Sukta 63
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (Anukramaṇī attribution varies; commonly Atharvan/Angiras-type for such apotropaic hymns)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; requires pada-count verification against a critical text)
This brief Atharvavedic hymn is a crisis-charm for loosening Nirṛti’s deadly bond—imagined as a neck-cord or iron fetter—and restoring the patient to āyus (life-span), varcas (radiant vigor), and bala (strength). It combines the language of unbinding and rescue with a regulated appeal to Yama and the Pitṛs, and it seals the rite in a domestic-fire frame by kindling Agni for renewed prosperity and protection.
Kind of charm
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
वर्चोबलप्राप्तिः। यत् ते॑ दे॒वी निरृ॑तिराब॒बन्ध॒ दाम॑ ग्री॒वास्व॑विमो॒क्यं यत्। तत् ते वि ष्या॒म्यायु॑षे॒ वर्च॑से॒ बला॑यादोम॒दमन्न॑मद्धि॒ प्रसू॑तः
निरृति देवी ने तुम्हारे गले में रस्सी बांधी है जो आसानी से नहीं खुलती। मैं उससे तोड़ देता हूँ ताकि तुम्हारी लाइफ़ बने, चमक आए और ताकत आए। यह खाना खा लो जो तुम्हे नया जीवन देता है।
Mantra 2
नमो॑ऽस्तु ते निरृते तिग्मतेजोऽय॒स्मया॒न् वि चृ॑ता बन्धपा॒शान्। य॒मो मह्यं॒ पुन॒रित् त्वां द॑दाति॒ तस्मै॑ य॒माय॒ नमो॑ अस्तु मृ॒त्यवे॑
निरृति, तुम्हारी ताकत बड़ी तेज़ है। तुम्हारी लोहे की रस्सें मैंने काट दी हैं। यम तुम्हे वापस मुझे दे देता है। यम, जो मौत के देवता हैं, उनको प्रणाम।
Mantra 3
अ॒य॒स्मये॑ द्रुप॒दे बे॑धिषे इ॒हाभिहि॑तो मृ॒त्युभि॒र्ये स॒हस्र॑म्। य॒मेन॒ त्वं पि॒तृभिः॑ संविदा॒न उ॑त्त॒मं नाक॒मधि॑ रोहये॒मम्
लोहे की बेड़ी से तुम बांधे हो। यहाँ तुम हज़ारों मौतों के बीच पड़े हो। यम और पूर्वजों के साथ मिलकर इस आदमी को ऊपर स्वर्ग में ले जाओ।
Mantra 4
संस॒मिद् यु॑वसे वृष॒न्नग्ने॒ विश्वा॑न्य॒र्यृ आ। इ॒डस्प॒दे समि॑ध्यसे॒ स नो॒ वसू॒न्या भ॑र
अग्नि को सामग्री से बुलाया जा रहा है। वो जवान और ताकतवर है, जैसे बैल। वो सब कुछ अपनी तरफ खींच लेता है। इडा की जगह पे वो जलता है। अब वो हमें धन और सम्पन्नता ला कर दो।
Inside Sukta 63
How it unfolds
- How it opens
It begins by naming Nirṛti’s binding and identifying the specific ‘cord on the neck’ that is hard to loosen.
- What it asks
The speaker sunderes the bond for the sake of āyus, varcas, and bala, and re-feeds the patient with life-supporting food/tonic.
- Where its power lies
Death is portrayed as manifold and besieging (‘a thousand deaths’), yet the mantra claims leverage through lawful cosmic authorities (Yama, Pitṛs) and the decisive act of unbinding.
- How it closes
The hymn concludes by kindling Agni at the iḍā-place and asking him to bring vasu—material and vital wealth—marking a return to auspicious domestic order.
Famous verses
āyuṣe varcase balāya
mṛtyubhir ye sahasram
iḍaspade samidhyase
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (death-averting)
What it is for
Release from death-bond and constriction; recovery of longevity, vigor, and strength; stabilization of fate through Yama/Pitṛ sanction and Agni-backed renewal.
Who it is for
Atharvanic practitioner/household priest treating a patient in a death-scare, wasting illness, or ominous ‘binding’ condition; also householders seeking protection after severe inauspicious signs.
Also used as
- Apotropaic (death-averting)
- Śāntika (pacificatory)
- Pauṣṭika (vitality/prosperity reinforcement via Agni)
The deity
Yama and the Pitṛs represent the lawful boundary of death and ancestral order, while Agni is the ritual transformer who re-establishes auspicious life and household well-being.
Powers of the deity
- Binds and constricts life-force through pāśa-like bonds (cord/neck-binding imagery)
- Causes wasting, ill-luck, and death-crisis states
- Can be compelled/redirected by mantra to release the patient
- Yama can regulate and avert untimely death (or grant auspicious passage)
- Pitṛs provide ancestral sanction and ‘right order’
- Agni renews vitality, protection, and prosperity through correct kindling and offering
Why the deity is called
To sever Nirṛti’s ‘avimokya’ bond from the patient, neutralize manifold death-perils, and re-seat the person in life, radiance, strength, and household auspiciousness.
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgirasa-type seer (Anukramaṇī attribution varies)Atharvan. Apotropaic and bhaisajya charms: unbinding (vimocana) from death-perils, removal of constriction/fetters, and restoration of vitality through food/tonic and rite-backed speech.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.62
- AV 6.64
- AV 6.65
- AV 6.70
Preparing for the rite
- Seat the patient facing east or toward the household fire; establish calm and silence.
- Identify the ‘bond’ symbolically: a cord at the neck or a tied thread representing Nirṛti’s binding.
- Prepare a small portion of nourishing food (anna) and, if customary, a strengthening drink/tonic (mada) for post-recitation intake.
- Lay kindling (samidh) ready for Agni; keep a clean offering-place (iḍā-sthāna) if following domestic ritual norms.
The rite
- Recite the unbinding verse while touching or loosening the cord at the patient’s neck; perform a deliberate ‘sundering’ gesture (as if cutting).
- Give the prepared food/tonic to the patient immediately after the release formula as a rite of re-implanting life and strength.
- Recite the death-peril verse with a protective circling or warding gesture, acknowledging the ‘iron’/fetter imagery and asking for regulated release from death-pressures.
- Kindle Agni with the laid kindlings and recite the Agni verse to seal the rite in auspicious fire and invite vasu (goods/vital stores).
What it needs
- Dāman (cord/thread used as the ‘bond’ to be loosened)
- Anna (nourishing food)
- Mada (gladdening/strengthening draught; contextually a tonic)
- Samidh (kindling sticks)
- Household fire/Agni; optional ghee or simple offering portion at the iḍā-seat
When
Performed at the onset of severe illness, ominous ‘binding’ symptoms, or a death-scare; ideally by day with the household fire available, but permissible whenever the crisis demands.
The main substance
Dāman (cord/thread used as the tangible ‘bond’ of Nirṛti)
Amulets
- Neck-cord/thread (to be loosened/removed as the rite’s visible sign)
- Optional protective thread/knotted cord re-tied afterward as a ‘life-thread’ (rakṣā-sūtra style), if the practitioner’s tradition permits
How it is prepared
Tie or place a cord lightly to represent the binding; during 6.63.1 loosen/remove it with a ‘cutting’ gesture. Immediately administer nourishing food and a strengthening drink; then kindle Agni with prepared samidh to conclude.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a ritual image for deadly constriction—misfortune, wasting, or a death-crisis—spoken of as a cord on the neck or a hard-to-loosen fetter. The mantra treats it as something that can be ‘sundered’ by authoritative speech and rite.
Its primary aim is recovery: release into āyus (life), varcas (vigor), and bala (strength). The mention of Yama and the Pitṛs adds a regulated, lawful framing—countering untimely death and, if fate is fixed, seeking an auspicious ‘best state’ rather than chaotic harm.
Agni seals the unbinding by restoring auspicious domestic order. Kindling the fire and invoking vasu (good stores) shifts the situation from crisis and inauspicious binding to protection, nourishment, and stable vitality.
Ask anything about Sukta 63 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
