Atharva Veda 7.103.1: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 11, Sukta 103, Mantra 1
Sukta 103
क्षत्रियः। को अ॒स्या नो॑ द्रु॒होऽव॒द्यव॑त्या॒ उन्ने॑ष्यति क्ष॒त्रियो॒ वस्य॑ इ॒च्छन्। को य॒ज्ञका॑मः॒ क उ॒ पूर्ति॑कामः॒ को दे॒वेषु॑ वनुते दी॒र्घमायुः॑
kó asyā́ no druhó ’vadyávatyā únneṣyati kṣatríyo vásya ícchan | kó yajñákāmaḥ ká u pū́rtikāmaḥ kó devéṣu vanute dīrghám-ā́yuḥ ||
Who shall deliver us from the hurt of her that is blame-laden—what Kṣatriya, seeking the better good? Who, fain for sacrifice, who indeed fain for pious ‘completions,’ who among the Gods wins length of life?
कौन हमें उस बुरी औरत से बचाएगा? कौन क्षत्रिय हमें बचाने आएगा जो अच्छा चाहता है? कौन यग्य करना चाहता है, कौन पुण्य करना चाहता है? कौन भगवान से लंबी उम्र मांगता है?
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (unspecified in the provided excerpt)
Devata: Kṣatriya/royal power; also the Gods collectively as granters of āyuṣ
Chandas: Triṣṭubh/Jagatī-like cadence possible; exact meter requires full pada scansion (not supplied with accents for all syllables).
Primary: vira
Secondary: shanta
Sayana takes the repeated ‘who?’ as a pointed designation of the proper social agent: the Kṣatriya as rescuer from hostile injury (druh). ‘Yajñakāma’ and ‘pūrtikāma’ mark the ideal ruler/agent who secures divine favor and long life through sacrifice and meritorious works.
To identify/invoke rightful protective authority (Kṣatriya) and secure welfare and long life through yajña and pūrti.
Community stress/trauma buffering via legitimate leadership, prosocial duty, and meaning-making practices that support longevity and resilience.
paustika
Household/community under threat
To identify/invoke a righteous protector and secure welfare and long life through yajña and pūrti; to lift the group from harm caused by a stigmatized/inauspicious agent.
Interrogative invocation (ko-vidhi) establishing qualifications; speech-act that ‘selects’ and empowers protective authority.
द्रुह् (hostility, harm), social/ritual blame (avadyá)
Āyuṣ (longevity), communal welfare (vasya)
A public question: which Kṣatriya (rightful protector) will lift the community out of the harm (druḥ) caused by a blame-bearing female agency; who is devoted to yajña and pūrti, and who wins long life among the gods.
Discerning legitimate authority and ethical leadership within oneself: the ‘Kṣatriya’ is the decisive, protective faculty that resists corrosive influence (druḥ/avadyá) and reorients life toward disciplined offering (yajña) and restorative social duty (pūrti).
Welfare and longevity arise where protective power is joined to right action—sacrifice (ordered offering) and pūrti (completion/repair of obligations). Harm thrives where blame, disorder, and neglected duty prevail.
- क्षत्रिय (kṣatriya)
- protective sovereignty; executive clarity that secures the common good
- द्रुह् (druḥ)
- betrayal/inner sabotage; disruptive forces in society and psyche
- अवद्यवती (avadyavatī)
- stigmatized/inauspicious agency; moral taint that spreads discord
- उन्नेष्यति (unneṣyati)
- deliverance; elevation from crisis to order
- वस्य (vasya)
- true welfare beyond short-term gain
- यज्ञ (yajña)
- disciplined offering; alignment with ṛta through ritual and intention
- पूर्ति (pūrti)
- repairing what is lacking—social/ethical completions that ‘seal’ wellbeing
- दीर्घमायुः (dīrgham-āyuḥ)
- sustained vitality protected by order, merit, and right alliances
Invoke inner ‘kṣatra’—protective discernment aligned with yajña (offering of impulses) and pūrti (completion of duties).
Manipura (agency/command)
Moderate nāḍī-śodhana 7 rounds before recitation
A protective mantle rising from the navel center, lifting one ‘up/out’ (unnayana) from hostile currents.
Steady, decisive, ethically oriented vigilance
After chanting, perform one concrete pūrti: repay a debt, reconcile, complete a neglected duty—sealing the mantra’s criterion into action.
Mixed/uncertain from excerpt; treat as Atharvanic recitation with clear udātta lifts on interrogatives (ko) and key nouns (kṣatriya, yajña, pūrti, dīrghamāyuḥ).
Strike ‘ko’ crisply; lengthen ‘dīrgha-’ and keep compound ‘dīrgham-āyuḥ’ unbroken.
kṣa- in kṣatriya: cluster clearly (kṣa-tra), druho: keep retroflex/aspiration minimal; do not insert vowel between dr-u, pūrti: long ū, clear ṛ, vanute: dental n, light v
Firm, proclamatory, ‘public’ tone
Best paired with a vow of pūrti (repair/charity) to ‘ground’ the paustika intent.
3
Seeking protection in a dispute, leadership crisis, or when communal/household welfare feels threatened by damaging influence.
Before meetings, before protective homa, or during āyuṣya observances; also when recommitting to duties.
Clarity about rightful protection, strengthened resolve, and an āyuṣya orientation (long-life through order).
Avoid using to stigmatize real persons; interpret ‘avadyavatī’ as inauspicious influence/pattern unless specific traditional context warrants otherwise.
पाठे ‘द्रुहोऽवद्यवत्या’ इति सन्धिः: द्रुहः + अवद्यवत्याः → द्रुहोऽवद्यवत्याः (अः + अ → ‘ओ’ तथा अवग्रह). अन्यत्र प्रमुखः सन्धिः न; ‘यज्ञकामः’, ‘पूर्तिकामः’ इति समासपदानि.
Ask anything about this verse
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.
