Atharva Veda 19.39.2: Kanda 19, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 39, Mantra 2
Sukta 39
त्रीणि॑ ते कुष्ठ॒ नामा॑नि नद्यमा॒रो न॒द्यारि॑षः । नद्या॒यं पुरु॑षो रिषत्। यस्मै॑ परि॒ब्रवी॑मि त्वा सा॒यंप्रा॑त॒रथो॒ दिवा॑
trī́ṇi te kúṣṭha nā́māni nadyamāŕo nadyā́riṣaḥ | nadyā́yāṃ púruṣo riṣat | yásmai paribrávīmi tvā sāyáṃprā́tar átho dívā ||
Three are thy names, O Kuṣṭha: River-slayer, River-unharmed. At the river a man is injured; for whom I speak thee round about—at eve, at morn, and also by day.
कुष्ठ, तुम्हारे तीन नाम हैं। नदियों को तुम मारते हो, लेकिन तुम खुद नदी से सेफ रहते हो। जब कोई नदी में तकलीफ़ में पड़ता है, मैं तुम्हे बुलाता हूँ। सुबह, शाम, या दिन में किसी भी वक़्त तुम उसकी मदद करो।
The meaning
What it says
Three operative names of Kuṣṭha are declared—‘River-slayer’ and ‘River-unharmed’ among them. A man is harmed at the river; the speaker ‘speaks thee around’ for someone continuously—at evening, morning, and by day.
The inner meaning
Rivers are liminal zones: crossing, travel, exposure, and contagion risk. Naming the herb in multiple aspects creates cognitive mastery over uncertainty; continuous recitation builds a stable protective rhythm across time cycles.
The truth in it
Names organize experience: by giving precise, repeated language to protection, communities reduce risk and fear at dangerous thresholds (water, travel, transition).
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic prophylaxis
Its aim
To secure continuous protection for a person exposed to river-associated harm (injury/illness), by deploying the operative names of Kuṣṭha and encircling recitation.
Word by Word
Pada patha
त्रीणि । ते । कुष्ठ । नामानि । नद्य-मारः । नद्य-अरिषः । नद्यायम् । पुरुषः । रिषत् । यस्मै । परि-ब्रवीमि । त्वा । सायम्-प्रातर् । अथो । दिवा
- त्रीणि
- threethree; a ritual-theological number marking completeness and multi-aspect powerAdjective (numeral)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole Karma (नामानि इति विशेषणम्)Root त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you/yourthy/for thee; addressing Kuṣṭha as a personified agentPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (possessor)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- कुष्ठ
- O Kuṣṭha (medicinal herb)O Kuṣṭha; vocative, directly activating the herb-deityNoun (herb name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot कुष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
- नामानि
- namesnames; secret/operative designations that confer control and efficacyNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (अस्ति/भवन्ति इति अध्याहृतम्)Root नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नद्य
- Nadya (river-born/river-related; a name)Noun/Adjective (name/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root नद्य (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-सम्बद्ध)
- मायारः
- Māyāra (the wondrous/magical one; a name)Noun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root मायार (प्रातिपदिक; माया+अर)
- नद्य
- Nadya (a name)Noun/Adjective (name/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root नद्य (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-सम्बद्ध)
- रिषः
- Riṣa (harm/disease; a name)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root रिष (प्रातिपदिक; ‘हानि/क्षति’ अथवा ‘रोग’)
- नद्यायाम्
- in the riverNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरुषः
- a man/persona man/person; the patient or any human subjectNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
- रिषत्
- is harmed/suffers injuryis harmed, is injured; the feared outcome to be preventedVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (परस्मैपद)Role क्रियाRoot रिष् (धातु; हिंसायाम्/क्षतौ)
- यस्मै
- to whomfor whom/to whom; the beneficiary of the recitationPronounचतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around; forth (as preverb)Indeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRole क्रियाविशेषणम्Root परि
- ब्रवीमि
- I speak/tellVerbलट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन (परस्मैपद)Role क्रियाRoot ब्रू (धातु; वचने)
- त्वा
- youthee; the herb addressed/installed through speechPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सायम्
- in the eveningIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root सायम्
- प्रातर्
- in the morningIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root प्रातर्
- अथ
- and then/alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/अनन्तर्य-अव्ययRole सम्बन्धसूचकRoot अथ
- दिवा
- by day/in the daytimeby day; completing the full diurnal cycleIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root दिवा
Sandhi Notes
- त्रीणि ते कुष्ठ नामानि | नद्य मायारः नद्य रिषः | नद्यायाम् पुरुषः रिषत् | यस्मै परि ब्रवीमि त्वा सायम् प्रातर् अथ दिवा ||
- 1) नद्यमा॒रो → नद्य + मायारः (अ/आ-सन्धि; पदपाठे पृथक्)
- 2) न॒द्यारि॑षः → नद्य + रिषः (य्-आगम/सन्धि-लेखन)
- 3) नद्या॒यं → नद्यायाम् (सप्तमी-एकवचन; वैदिक-लोप/संक्षेप)
- 4) सा॒यंप्रा॑त॒रथो॒ → सायम् + प्रातर् + अथ (समासवत् संधि-लेखन)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic transmission.
- Devata
- Kuṣṭha (oṣadhi-devatā).
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (to be verified).
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa emphasizes nāma as a locus of power: knowing/uttering the ‘three names’ stabilizes the herb’s efficacy. The ‘river’ is read as a site of peril (exposure, contagion, liminality), hence the need for paribrū (protective over-recitation). The temporal triad (evening–morning–day) signals uninterrupted guarding, matching the charm’s prophylactic intent.
Atharvanic tradition (oṣadhi transmission; specific r̥ṣi per anukramaṇī not provided here)
Name-magic (nāma-śakti) for oṣadhi, prophylaxis at liminal sites (water crossings), continuous-time protective recitation.
The mantra displays Atharvanic onomastics: the herb’s ‘names’ are treated as deployable powers; speech encircles and guards across the whole day-cycle.
Kuṣṭha (oṣadhi-devatā)
A guardian of crossings and watery thresholds; an herb-power that neutralizes river dangers and grants safe passage/health continuity.
Protects against injuries/illness associated with rivers (accident, exposure, water-borne affliction) through prophylactic empowerment.
Temporal-total protection (evening–morning–day) and spatial enclosure (pari-).
4 × ~8; longer compounds may slightly stretch pādas.
Name lists and deictics often create metrical unevenness; AV recitation prioritizes intelligibility of names.
Enumerative and cyclical; the time-terms (evening/morning/day) create a daily rhythm.
Supports habitual prophylaxis; works well as a repeated daily charm before travel or water contact.
The priest prepares Kuṣṭha (held, worn, or placed in water/near river depending on local practice).
He recites the mantra while making a circling gesture around the patient (or around the amulet), matching ‘paribrávīmi’.
The charm is repeated at daily transition times (evening, morning, daytime) to maintain a continuous protective field, especially when the patient frequents the river.
Kauśika Sūtra: protective pary-ukti (paribrū) and oṣadhi-binding usages in bhaiṣajya contexts.
Atharvan as guardian-reciter: he ‘encloses’ the patient with speech and installs the herb’s named potency as a standing protection.
Before going to the river (washing, fetching water, travel), recite while touching the herb bundle/amulet; optionally circle it around the person three times (echoing ‘three names’) and again at dusk and dawn for continuity.
Before river contact; repeated sāyam and prātar; optionally at midday for ‘divā’ completeness.
Householder practice; a community healer may prepare the herb bundle.
Combine with practical water safety (supervision, life jacket, hygiene) and use the mantra as a focusing routine for cautious behavior.
Kuṣṭha (as named power); River (nadyā: liminal/contagion-prone space)
Implied possibility: carry Kuṣṭha as a sachet/amulet when going to the river.
Explicit: नदी (nadyā) river as liminal and hazardous domain.
Water is both life-giver and risk; the herb’s three names domesticate that ambiguity—one name conquers, one remains unharmed, and the third (implicit) completes the triad, sealing protection.
River-associated harm: injury, exposure, and implicitly water-borne/liminal afflictions; also general vulnerability at crossings.
Nāma-śakti + continuous recitation: the herb’s names are invoked as functional powers; ‘paribravīmi’ encircles the beneficiary in protective speech.
Prophylaxis (rakṣā) around āpas exposure; conceptually linked to avoiding nidāna (risk factors) and adding protective rasāyana-like support.
Risk mitigation at water sites (safety practices, hygiene) plus anxiety reduction through routine protective ritual.
A specific person (yasmai) traveling/working near a river.
Provide continuous, all-times protection for someone exposed to river dangers by deploying Kuṣṭha’s operative names and encircling speech.
Name enumeration (threefold) + verbal circumambulation (pari-) + temporal totalization (evening/morning/day).
Accidents, injuries, water-borne harms, liminal ‘spirit’ dangers.
- त्रीणि… नामानि (trīṇi… nāmāni)
- tripartite sealing; completeness across times/directions/aspects
- नद्य-मारः (nadya-māraḥ)
- conquers river-borne dangers (currents, pathogens, spirits)
- नद्य-अरिषः (nadya-ariṣaḥ)
- invulnerability at thresholds; immunity/resilience
- नद्यायम् (nadyāyam)
- liminal exposure point; site of accidents/contagion
- परिब्रवीमि (paribravīmi)
- verbal circumambulation; protective enclosure via vāc
- सायंप्रातर्… दिवा (sāyaṃprātar… divā)
- continuous coverage; temporal totality of protection
Threshold mindfulness: before crossing/approaching water, pause and recite to stabilize attention and reduce impulsivity.
Mūlādhāra (safety)
Three slow breaths aligned with the ‘three names’; exhale gently on each name.
A three-banded protective ring around the body; river water appears clear and non-threatening; the traveler crosses safely.
Alert calm (sattvic vigilance).
Use as a pre-action ritual: recite, then consciously review one practical safety step (footing, weather, sanitation).
Gentle, even; treat the name-list as the mantra’s ‘operative core.’
Pause slightly after each name; keep ‘paribravīmi’ smooth to suggest encircling continuity; articulate time-terms distinctly.
Protective, calm, conversational-sacral.
Recite in sets of three (echoing trīṇi nāmāni), optionally at three times of day to literalize the temporal formula.
3 times
Work/travel near rivers; bathing/water collection; anxiety about accidents or water-borne illness.
Immediately before river contact; repeat at dusk and dawn during travel periods.
Traditional prophylactic confidence; improved mindful caution and steadiness at risky thresholds.
Maintain real-world water safety and hygiene; do not rely on mantra alone for hazardous crossings or contaminated water.
The plant’s efficacy is mediated through its ‘names’: the mantra treats nomenclature as a technology of activation. The botanical is thus doubled as a semiotic object—its epithets are themselves curative instruments.
Protection is not merely a matter of carrying an herb; it requires authorized knowledge of its ‘three names’ and the correct temporal regimen of recitation—specialist expertise that consolidates priestly authority.
The explicit focus on secret/operative names and the paribrū ‘speak around’ idiom reflects Atharvanic charm-style pragmatics. The river as a locus of harm is a more domestic-ritual framing than typical RV praise-poetry.
Gopatha’s emphasis on brahman as enclosing protection aligns with ‘paribrávīmi’: speech forms a boundary. The repeated temporal performance (morning/evening/day) matches the Brahmana logic of maintaining ritual continuity to sustain effects.
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