Atharva Veda 6.75.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 8, Sukta 75, Mantra 2
Sukta 75
प॒र॒मां तं प॑रा॒वत॒मिन्द्रो॑ नुदतु वृत्र॒हा। यतो॒ न पुन॒राय॑ति शश्व॒तीभ्यः॒ समा॑भ्यः
paramā́ṃ táṃ parāvátaṃ índro nudatu vṛtrahā́ | yáto ná púnar ā́ iyáti śaśvatī́bhyaḥ sámābhyaḥ ||
To the farthest away-land let Indra, Vrtra-slayer, drive him—whence he comes not back again for everlasting years.
इंद्र जो बड़ा दुश्मन मारता है, वो इस आदमी को बहुत दूर ले जाए। इतना दूर कि वो कभी वापस न आए। सालों तक नहीं दिखे।
The meaning
What it says
Indra, the Vṛtra-slayer, is asked to drive the rival to the farthest region (paramā parāvat), from which he will not return for endless years.
The inner meaning
The mind seeks ‘distance’ from recurring triggers. The mantra encodes a cognitive banishment: send the recurring hostile pattern to a place with no pathway back.
The truth in it
Lasting peace often requires not partial compromise but decisive separation from destructive dynamics.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicārika (Banishment of rival)
Its aim
To banish the rival to an extreme ‘far region’ and prevent any return over time.
Word by Word
Pada patha
प॒र॒माम् । तम् । प॒रा॒वत॑म् । इन्द्रः॑ । नु॒द॒तु । वृ॒त्र॒हा । यतः॑ । न । पुनः॑ । आ । इ॒य॒ति । श॒श्व॒तीभ्यः॑ । समा॑भ्यः ।
- परमाम्
- to the farthest (fem. acc. sg.)farthest; utmost (maximal distance as magical security)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (गन्तव्य-देशः/अवस्थानम्) अथवा विशेष्य-विशेषणभावे कर्मसंज्ञाRoot परम (प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- him / that onehim/that one (the rival)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- परावतम्
- to a far-off placeto the far region; away-land (banishment-space beyond return)Noun (place) / Adjective used substantivelyपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (गन्तव्य-देशः) / अधिकरणार्थे गन्तव्यनिर्देशःRoot परावत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘दूरस्थ/परदेश’)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNoun (proper)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- नुदतु
- let (him) drive away / thrustlet him thrust/drive (precative/imperative)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot नुद् (धातु)
- वृत्रहा
- Vṛtra-slayerVrtra-slayer (epithet emphasizing irresistible expulsion)Noun/Epithetपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (इन्द्रस्य विशेषणरूपेण)Root वृत्रहन् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वृत्रं हन्ति’)
- यतः
- from wherefrom where; whence (source-point of non-return)Indeclinableअव्यय (अपादानार्थकः ‘यतः’)Role अपादानRoot यतस् (अव्यय; य-प्रत्ययान्त)
- न
- notIndeclinableअव्ययRole निषेधकRoot न (निषेध-अव्यय)
- पुनः
- againIndeclinableअव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणम्Root पुनः (अव्यय)
- आयति
- comes / returnsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot इ/ए (धातु; √इ ‘गच्छति’), उपसर्गः आ-
- शश्वतीभ्यः
- from the everlasting (times) / for long (periods)for everlasting (times); perpetuallyAdjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी/षष्ठी, बहुवचन (रूपेण: -भ्यः)Role अपादान (काल-परिमाणे ‘from everlasting/for long durations’)Root शश्वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- समाभ्यः
- from yearsfrom years; for years (temporal extension: long duration)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी/षष्ठी, बहुवचन (रूपेण: -भ्यः)Role अपादान (काल-परिमाणे ‘from years’)Root सम (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वर्ष/सम्वत्सर’ अर्थे ‘समाः’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): परमाम् | तम् | परावतम् | इन्द्रः | नुदतु | वृत्रहा | यतः | न | पुनः | आयति | शश्वतीभ्यः | समाभ्यः ।
- 1) ‘परमां तं’ इत्यत्र संहितायां दीर्घस्वर-स्वरितादि वैदिकस्वरचिह्नाः दृश्यन्ते
- पदविभागे ‘परमाम्’ (द्वितीया एकवचन) + ‘तम्’ (द्वितीया एकवचन) इति।
- 2) ‘परावतम् इन्द्रः’ इत्यत्र सामान्य-सन्धिः न विशेषः
- ‘परावतम्’ कर्म/गन्तव्यनिर्देशः।
- 3) ‘यतो न पुनरायति’ इत्यत्र ‘पुनर् + आयति’ → ‘पुनरायति’ (रेफ-सन्धिः; र् + आ = रा)।
- 4) ‘शश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः’ द्वयोः अपादान/काल-परिमाणवाचकयोः -भ्यः-प्रत्ययान्तयोः समुच्चयः।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Indra (Vṛtrahā)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira and Raudra
Sayana emphasizes ‘paramā parāvat’ as the maximal banishment-zone, ensuring irreversibility. The temporal phrase ‘śaśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ’ is read as a hyperbolic sealing formula: the rival is not merely removed but barred from return across indefinite time.
Atharvanic tradition (sapatna-kṣayaṇa unit)
Expulsion charms that map social threats onto ritual geography (near/far; return/non-return).
Shows Atharvanic ‘geographical magic’: speech creates a cosmically enforced distance, preventing the rival’s return.
Indra
Drives chaos away to the margins; maintains the center (home/settlement) as ordered space.
Strong: banishment, prevention of recurrence, protective distancing.
4×8; clear binary: ‘send far’ + ‘no return’.
Formulaic temporal seal in the last pādas; typical Atharvanic legalistic finality.
Forward-driving, like marching steps—appropriate to ‘nudatu’.
Builds a sense of widening distance; the phrase parāmāṃ…parāvatam sonically stretches space.
During the expulsion rite, face the ‘away’ direction and recite this mantra as the intensification step (‘farthest parāvat’).
Perform a stronger outward casting gesture (e.g., throwing a clod/ash outward) to materialize ‘driving away’.
Optionally repeat the mantra while stepping beyond the threshold and back, dramatizing ‘he does not return’.
Kauśika Sūtra: sapátna-kṣayaṇa sequence for AV 6.75 (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan as boundary-enforcer: escalates the banishment by coupling directional gesture with Indra-invocation.
Recite facing outward from the doorway or boundary line; optionally cast a small offering or symbolic dust outward to ‘send away’.
At dusk (liminal time) or before travel/relocation to secure non-following.
Householder-led; priest optional for formal homa-style performance.
KauśS: expulsion/banishment (nirbādha) procedures associated with sapatna-kṣayaṇa hymns (general class).
Use as a boundary affirmation before blocking contact channels; pair with a simple lamp-lighting.
Spatial extremity (parāvat) as ritualized geography; Indra’s martial epithet (vṛtrahā) as coercive force
Distance functions as an apotropaic medium: the rival is relocated beyond the social-cosmic map, making return ‘non-sense’.
Relapse-prevention framing: creating ‘no-return’ conditions for harmful interactions (boundaries, no-contact policies).
Rival/adversary.
Banish the rival to the farthest possible realm; prevent return over time.
Ritual geography (parāvat) + Indra’s coercive epithet (vṛtrahā) + temporal sealing clause.
Recurrent harassment, cyclical conflict, repeated intrusion.
- परावत् (parāvat)
- irreversibility; exile beyond one’s life-world
- परम (parama)
- maximal boundary; no residual access
- वृत्रहा (vṛtrahā)
- breaker of obstruction; the power to end a siege or stalemate
- शश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः (śaśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ)
- temporal sealing—banishment made durable
Letting-go practice: sending a hostile memory-pattern to the ‘farthest horizon’.
maṇipūra
Inhale steady; exhale long while mentally projecting the rival-pattern beyond the horizon on ‘nudatu’.
A receding figure dissolving into distant light; a boundary line brightens at the home-center.
Detachment with strength (vairāgya + tejas).
Chant 9 or 27 times, then write one concrete boundary action to enact the mantra’s ‘no-return’ clause.
Keep udātta on índraḥ and vṛtrahā prominent; maintain smooth sandhi across parāvatam indro.
Mark the spatial phrase: parāmāṃ…parāvatam; land the cadence on yato na punar āyati.
Steady, authoritative; less ‘angry’ than 6.75.1, more final.
The ‘no return’ clause is performative; pair with an actual boundary decision for traditional efficacy logic.
9 times
Repeated conflict cycles; someone repeatedly re-enters your life with harm.
Before taking a decisive separation step; after mediation fails; during house-protection routine.
Clarity and resolve; psychological closure; sense of non-recurrence.
Do not replace legal/social safeguards; avoid escalating hostility.
No botanical is present; the ‘substance’ is spatial-temporal sealing. Atharvanic banishment often uses imagined geography (‘parāvat’) as a performative container for exclusion.
It encodes the household/community’s right to exclude and the priest’s role in legitimating that exclusion via Indra. The rival is denied proximity and future access—ritual as social control.
The formulaic ‘yato na punar ā iyati’ is a charm-style non-return clause, more typical of Atharvanic operative speech than RV encomium. The stacking of spatial superlative + temporal perpetuity is a hallmark of magical intensification.
Gopatha’s logic of mantra as ‘constraint’ supports the non-return clause: speech fixes a trajectory and blocks reversal. Indra’s mythic expulsion of Vṛtra becomes a template for irreversible human banishment.
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