Sukta 33
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition
Chandas: Noted in the Anukramaṇī for this hymn-cycle: mixed meters; this mantra is commonly treated as anuṣṭubh-like in cadence.
This Atharvavedic healing hymn is a surgical verbal-extraction charm against yákṣma, conceived as a wasting disease-demon that lodges in specific organs and tissues. By naming body-parts in a systematic anatomical sweep and repeatedly declaring “we tear it out” (vi vṛh-), the mantra functions as an exorcistic therapy—dislodging the affliction from head and senses to trunk and skin. The hymn culminates in an all-body purge, empowered by the authoritative healing current associated with Kaśyapa and the vībarha (“uprooting/extractor” force).
Kind of charm
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
यक्ष्मविबर्हणम्। ५ उपरिष्टाद्विराड्बृहती, ६ उष्णिग्गर्भा निचृदनुष्टुप्, ७ पथ्यापङ्क्तिः। अ॒क्षीभ्यां॑ ते॒ नासि॑काभ्यां॒ कर्णा॑भ्यां छुबु॑का॒दधि॑ । यक्ष्मं॑ शीर्ष॒ण्यं ऽ म॒स्तिष्का॑ज्जि॒ह्वाया॒ वि वृ॑हामि ते
मैं तुम्हारे आँखों से, नाक से, कानों से, ठोड़ी के ऊपर से यह बिमारी निकाल रहा हूँ। जो बिमारी सर में बैठी है, दिमाग में, जीभ में, मैं उसे तुमसे फाड़ के बाहर करता हूँ।
Mantra 2
ग्री॒वाभ्य॑स्त उ॒ष्णिहा॑भ्यः॒ कीक॑साभ्यो अनू॒क्याऽत्। यक्ष्मं॑ दोष॒ण्य॑१मंसा॑भ्यां बा॒हुभ्यां॒ वि वृ॑हामि ते
मैं तुम्हारे गले से, कंधों से, पसलियों से, रिढ़ से यह बिमारी निकाल रहा हूँ। हाथ और बाहों से मैं उसे तुमसे अलग फाड़ देता हूँ।
Mantra 3
हृद॑यात् ते॒ परि॑ क्लो॒म्नो हली॑क्ष्णात् पा॒र्श्वाभ्या॑म्। यक्ष्मं॒ मत॑स्नाभ्यां प्ली॒ह्नो य॒क्नस्ते॒ वि वृ॑हामसि
मैं तुम्हारे दिल से, दोनों कंधों के पास से, पीठ के निचले हिस्से से यह बिमारी निकाल रहा हूँ। तिली से, कलेजे से हम उसे तुमसे बाहर निकाल देते हैं।
Mantra 4
आ॒न्त्रेभ्य॑स्ते॒ गुदा॑भ्यो वनि॒ष्ठोरु॒दरा॒दधि॑ । यक्ष्मं॑ कु॒क्षिभ्यां॑ प्ला॒शेर्नाभ्या॒ वि वृ॑हामि ते
मैं तुम्हारे आँतों से, गुदा से, पेशाब की थैली से, पेट से यह बिमारी निकाल रहा हूँ। पहले और दूसरे कंधे से, तिली से, नाभि से, मैं उसे तुमसे बाहर फाड़ देता हूँ।
Mantra 5
ऊ॒रुभ्यां॑ ते अष्ठी॒वद्भ्यां॒ पार्ष्णिभ्यां॒ प्रप॑दाभ्याम्। यक्ष्मं॑ भस॒द्यं॑१ श्रोणि॑भ्यां॒ भास॑दं॒ भंस॑सो॒ वि वृ॑हामि ते
मैं इस बिमारी को तुम्हारी टांगों से निकाल देता हूँ। हड्डियों से, तुम्हारे पैर के टखनों से, उंगलियों से। यह बिमारी जहाँ भी बैठी है, मैं उसे फाड़ के बाहर निकाल देता हूँ। कमर से, चूतड़ों से, सब जगह से अलग कर देता हूँ।
Mantra 6
अ॒स्थिभ्य॑स्ते म॒ज्जभ्यः॒ स्नाव॑भ्यो ध॒मनि॑भ्यः । यक्ष्मं॑ पा॒णिभ्या॑म॒ङ्गुलि॑भ्यो न॒खेभ्यो॒ वि वृ॑हामि ते
मैं तुम्हारी हड्डियों से, मज्जा से, नसों से, धड़कने वाली नसों से यह बिमारी निकाल रहा हूँ। हाथों से, उंगलियों से, नाखून से मैं उसे तुमसे बाहर फाड़ देता हूँ।
Mantra 7
अङ्गे॑अङ्गे॒ लोम्नि॑लोम्नि॒ यस्ते॒ पर्व॑णिपर्वणि । यक्ष्मं॑ त्वचस्य ऽ ते व॒यं क॒श्यप॑स्य वीब॒र्हेण॒ विष्व॑ञ्चं॒ वि वृ॑हामसि
तुम्हारे अंग-अंग में, बाल-बाल में, जोड़-जोड़ में जो बिमारी है, मैं उसे निकाल देता हूँ। चमड़ी के अंदर जो तकलीफ है, वो सब दूर कर देता हूँ। कश्यप रिशि की शक्ति से मैं यह सब तोड़ के बाहर निकाल देता हूँ।
Inside Sukta 33
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Begins immediately with targeted anatomical extraction—starting at the sensory gateways and head-seat of yakṣma—rather than a praise-proem.
- What it asks
That yakṣma be torn out from each specified locus (senses, brain, tongue; heart and inner organs; skin, hair, joints) and removed away from the patient.
- Where its power lies
The repeated performative verb vi vṛh- (“I/we tear out”) asserts immediate efficacy; the closing verse adds lineage-authorization: ‘with Kaśyapa’s vībarha’ against the all-pervading form.
- How it closes
Ends with a comprehensive, whole-body expulsion (aṅge-aṅge… parvaṇi-parvaṇi), sealing the cure by denying any remaining hiding place for the disease.
Famous verses
vi vṛhāmi te
vi vṛhāmasi
kaśyapasya vībarheṇa … vi vṛhāmasi
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing)
What it is for
Complete expulsion of yakṣma from the patient—especially cranial/sensory and visceral manifestations—ending wasting and preventing re-entry.
Who it is for
Atharvanic healer/priest (bhaiṣajya practitioner) treating a patient with wasting/consumption-like symptoms, chronic debility, or diffuse organ/skin involvement.
Also used as
- Shantika (pacificatory removal of affliction)
- Raksha (protective/exorcistic)
The deity
Opposed to it is the Atharvanic ‘extractor’ power (vībarha/vibarhaṇa), a mantra-driven force that uproots the disease from its seats.
Powers of the deity
- Locates and names the disease’s ‘seats’ across anatomy (head, senses, organs, skin, joints)
- Forcibly expels/tears out the affliction through authoritative speech (vāc as therapy)
- Creates a protective boundary by removing the all-pervading form of yakṣma (viṣvañc)
- Invokes lineage-power (Kaśyapa) to validate and intensify the cure
Why the deity is called
To confront yakṣma as an adversary and activate the ‘uprooting’ bhaiṣajya force that extracts it from every bodily locus, restoring integrity of senses, organs, and skin.
The seer
- Atharvanic healing lineage (Kaśyapa invoked as authoritative healer)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya charms that diagnose by anatomical enumeration and cure by expulsion/extraction (vibarhaṇa), especially against yakṣma (wasting/consumption) and pervasive internal afflictions.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 2.32 (yakṣma-related healing sequence, traditionally adjacent in theme)
- AV 3.11 (yakṣma-expulsion type hymns in Atharvanic bhaiṣajya corpora; attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
Preparing for the rite
- Seat the patient facing east (or the healer facing east toward the patient).
- Establish a calm, ritually ‘clean’ space; the healer performs ācamana and steadies breath/voice.
- Optionally mark the patient’s head/chest with clean water as a cooling, pacifying medium (not required by the verses but common in bhaiṣajya practice).
The rite
- Recite the hymn while touching or gesturing toward the named body regions in sequence (eyes, nostrils, ears, chin, head/brain/tongue; then heart and organs; then limbs/skin/joints).
- On each ‘vi vṛhāmi/vi vṛhāmasi’ declaration, perform a symbolic pulling-out motion away from the body, as if extracting a thorn.
- Conclude with an all-body sweeping gesture from head to foot, casting the extracted affliction away from the patient’s vicinity.
What it needs
- None explicitly required by the cited verses
- Optional: clean water for sprinkling; optional thread/amulet as a post-rite protection (later practice)
When
Any time during illness; preferably morning or at a transition (dawn) for ‘removal’ rites, repeated for several days if symptoms persist.
The main substance
Vībarha
How it is prepared
Primarily verbal-ritual: the ‘extractor’ is activated by recitation with synchronized touch/gesture of the named body regions and a repeated pulling-away motion on vi vṛh-.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yakṣma is a wasting, debilitating illness treated as a demon-like presence that can lodge in organs, skin, joints, and the head. The hymn addresses it as something that can be forcibly removed.
It works like an exorcistic therapy: the verses name specific body locations and repeatedly declare “we tear it out,” using authoritative speech as the extracting instrument.
The cited verses do not require a plant medicine or object. The core method is recitation with focused attention on the body-parts named, often accompanied by a symbolic pulling-out gesture.
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