while internally repeating anu (following)
A single luminous drop moving upward through a central channel, then resting in a warm ‘source’ of peace
Witnessing continuity across change; non-clinging escorting awareness
Recite slowly 7 times as a ‘seven-call’ inner offering: each recitation ‘follows’ one station (earth, sky, source, past/origin, same-channel, ordered-course, offering).
Saṃhitā-style with udātta/anudātta/svarita; keep the flow through repeated anu without breaking cadence
Maintain light stress on drápsa-, and preserve the cadence across anu phrases; avoid pausing mid-compound (samānaṃ yoniṃ anu saṃcarantam)
Steady, processional, low-to-mid pitch; minimal ornament
Mark the ‘following’ (anu) as the ritual logic: each anu is an escort-step; recite while offering liquid oblation if performed ritually.
7 times
Funeral/cremation day; annual śrāddha; moments of unresolved grief
At the moment of lighting/offering (lamp, ghee, water) while contemplating ‘ordered passage’
Psychological steadiness; sense of guided transition; restoration of household calm after loss
If acute grief is destabilizing, recite with support; do not replace needed mental-health care
Though not explicitly botanical, the ‘drop’ is typically realized as ghṛta (animal-derived) or soma-analog liquid; the mantra’s power lies in cosmologizing the material: the oblation is made to ‘travel’ the same channels as cosmic fluids. This is ritual technology: substance becomes efficacious by being narrated as homologous to cosmic circulation.
The seven hotṛ-functions encode a priestly system and its authority; even in Atharvanic contexts, efficacy is tied to conformity with recognized sacrificial structures, indicating negotiation between domestic/funerary practice and śrauta prestige.
drapsa and the cosmological ‘yoni’ mapping are RV-familiar, but the explicit procedural self-reference ‘I offer … following the seven hotṛs’ reads as a more rubric-aware voice, typical of Atharvanic liturgy where mantra and action are tightly coupled.
Gopatha frequently explains efficacy via bandhu (correspondence): when the oblation is identified with cosmic entities (earth/sky/source), the rite taps their stability. This mantra is a textbook bandhu-construction: the ‘drop’ is effective because it is made cosmically continuous.
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