Atharva Veda 4.15.5: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 15, Mantra 5
Sukta 15
उदी॑रयत मरुतः समुद्र॒तस्त्वे॒षो अ॒र्को नभ॒ उत् पा॑तयाथ । म॒ह॒ऋ॒ष॒भस्य॒ नद॑तो॒ नभ॑स्वतो वा॒श्रा आपः॑ पृथि॒वीं त॑र्पयन्तु
udī́rayata marutaḥ samudrátas tvéṣo arkó nábho út pātayātha | mahā́-ṛṣabhásya nádato nábhasvato vāśrā́ ā́paḥ pṛthivī́m tarpayantu ||
Stir ye up, O Maruts, from the ocean; hurl down from the cloud the vehement flash. Let the bellowing waters of the great bull, roaring, cloud-laden, refresh and satiate the Earth.
हे मरुत गण, समुंदर से पानी उठाओ और बादल से बिजली गिराओ। बड़े बैल की तरह गरजते हुए बादल से पानी गिरके धरती को तृप्त करें।
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (rain-invocation complex)
Devata: Maruts; Parjanya/thunder-cloud implied as ‘great bull’
Chandas: Triṣṭubh-like cadence (Atharvanic mixed meters occur)
Primary: adbhuta
Secondary: vira
Sāyaṇa glosses samudra as the primal water-store from which rain is ‘drawn up.’ arká is taken both as lightning-flash and as the effective stotra; by it the cloud is ‘made to fall.’ The ‘great bull’ is Parjanya/cloud as a virile begetter; waters are vāśrāḥ like lowing cows, i.e., milk-like nourishment for the earth.
To mobilize storm-winds and compel cloud-release so that rain-waters satiate the earth.
Drought-related community illness; lethargy and depletion from scarcity; ‘stagnation’ metaphors in body-mind.
Invokes atmospheric forces to release rain; symbolically breaks internal stagnation and restores flow (āpaḥ) and satisfaction (tarpana).
Rain supports rasa dhātu replenishment via food/water; cooling pitta; supports ojas through nourishment; tarpana resonates with brimhaṇa (building) effect.
Climate-stress relief; community resilience rituals paired with water security planning.
paustika
To mobilize winds and compel cloud-release (with lightning) so rain-waters satiate the earth.
Forceful summoning + sympathetic enactment: verbs of stirring/hurling imitate storm dynamics; ‘bull’ imagery amplifies fertility power.
Drought, failed monsoon, agricultural loss.
crops, pasture, water supply
O Maruts, stir up (the waters) from the ocean; hurl down from the cloud the vehement flash. Let the bellowing waters of the great bull—roaring, cloud-laden—refresh and satiate the Earth.
The ‘ocean’ is the deep reservoir of vitality; winds awaken it and drive it upward. Lightning is the decisive breakthrough that releases pent-up emotion/energy into nourishing flow. The ‘great bull’ is the generative power whose roar is both fear and blessing.
Life renews through cycles of gathering and release. Intensities (storm, flash) can be instruments of nourishment when guided by order.
- समुद्र (samudra)
- Deep reservoir: unconscious vitality, collective water-source
- उदीरयत (udīrayata)
- Mobilize dormant power; activate the cycle
- मरुत (marut)
- Forces that move and redistribute energy
- अर्क (arka)
- Piercing insight/strike that opens blockage; catalytic force
- नभस् (nabhas)
- Pregnant potential; the held-in gift
- महा-ऋषभ (mahā-ṛṣabha)
- Fertility principle; virile generativity of storm-cloud (Parjanya/Indra complex)
- वाश्राः आपः (vāśrā āpaḥ)
- Powerful nourishment; life-force with audible authority
- तर्पयन्तु (tarpayantu)
- Repletion, contentment, restoration of ojas
Restore flow: from deep reservoir (samudra) to nourishing distribution (tarpana).
Svādhiṣṭhāna (water/flow)
Wave-breath visualization: inhale ‘ocean rise,’ exhale ‘cloud release’; add a brief strong exhale on ‘arka’ to symbolize breakthrough.
A dark cloud-bull above, lightning opening a channel, rain spreading evenly; internalized as emotions releasing into calm nourishment.
Mobilized receptivity—active invocation followed by letting-go.
Recite, then drink water mindfully (tarpana) and perform one act supporting water/soil health.
Energetic rise on udīrayata; sharp articulation on tveṣo arkaḥ; let pāṭayātha ‘fall’ in tone to mimic hurling down.
Keep strong verb-stress: udīrayata / pāṭayātha / tarpayantu.
udīrayata: long ī clear, samudratas: final -tas audible, tveṣo: retroflex ṣ, arkaḥ: final visarga, nabhasvato: keep bh voiced, vāśrā: long ā
Full, projecting, rhythmic—like calling across open land.
Often paired with quieter rain verses to avoid over-heating the rite; conclude with a cooling water-offering (tarpana) gesture.
11
Drought, delayed rains, agricultural uncertainty; inner work on emotional ‘withholding.’
When conditions call for mobilization and decisive release—ritually or psychologically.
Renewed momentum, hope, and communal coordination; traditional rain-invocation efficacy framed within seasonal order.
Avoid in contexts of destructive storms/flood risk; do not encourage magical thinking without practical planning.
Sandhi resolution applied: समुद्र॒तस् → समुद्रतः (पञ्चमी एकवचन); त्वे॒षो अ॒र्को → त्वेषः अर्कः (विसर्ग-सन्धि; o→aḥ before vowel); नभ॒ उत् → नभः उत् (विसर्ग before vowel); पा॑तयाथ kept as a single tiṅanta form (2nd person dual); म॒ह॒ऋ॒ष॒भस्य॒ → महा-ऋषभस्य (compound); नद॑तो॒ नभ॑स्वतो → नदतः नभस्वतः (gen. sg.); वा॒श्रा आपः॑ → वाश्राः आपः (ā + ā sandhi; nominative plural feminine adjective + noun).
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