Sukta 105
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted without a distinct ṛṣi-name for short bhaiṣajya charms in Book 6; varies by Anukramaṇī).
Devata: Kāsa (personified cough) as the addressed entity; implicit aid of Vāyu (wind) as carrier-away.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (with Atharvanic cadence)
AV 6.105 is a compact healing charm that addresses cough (Kāsa) as a personified affliction and commands it to depart immediately. Through three swift similes—mind’s flight, a sharpened arrow, and the sun’s rays—the hymn drives the ailment outward into ever more distant “channels” (wind-path, earth-limit, sea) until it disperses and dissolves.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
कासशमनम्। यथा॒ मनो॑ मनस्के॒तः॑ प॑रा॒पत॑त्याशु॒मत्। ए॒वा त्वं कासे॒ प्र प॑त॒ मन॒सोऽनु॑ प्रवा॒य्यऽम्
जैसे कोई सोच दिमाग से निकल के दूर भाग जाती है, वैसे ही तू खाँसी भाग जा। दिमाग के पीछे-पीछे जा, हवा में उड़ जा।
Mantra 2
यथा॒ बाणः॒ सुसं॑शितः परा॒पत॑त्याशु॒मत्। ए॒वा त्वं कासे॒ प्र प॑त पृथि॒व्या अनु॑ सं॒वत॑म्
जैसे तेज़ धनुष से तीर निकल के दूर जाता है, वैसे ही तू खाँसी भाग जा। ज़मीन के साथ-साथ दूर तक जा।
Mantra 3
यथा॒ सूर्य॑स्य र॒श्मयः॑ परा॒पत॑न्त्याशु॒मत्। ए॒वा त्वं कासे॒ प्र प॑त समु॒द्रस्यानु॑ विक्ष॒रम्
जैसे सूर्य की किरणें फैल के दूर जाती हैं, वैसे ही तू खाँसी भाग जा। समुंदर की तरफ जा, वहाँ मिल जा।
Inside Sukta 105
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn begins by framing a model of irresistible speed—thought darting forth—and immediately applies it to Kāsa with an imperative command to fly away into the wind-stream.
- What it asks
Repeatedly: “O Cough, fly forth (pra pata)”—leave the patient and go outward along prescribed routes.
- Where its power lies
Efficacy is asserted through three escalating analogies of rapid, irreversible motion (mind, arrow, sunrays), implying the mantra’s command is as unstoppable as these natural forces.
- How it closes
It ends by sending the cough to the sea ‘unto dissolution/outflow’ (samudrasyānu vikṣaram), sealing removal by placing the affliction in a final dissolving sink.
Famous verses
eva tvaṃ kāse pra pata
yathā bāṇaḥ susaṃśitaḥ
samudrasyānu vikṣaram
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing)
What it is for
Immediate driving out and dispersal of cough, reducing its hold and recurrence by sending it beyond human space into cosmic ‘away’ zones.
Who it is for
Healers/household ritualists treating cough in a patient (child or adult), especially where a quick verbal charm is preferred over complex materia medica.
Also used as
- Shantika
- Rogapramocana (disease-release)
The deity
Kāsa is treated as an intrusive, mobile entity lodged in the patient; it can be addressed, threatened, and redirected. Vāyu (wind) is implicitly the medium that removes and disperses the affliction, while Sūrya and Samudra function as cosmological models/sinks for dispersion and dissolution.
Powers of the deity
- Can be compelled by speech-act (mantra) to depart from the body
- Moves swiftly when redirected into wind-streams and outward paths
- Can be dispersed like rays and dissolved when sent to the sea (impurity-sink)
- Obeys directional/cosmic routing: mind → wind, earth → far boundary, sea → dissolution
Why the deity is called
To externalize cough as an addressable agent and force its rapid expulsion, routing it away from the patient into wind, across earth to a distant limit, and finally into the sea for dissolution.
The seer
- Atharvanic (anonymous/variable Anukramaṇī attribution)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya charms of expulsion (nirhāraṇa) for bodily afflictions—especially short, forceful mantras that personify disease and order it to leave via cosmic pathways (wind, directions, waters).
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.104
- AV 6.106
- AV 6.109
- AV 6.111
Preparing for the rite
- Seat the patient comfortably, facing an open, airy direction (preferably toward moving air).
- Establish a calm breath rhythm; optionally loosen garments around chest/neck to ease breathing.
- If available, keep clean water nearby for sipping after recitation (supportive, not required by the hymn).
The rite
- Recite 6.105.1 while gesturing outward from the patient’s mouth/chest as if sending the cough into the wind (pravāyya).
- Recite 6.105.2 with a decisive ‘projecting’ gesture (as if releasing an arrow), directing the affliction along the earth-path away from the dwelling.
- Recite 6.105.3 with a broad dispersing motion (like spreading rays), then ‘cast’ the ailment away toward waters/sea as the final sink (vikṣaram).
- Conclude with a brief silence and allow the patient to breathe steadily; offer water if desired.
What it needs
- None required by the text
- Optional: clean water for the patient
- Optional: symbolic ‘arrow’ gesture or a small reed/stick as a projecting token
When
Whenever cough is acute; especially effective when wind is naturally moving (dawn/evening breezes) or outdoors/near an open window.
Frequently Asked Questions
It treats cough as a personified intruder (Kāsa) and commands it to leave the patient immediately, sending it away into wind, across the earth to a far limit, and finally into the sea for dissolution.
No. The hymn itself does not prescribe any substance; it works as a spoken expulsion-charm. Some traditions may add supportive water or symbolic gestures, but they are optional.
These are models of fast, unstoppable movement. By aligning the command with such natural speed, the mantra ‘forces’ the cough to move outward rapidly and not remain lodged in the body.
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