Atharva Veda 20.136.6: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 14, Sukta 136, Mantra 6
Sukta 136
म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्युलूखलमति॒क्राम॑न्त्यब्रवीत्। यथा॒ तव॑ वनस्पते॒ निर॑घ्नन्ति॒ तथै॑वति
mahā́nagnī́ ulū́khalam atikrā́manty abravīt | yáthā táva vanaspate níraghnanti táthaivá íti ||
Mahānagnī, stepping over the mortar, spake: ‘As, O Vanaspati, they beat (it) forth, even so (be it).’
महानग्नि ओखली के ऊपर से गुज़र गई। उसने कहा कि वनस्पति, जैसे वो उसे पीट कर बाहर निकालते हैं, वैसे ही हो जाओ।
The meaning
What it says
Mahānagnī, stepping over the mortar (ulūkhala), speaks: ‘As, O Vanaspati, they beat (it) out, so indeed (let it be).’ The pounding action becomes the model for expelling something unwanted.
The inner meaning
The mortar—an everyday tool—becomes a psycho-ritual instrument: repetitive, grounded effort that ‘pounds out’ impurities/afflictions. Mahānagnī’s crossing indicates a liminal activation; Vanaspati sanctifies the wooden implement as living power.
The truth in it
Transformation often requires rhythmic pressure: what is stuck is released by steady, embodied practice aligned with living nature.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya/Apotropaic (domestic implement charm)
Its aim
To expel an affliction/impurity by sympathetic identification with the pounding-out action of the mortar/pestle
Word by Word
Pada patha
महानग्नि । उलूखलम् । अतिक्रामन्ती । अब्रवीत् । यथा । तव । वनस्पते । निरघ्नन्ति । तथा । एव । इति ।
- महान्
- greatAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेषणम्—अग्न्युलूखलस्य)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्नि-उलूखलम्
- the fire-mortar (a mortar connected with fire/Agni)Noun (compound)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + उलूखल (प्रातिपदिक)
- अतिक्रामन्ति
- they step over / they overstepVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तृ-सम्बन्धः: अग्न्युलूखलम्)Root अति-क्रम् (धातु)
- अब्रवीत्
- said / spokeshe said; uttered (speech-act initiating efficacy)Verbलुङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: [सः]—अग्न्युलूखलम्/वक्ता)Root ब्रू (धातु)
- यथा
- just asas, just as (simile establishing magical equivalence)Indeclinableसम्बन्धाव्ययम् (उपमान/प्रकार)Role सम्बन्ध (उपमान-निर्देशः)Root यथा (अव्यय)
- तव
- of you / yourthy, of thee (address to the invoked power)Pronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (द्वितीयपुरुष)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी—सम्बन्ध/अधिकारः)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वनस्पते
- O lord of the forest (tree/plant)O Lord of the Forest; Vanaspati (tree/wood deity; also wood as animate ritual material)Noun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot वनस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- निरघ्नन्ति
- they strike down / they beat out / they remove by strikingthey strike out/down; beat away; drive off (here: pounding/striking as expulsion)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot निर्-हन् (धातु)
- तथा
- so / in that same wayso, in that mannerIndeclinableप्रकाराव्ययम्Role सम्बन्ध (तुल्य-प्रकारः)Root तथा (अव्यय)
- एव
- indeed / justindeed, justIndeclinableनिश्चय/अवधारणRole सम्बन्ध (अवधारण)Root एव (अव्यय)
- इति
- thus (quotative)thus (quotative closure; marks the formula)Indeclinableउद्धरण/वाक्य-समाप्ति-सूचकRole सम्बन्ध (वचन-चिह्नः)Root इति (अव्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- महान् + अग्नि-उलूखलम्। अत्र ‘महान्’ (…न्) + ‘अग्नि…’ इत्यत्र नकारस्य परे स्वरादौ संधिः—लिप्यन्तरे ‘महानग्नि…’ इति। ‘अतिक्रामन्ति’ = अति + क्रामन्ति (उपसर्ग-योगः)। ‘निरघ्नन्ति’ = निर् + ह्नन्ति/घ्नन्ति (निर्-उपसर्गेण; संहितायां ‘निरघ्नन्ति’ रूपम्)। ‘तथैवति’ इति पाठरूपं सामान्यतः ‘तथा एव इति’ (तथा + एव + इति) इत्यस्य संधि/लिप्यन्तर-समासरूपं
- अत्र पदच्छेदः तथा + एव + इति।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Uncertain (late/domestic layer)
- Devata
- Vanaspati (wood/forest lord) and the empowered implement (ulūkhala)
- Chandas
- Charm-prose with metrical tendencies
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
The overstepping of the mortar is read as a liminal act—crossing a charged implement to transfer or redirect force. Vanaspati is invoked because the mortar (and pestle) are of wood; the pounding action (‘driving out’) is analogized to expelling harm or impurity. The yathā…tathā construction is the classic Atharvanic mechanism of sympathetic efficacy.
Uncertain (late/domestic layer within AVŚ 20)
Household implement charms (ulūkhala/wood) used for expelling impurity and ensuring successful food-processing and protection.
A classic Atharvan move: sacralize the domestic tool as a deity-bearing substance; work becomes ritual, and ritual becomes medicine.
Vanaspati (with empowered Ulūkhala); Mahānagnī as activating force
Vanaspati animates plant/wood matter, making the implement efficacious; supports transformation from raw to refined and expulsion of unwanted elements.
Supports cleansing/expulsion through sympathetic ‘pounding out’; strengthens household vitality through food-preparation success.
Protects the household work-space and its products from impurity, obstruction, and harmful presences.
Charm-prose with metrical tendency; not securely classifiable
Two-part: narrative activation (Mahānagnī crossing/speaking) + simile-command (yathā… tathā).
Typical Atharvanic ‘yathā… tathā’ binding formula—sympathetic magic stated as equivalence.
Rhythmic like pounding: short setup, then a firm equivalence-clause.
Synchronizes voice with repetitive labor; mantra becomes the cadence of the pestle.
Set the mortar in the ritual space (often near the domestic fire or working area).
The performer steps over the mortar (atikrānti) while reciting the mantra.
Perform or mime the pounding/striking action, conceptualizing it as ‘beating out’ the targeted evil/impurity.
Seal the act with the tathā…iti formula (verbal fixation of the equivalence).
Kauśika Sūtra: rites employing ulūkhala/pounding and overstepping gestures (general alignment; exact sūtra not securely identified for this AV 20 verse)
Atharvan priest directs the sympathetic identification (pounding = expulsion) and ensures correct gesture (overstepping) and recitation timing.
Chanted while pounding grain/spices, or symbolically tapping a mortar/pestle to ‘beat out’ negativity/impurity from a room or from oneself (gesture near the body without harm).
Morning household work; before cooking for guests/ritual; during cleansing after illness or misfortune.
Householder can perform; no specialized priest required, consistent with Atharvan domestic magic.
Use as a mindful rhythm mantra during kitchen preparation or cleaning—linking repetitive action with intention to clear obstacles.
ulūkhala (mortar); vanaspati (wood/tree as animate material power)
The implement is the medicine: wood holds plant-power; pounding is the operative action that enacts expulsion and refinement.
Impurity/affliction conceptualized as something to be ‘pounded out’ (e.g., clinging mala, lethargy, obstructive influence); also domestic hygiene/contamination anxiety.
Sympathetic expulsion: as grain is beaten free from husk, so the affliction is beaten free from person/space.
‘Niraghnanti’ parallels śodhana imagery (expelling mala); the grounding repetitive action supports vāta stabilization; wood/plant power (vanaspati) aligns with oṣadhi worldview.
Somatic grounding through rhythmic activity (e.g., repetitive exercise) to reduce stress; cleaning/processing rituals as behavioral activation.
Affliction/impurity; household space; food-preparation success
To expel an affliction/impurity from a person or space by identifying it with what is beaten out in pounding; to empower the mortar as a cleansing instrument.
Sympathetic equivalence (yathā… tathā) + tool-deification (vanaspati as living wood power).
Contamination, obstruction, harmful presence, ‘stuck’ conditions
Food security and smooth domestic functioning
- उलूखल (ulūkhala)
- transformative container; the body/household vessel where raw becomes usable
- अतिक्रामन्ती (atikrāmantī)
- threshold activation; crossing into operative ritual space
- वनस्पति (vanaspati)
- animate materiality—tools are not inert; nature’s life-force empowers work
- निरघ्नन्ति (niraghnanti)
- expulsion by rhythmic effort; driving out impurity/affliction
Rhythmic effort as purification; honoring ‘living nature’ within tools and body.
Svadhisthana (transformative flow) supported by Muladhara (grounding)
Paced exhale synchronized with an imagined pestle-stroke; inhale on lift, exhale on ‘strike’.
With each ‘pound’, visualize husk-like negativity separating and falling away; the core grain remains luminous.
Focused, embodied concentration (ekāgratā) with practical clarity.
Choose one stuck pattern; apply steady repetition daily (small, consistent ‘strokes’) rather than dramatic effort.
Chant in a work-song cadence; emphasize the yathā… tathā equivalence as the ‘seal’.
Clear stress on ulūkhala, vanaspate, niraghnanti; slight pause between yathā and tathā.
Rhythmic, steady, work-aligned; not overly loud.
Best done with synchronized action (actual pounding or gentle tapping of the mortar) to complete the sympathetic circuit.
Physical cleaning/ventilation; Simple nourishing meal; Daily small repetitive practice (japa or task); Herbal fumigation if culturally appropriate (e.g., neem leaves—optional, region-dependent)
Need to ‘clear out’ stagnation at home, regain momentum, cleanse after illness, or consecrate food-prep with protective intention.
During repetitive domestic work; when feeling stuck or when the home atmosphere feels heavy.
Grounding, sense of purification, improved focus and household order.
If performing symbolic tapping near the body, avoid any harmful contact; maintain respect for tools and food hygiene.
Vanaspati sacralizes the wooden implement: the mortar’s wood is treated as living power. The mantra leverages the physical action of pounding—an everyday botanical/food-processing act—into a ritual technology for expulsion.
Domestic labor (grain processing) is ritually elevated; the household tool becomes a locus of priestly-managed power. The charm shows how Atharvanic specialists could ritualize quotidian technologies, extending ritual authority into household economy.
The formulaic yathā…tathā is shared with older Vedic, but the scene-like narration (‘stepping over the mortar, she said’) and implement-centered focus are more typical of Atharvanic charm style than RV praise-hymns.
Gopatha’s emphasis on bandha/mokṣa (binding/releasing) and on material supports (upadhi) fits this: the implement and gesture serve as supports through which mantra makes the expulsion real.
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