Atharva Veda 18.4.50: Kanda 18, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 4, Mantra 50
Sukta 4
एयम॑ग॒न् दक्षि॑णा भद्र॒तो नो॑ अ॒नेन॑ द॒त्ता सु॒दुघा॑ वयो॒धाः । यौव॑ने जी॒वानु॑प॒पृञ्च॑ती ज॒रा पि॒तृभ्य॑ उप॒संप॑राणयादि॒मान्
éyam agan dakṣiṇā́ bhadrató no anéna dattā́ sudúghā vayodhā́ḥ | yáuvane jīvā́n anupapṛ́ñcatī jarā́ pitṛ́bhya upasáṃparāṇayād imā́n ||
Hither hath Dakṣiṇā come, auspicious unto us—by this, when duly given, well-milking, setting vigor. Sprinkling the living with youth, may she, when age draws on, convey these unto the Fathers, leading them safely over.
दक्षिणा अभी यहाँ आ गई है, हम सब के लिए अच्छी बात है। जब यह दी जाती है, तो ताकत देती है, जैसे गाय दूध देती है। यह जवान लोगों पर यूथ की बारिश करती है। जब बुढ़ापा आता है, तो यह उन्हे पितरों के पास ले जाती है, सेफ करके पहुँचा देती है।
The meaning
What it says
Dakṣiṇā (the ritual gift) comes auspiciously; when properly given she is ‘well-milking’ and bestows vigor. She sprinkles the living with youth, and when old age arrives she conveys them safely to the Fathers.
The inner meaning
Ethics of reciprocity: generosity now produces vitality and social harmony; later, a life lived with giving ripens into a peaceful, timely death and confident ancestral transition.
The truth in it
Giving sustains life—materially and spiritually; the same current that nourishes youth also becomes the bridge to a good death.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika + Funeral-ethic (prosperity now; orderly death later)
Its aim
To harness dakṣiṇā as a prosperity-generator that grants youthful vigor to the living and ensures a proper, non-violent transition to the Pitṛs in old age.
Word by Word
Pada patha
एयम् । अगन् । दक्षिणा । भद्रतः । नः । अनेन । दत्ता । सु-दुघा । वयः-धाः । यौवने । जीवान् । अनुपपृञ्चती । जरा । पितृभ्यः । उप-संपराणयात् । इमान् ।
- आ
- hither, towardsIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root आ (उपसर्ग) / अव्यय
- इयम्
- this (woman/this one)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अगन्
- came, has comehas come, has arrived (successful arrival of the gift-power)Verbलुङ् (अorist), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot गम् (धातु)
- दक्षिणा
- the dakṣiṇā (sacrificial fee/gift)Dakṣiṇā (sacrificial gift), personified as beneficent potencyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (इयम्-दक्षिणा समानााधिकरण)Root दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
- भद्रतः
- from auspiciousness; auspiciouslyauspiciously, from the good side; bringing good fortuneAdjective (used adverbially)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (अव्ययीभाव-प्रायः)Role ApādānaRoot भद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to us / for usto us/for us (the household)Pronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अनेन
- by this; with thisby this (act/means: by this dakṣiṇā-giving)Pronounपुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दत्ता
- givenParticipleभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā/विशेषण (दक्षिणायाः)Root दा (धातु) → दत्त (कृदन्त)
- सुदुघा
- yielding well; richly milkingwell-milking, yielding abundantly (like a good cow; prosperity metaphor)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā/विशेषण (दक्षिणायाः)Root सु-दुघा (प्रातिपदिक; सु + दुह्-सम्बद्ध)
- वयोधाः
- bestowing vitality/age; life-sustainingNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā/विशेषण (दक्षिणायाः)Root वयो-धा (प्रातिपदिक; वयस् + धा)
- यौवने
- in youthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot यौवन (प्रातिपदिक)
- जीवानु
- following life; living on (continuously)Indeclinableअव्यय (अनु-युक्त क्रियाविशेषण)Root जीव (धातु) + अनु (उपसर्ग) → जीवानु (अव्यय/क्रियाविशेषण-प्रायः)
- उपपृञ्चती
- mixing in; joining; addingParticipleवर्तमानकर्तरि कृदन्त (शतृ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā/विशेषण (दक्षिणायाः)Root उप-प्रच्/पृच् (धातु) → उपपृञ्चत् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- जरा
- old ageold age, senescence (the approach of decline)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (द्वितीय-खण्डे)Root जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
- पितृभ्यः
- to the Fathers/ancestorsto/for the Fathers (destination of the aged/dead; proper transition)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- उपसंपराणयात्
- may (she/it) lead/bring near completelymay it lead up and convey over completely (conduct safely to the next state)Verbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ्-प्रायः, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन (आदेशार्थ/प्रार्थनार्थ)Root उप-सम्-परि-आ-नी (धातु) → नय (प्रेरणे) / नी (नयने)
- इमान्
- these (persons/things)these (our people; the present living community)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘एयमगन्’ इति संहितारूपम् → ‘आ + इयम् + अगन्’। ‘भद्रतो नो’ इति ‘भद्रतः + नः’। ‘यौवने जीवानुपपृञ्चती’ इति ‘जीवानु + उपपृञ्चती’ (अनु-पूर्वक क्रियाविशेषणवत्)। ‘पितृभ्य उपसंपराणयादि॒मान्’ इति ‘पितृभ्यः + उपसंपराणयात् + इमान्’।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- AV 18 funeral corpus (variable).
- Devata
- Dakṣiṇā (personified); Pitaraḥ (as final destination).
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh-like.
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
Sāyaṇa strongly personifies Dakṣiṇā: when properly ‘given’ she becomes sudughā (like a cow of plenty) and vayodhā (installer of vitality). She first ‘anoints’ the living with youth/strength; later, at the proper time, she ‘conducts’ them to the Fathers—i.e., ensures a timely, orderly death and ancestral transition, not premature or inauspicious.
Anonymous/variable (AV 18 funeral corpus)
Paustika prosperity theology integrated with funeral ethics; ensuring ‘good death’ through right giving.
Distinctively Atharvanic: prosperity (paustika) is not separate from death-rite—right giving becomes a protective technology across the whole life-cycle.
Dakṣiṇā (personified gift) with Pitaraḥ as destination
Dakṣiṇā is the circulatory principle that links sacrifice, social order, and post-mortem welfare; Pitṛs receive and stabilize the lineage.
Supports vitality through social/ritual coherence; reduces fear of aging by framing it as guided transition.
Protects against untimely/violent death by idealizing jarā (ripe old age) and safe conveyance to Pitṛs.
4 × ~11; smooth narrative flow across pādas
Personification and participial chaining (anupapṛñcatī) typical of AV style; slight flexibility in internal resolution.
Auspicious, forward-flowing; less ‘sealing’ than burial verses, more ‘life-current’ cadence.
Invokes a feeling of abundance and continuity; suitable for gifting moment within śrāddha.
At the formal presentation of dakṣiṇā to the officiant(s), recite the mantra to ‘activate’ the gift as beneficent power.
Optionally touch the patron/household members with water/grass as a symbolic ‘sprinkling’ corresponding to anupapṛñcatī (youth/vigor installation).
Close with the long-view blessing: not merely longevity, but a proper end—transition to Pitṛs in jarā (old age), avoiding untimely death.
Kauśika Sūtra: Dakṣiṇā-giving within Pitṛ rites; mantras for gift-transfer and blessing of longevity/proper death (edition-dependent).
Atharvan priest officiates the dakṣiṇā transfer, pronounces the prosperity-and-longevity formula, and ritually frames the gift as both immediate nourishment and eschatological safeguard.
Recite when giving dakṣiṇā to priests/recipients during śrāddha or funeral-related feeding; can accompany gifting of a cow or food.
At the moment of dakṣiṇā distribution and blessing; also suitable at annual śrāddha.
Receives dakṣiṇā; pronounces blessings; ensures proper distribution and ritual correctness.
KauśS: dakṣiṇā and śrāddha-related applications occur in Pitṛ sequences; exact numbering varies by edition.
Use as a blessing during charity in memory of ancestors; link giving to wellbeing and peaceful aging.
dakṣiṇā (gift); cow imagery (sudughā)
The gift is a ‘milch-cow’ that keeps yielding; it is both material transfer and a ritualized current of auspicious power that nourishes life and smooths death.
Debility/low vigor (loss of vayas), anxiety about aging and death; indirectly counters misfortune from stinginess/ritual neglect.
Paustika empowerment through dakṣiṇā: generosity as psychosocial medicine; frames aging as guided, reducing stress load.
Ojas-building through sattvic conduct (dāna) and social harmony; ‘vayo-dhā’ resonates with rasāyana ideals (supporting longevity/vigor).
Prosocial behavior linked to wellbeing; legacy-building and end-of-life planning reducing death anxiety.
The living household/lineage (‘jīvān… imān’) and their future death-transition.
Generate vigor and auspiciousness through proper gifting; ensure safe, timely transition to Pitṛs in old age.
Personification + conditional efficacy (‘when duly given’) + sprinkling imagery (transfer of youth) + guided-crossing formula.
Untimely death, poverty of vitality, inauspicious passage, ancestral dissatisfaction due to neglected reciprocity.
Wealth circulation, vitality, longevity, social honor.
- dakṣiṇā
- Reciprocity, circulation of value; ‘right exchange’ that sustains cosmic/social order
- sudughā
- Fecund generosity; gifts that keep yielding benefit
- vayo-dhāḥ
- Bestowal of life-capacity, resilience, and flourishing
- yauvana
- Fresh prāṇa, renewal, social brightness
- jarā
- Natural completion; ripening rather than decay
- upasaṃparāṇayāt
- Non-violent, orderly crossing to Pitṛ-world (good death ideal)
Contemplate dāna as a flow that keeps prāṇa moving; release hoarding and fear of loss.
anahata
Gentle coherent breathing (equal inhale/exhale) while visualizing ‘sprinkling youth’ as cool light in the chest.
A golden stream (dakṣiṇā) flows from the hands outward, returning as vitality; later it becomes a luminous path leading calmly to the Pitṛs.
Grateful, expansive steadiness.
Pair chanting with an actual act of giving (food, donation) and a vow of ethical livelihood; let the act be the ‘completion’ of the mantra.
Maintain a bright but restrained udātta lift on dakṣiṇā; keep phrasing smooth through participles (anupapṛñcatī).
Soft emphasis on sudughā and vayo-dhāḥ; gentle lengthening on jarā to mark ‘ripening’ not dread.
Warm, auspicious, blessing-like.
Efficacy is explicitly linked to correct giving (dattā): align recitation with actual dakṣiṇā/charity.
1 times
anna-dāna (feeding); go-sevā (cow care) where appropriate; journaling legacy intentions; regular rasāyana-like routines: sleep, nourishment, steady daily discipline
Annual śrāddha, memorial charity, family wishing for vitality and a peaceful aging trajectory.
During/after giving dakṣiṇā or donations in ancestors’ name; also at birthdays of elders as a longevity blessing.
Cultivates generosity, social harmony, and a calm framing of aging/death; strengthens ‘legacy’ mindset.
Avoid transactional superstition; emphasize ethical giving within one’s means.
No herb; the operative medium is economic-ritual substance (dakṣiṇā) conceptualized as a ‘milch-cow’ of vitality. The verse shows how prosperity and health are produced through correct gift-exchange, not pharmacology.
It sacralizes patronage: giving to priests is framed as a life-extending, lineage-protecting technology. The household’s well-being is tied to ritual economy, reinforcing priestly centrality and the moral necessity of dakṣiṇā.
The strong hypostatization of dakṣiṇā as an autonomous benefactress is more pronounced than many RV treatments. The life-course framing (youth → old age → Pitṛs) is a later, socially grounded ritual ideology.
Gopatha repeatedly links correct giving and correct speech to tangible results (āyus, puṣṭi). This mantra exemplifies that causal chain: dakṣiṇā is not ancillary but constitutive of efficacy, governing both prosperity and the ‘good death’ trajectory.
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