Atharva Veda 2.27.6: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 27, Mantra 6
Sukta 27
रुद्र॒ जला॑षभेषज॒ नील॑शिखण्ड॒ कर्म॑कृत्। प्राशं॒ प्रति॑प्राशो जह्यर॒सान् कृ॑ण्वोषधे
rudrá jalā́ṣabheṣaja nílaśikhaṇḍa kármakṛt | prāśáṃ prátiprāśo jahy arásān kṛṇv oṣadhe ||
O Rudra, Water-healing Remedy, blue-crested, worker of the rite: as counter-ingestion to ingestion, smite thou the sapless maladies; make (us whole), O Plant.
हे रुद्र, तू पानी से इलाज करने वाला है, तेरी जटा नीली है। तू यह रिचुअल करता है। जैसे कोई ज़हर खाया हो, उसके अगेंस्ट ज़हर दे के उसको मार। बीमारी को जड़ से खत्म कर, हे पोधा, हमें ठीक कर।
The meaning
What it says
Rudra is hailed as jalāṣabheṣaja, blue-crested, ritual-worker; through counter-ingestion to ingestion he is asked to strike the ‘sapless’ afflictions, with the Herb as operative agent.
The inner meaning
Rudra’s frightening power is re-figured as precise healing: the same intensity that can wound can also cauterize and cure. ‘Water-remedy’ signals cooling clarity that pacifies inflammation—physical and emotional.
The truth in it
The force that terrifies can also protect when rightly related to; healing often requires meeting pain with disciplined intensity plus cooling compassion.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing)
Its aim
To neutralize harm arising from ingestion (poisoned/inauspicious food, morbid intake) and to restore ‘rasa’ (vital sap/strength), driving out wasting ‘sapless’ conditions.
Word by Word
Pada patha
रुद्र । जलाष-भेषज । नील-शिखण्ड । कर्म-कृत् । प्राशम् । प्रति-प्राशः । जहि । अरसान् । कृणु । ओषधे ।
- रुद्र
- O RudraRudra; the fierce yet healing lord, invoked as remover of disease and wielder of medicinal powerNoun (proper/theonym)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Voc. sg.)Role सम्बोधन (addressed deity)Root रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- जलाषभेषज
- O (Rudra) whose remedy is ‘जलाष’ (healing/cooling medicine)‘water-cure’/‘water-remedy’; a healing medicament associated with cooling, washing away, and restoring (Sayana: bhaiṣajya that alleviates burning/feverish affliction)Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Voc. sg.), रुद्र-विशेषणम्Role सम्बोधन (epithet in address)Root जलाषभेषज (समास-प्रातिपदिक; जलाष + भेषज)
- नीलशिखण्ड
- O blue-crested/blue-tufted oneblue-crested/blue-tufted; epithet of the invoked healing power (often Rudra), marking a specific, recognizable form with apotropaic potencyAdjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Voc. sg.), रुद्र-विशेषणम्Role सम्बोधन (epithet in address)Root नीलशिखण्ड (समास-प्रातिपदिक; नील + शिखण्ड)
- कर्मकृत्
- O doer/performer of deedseffecter of the rite; ‘doer of the karman’—one who accomplishes the operative act (mantra + procedure) that produces the cureAdjective (agent noun)पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Voc. sg.), रुद्र-विशेषणम्Role सम्बोधन (epithet in address)Root कृ (धातु) → कृत् (कृदन्त, कर्तरि); प्रातिपदिक: कर्मकृत्
- प्राशम्
- a bite/morsel (of food)the ‘eating/ingestion’ (prāśa); the act or portion of taking in a remedy/food, here the locus of the disorderNounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (Acc. sg.)Role कर्म (object)Root प्राश (प्रातिपदिक; ‘a bite/morsel, eating’)
- प्रतिप्राशः
- the counter-bite / the bite in return (antidotal bite)counter-ingestion/antidotal taking; the remedial ‘answer’ to harmful intake (a ritual-technological countermeasure)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nom. sg.)Role कर्तृ (agent/subject)Root प्रतिप्राश (प्रातिपदिक; प्रति-प्राश)
- जहि
- slay, destroysmite, slay, drive out; imperative of expulsion used for disease-demons and morbid conditionsVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे) परस्मैपद; मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रिया (imperative action)Root हन् (धातु)
- अरसान्
- the tasteless/juiceless ones; (i.e., harmful, non-sapful/ineffective influences)the ‘tasteless/juiceless’ (a-rasa) conditions; morbid states conceived as loss/corruption of rasa (sap, vital fluid, relish), hence wasting, dryness, debilityAdjective used substantivelyपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-बहुवचन (Acc. pl.)Role कर्म (object of जहि)Root अरस (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृणु
- make, rendermake, render, effect; perform the transformation (restore rasa/health) through the medicinal actVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे) परस्मैपद; मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: कृणु = कुरु)Role क्रिया (imperative action)Root कृ (धातु)
- ओषधे
- O herb/medicinal plantO Plant/Herb (personified); the medicinal herb as an agentive being addressed directlyNoun (addressed)स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Voc. sg.)Role सम्बोधन (addressed entity)Root ओषधि (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- रुद्र | जलाषभेषज | नीलशिखण्ड | कर्मकृत् | प्राशम् | प्रतिप्राशः | जहि | अरसान् | कृणु | ओषधे । विशेषम्:
- (1) ‘कृणु’ वैदिक-प्रयोगः, लौकिके ‘कुरु’।
- (2) ‘कर्मकृत्’ = कर्म + कृत् (कृ-धातोः कर्तरि कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त), समासेन विशेषणम्।
- (3) ‘जलाषभेषज’, ‘नीलशिखण्ड’ इति बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष-समासरूपेण रुद्रस्य विशेषणानि
- मन्त्रलेखे दीर्घस्वर-स्वरित/अनुदात्तचिह्नाः (॒, ॑) उच्चारण-चिह्नाः, पदच्छेदे न बाधकाः।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution for AV 2.27 varies by anukramaṇī; commonly treated as Atharvan/Angiras-type healing seers).
- Devata
- Rudra as healer; Oṣadhi (the medicinal plant) as co-agent.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (4 pādas of ~8 syllables; Atharvanic anuṣṭubh with minor irregularities).
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
Sayana construes the opening as a cluster of epithets: Rudra is invoked specifically in his bhaiṣajya-aspect (healer), ‘jalāṣabheṣaja’ indicating a cooling/cleansing remedy that removes burning afflictions. ‘Prāśa’ is the harmful intake or the act of eating by which disorder is seated; ‘pratiprāśa’ is the remedial counter-act (antidotal ingestion or consecrated intake). ‘Arasān’ are diseases characterized by loss of rasa (vital sap/essence), hence wasting and debility; the mantra commands their expulsion and the restoration effected by the herb as a living power.
Unknown (Atharvanic healing tradition; hymn attribution varies)
Rudra-bheṣaja invocation: combining lustral water-therapy imagery with herb-based counter-ingestion against wasting/toxic harm.
Embodies the Atharvanic reconciliation of Rudra’s ‘terrible’ with ‘healing’: the same deity becomes the physician when approached with right rite (karman).
Rudra (as Jalāṣabheṣaja) with Oṣadhi
Storm-lord and liminal healer who governs toxins, fevers, and sudden afflictions; makes the rite effective and restores order in the body.
Cooling/cleansing remedy, especially for toxin/heat imagery; drives out wasting ‘sapless’ conditions and restores rasa.
Wards off malign forces entering through food/drink; protects the household through correct rite.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables; compound epithets fill pādas densely
Heavier compounds (jalāṣabheṣaja, nīlaśikhaṇḍa) produce a ‘packed’ anuṣṭubh typical of AV healing charms.
Epithets stack like a diagnostic list, then the refrain delivers the operative strike.
Invokes awe then resolves into procedural efficacy—good for rite-performance.
Prepare a medicinal medium: water infused with the relevant oṣadhi (or a decoction), treated as jalāṣa-bheṣaja.
Consecrate the remedy by reciting the mantra over the liquid and/or the herb, establishing Rudra’s healing agency and the herb’s personhood.
Administer the remedy as a ‘pratiprāśa’—a counter-ingestion—either as a sip, a measured portion, or a small consecrated food-morsel accompanied by the recitation.
Optionally perform a lustration: sprinkle the patient (especially mouth/chest) with the consecrated water to ‘wash away’ the morbid condition tied to intake.
Conclude with a final recitation over remaining remedy and dispose of it in a ritually clean place (flowing water or at the root of a medicinal plant), to carry off the expelled ‘arasa’ condition.
Kauśika Sūtra: prāśa/pratiprāśa-bhaiṣajya context (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition; applied in rites counteracting harmful ingestion and in herb-water healing performances).
The Atharvan/Brahman officiant acts as ritual-technologist: selecting the oṣadhi, consecrating water/portion by mantra, and administering the counter-ingestion while directing the expulsion (jahi) of the morbid state.
Recite over water and a prepared herb dose; use water for sipping and light sprinkling on the patient/threshold; administer the ‘counter-dose’ after suspected harmful intake.
Immediately after suspected contamination; also at dawn for restorative cooling rites.
Householder can perform; a knowledgeable practitioner may oversee Rudra-related pacification if fear is high.
Bless drinking water and prescribed medicine; pair with calm setting and hydration focus.
Oṣadhi (medicinal herb, personified); Jalāṣa-bheṣaja (water-based/cooling remedy; lustral/medicinal water); Prāśa / Pratiprāśa (ingested portion and its antidotal counter-portion)
jalāṣa / bheṣaja imagery implies lustral/medicinal water used for sipping, sprinkling, or washing.
Water cools and cleanses; herb repairs and replenishes; Rudra supplies incisive removal—together a complete Atharvanic therapeutic triad.
Wasting/debilitating conditions (arasa), toxin/poison imagery, and harm via ingestion; also feverish/inflammatory states suggested by need for jalāṣa (cooling water-remedy).
Rudra’s healing force + water-based pacification + herb as antidote; ‘counter-dose’ logic neutralizes the incoming harm.
Cooling/śīta and cleansing themes; pacifying pitta-like heat/toxicity; restoring rasa through bheṣaja and āpas symbolism.
Supportive ritual for detox/recovery from gastro-intestinal upset or inflammatory stress; emphasis on hydration and safe herbal support.
Affliction/disease-agent conceived as ‘sapless’ and draining; potentially poison/witchcraft.
Heal and protect by invoking Rudra as water-remedy; neutralize harm from ingestion through counter-ingestion; expel wasting conditions.
Epithets-as-activation (naming powers) + rite-doer assurance (karmakṛt) + antidotal reversal (prāśa/pratiprāśa).
Toxic intake, cursed food, wasting weakness, sudden illness.
- रुद्र (rudra)
- fierce healer; surgical intensity that removes what is lodged
- जलाषभेषज (jalāṣabheṣaja)
- cooling, cleansing, lustral medicine—pacification of heat/toxicity
- नीलशिखण्ड (nīlaśikhaṇḍa)
- the dark-blue storm/fire paradox—venom and antidote; depth of healing power
- कर्मकृत् (karmakṛt)
- efficacy through correct action—ritual precision as medicine
- अरसा (arasa)
- wasting, depletion, loss of essence; the condition to be expelled
Transforming fear of illness into disciplined healing attention (Rudra as inner physician).
anahata
Cooling breath (śītalī/śītkārī) if appropriate; otherwise slow nasal breathing with emphasis on exhale.
A cool blue stream washing through the body while a green herb-light seals and restores depleted areas.
Calm alertness; reverent steadiness.
Begin with one minute of quiet; recite slowly, then drink a few sips of water mindfully; end with silence to ‘set’ the remedy.
Measured, slightly lower pitch on Rudra-address; lift gently on epithets, return to steady refrain cadence.
Keep compounds clear: ja-lā-ṣa-bhe-ṣa-ja; nī-la-śi-khaṇ-ḍa.
Cool, steady, reverent; avoid aggressive tone despite protective content.
Suitable for recitation over water used both internally (sips) and externally (sprinkling), reflecting jalāṣa imagery.
9 times
After suspected food contamination, during inflammatory stress, or when illness fear needs pacification.
Before drinking water/medicine; during a quiet home healing rite.
A calmer mind, supportive sense of cleansing/cooling, and strengthened commitment to recovery.
For severe poisoning, fever, dehydration, or allergic reactions seek medical care; do not replace clinical treatment.
The mantra operationalizes the herb as an agent (oṣadhi addressed in vocative) and frames the medicine as a technologically precise counter-action: prāśa (ingestion as site of harm) is met by pratiprāśa (antidotal ingestion). The botanical is not merely pharmacological; it is ritually ‘activated’ through Rudra’s bhaiṣajya aspect and the imperative verbs (jahi, kṛṇu) that command expulsion and restoration.
Healing is mediated by a specialist (Atharvan/Brahman) who controls access to efficacious speech and correct procedure. The patient’s recovery depends on authorized ritual technology—consecration, measured administration, and the correct divine address—reflecting a social order in which expert liturgical knowledge is a form of power over bodily crisis and domestic risk (food, poisoning, impurity).
The diction is characteristically Atharvanic in its pragmatic, technical pairing of action-terms (prāśa/pratiprāśa) and its direct imperative style aimed at disease-states. ‘Arasa’ as a morbid category foregrounds a quasi-physiological notion (loss/corruption of rasa) that is less prominent as a disease-label in the Rigvedic hymnic register, indicating a shift toward applied medical-magical semantics.
In Gopatha’s Atharvanic theology, efficacy hinges on correct deployment of brahman (potent speech) joined to karman (operative act). This verse exemplifies that model: the mantra names the divine-healing authority (Rudra), specifies the medium (jalāṣa-bheṣaja), and enacts a reversible ritual logic (counter-ingestion) to undo harm. The plant’s personification aligns with Gopatha’s tendency to treat ritual substances as empowered participants when properly addressed and handled.
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