Atharva Veda 8.3.20: Kanda 8, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 20
Sukta 3
प॒श्चात् पु॒रस्ता॑दध॒रादु॒तोत्त॒रात् क॒विः काव्ये॑न॒ परि॑ पाह्यग्ने । सखा॒ सखा॑यम॒जरो॑ जरि॒म्णे अग्ने॒ मर्ताँ॒ अम॑र्त्य॒स्त्वं नः॑
paścā́t purástād adharā́d utóttarát kavíḥ kā́vyena pári pāhy agne | sakhā́ sakhā́yam ajáro jarímṇe agne mártāṃ amártyas tváṃ naḥ ||
From behind, from before, from below and from above, do thou, O Agni, the Sage, with thy inspired craft, protect us round about. A friend protecting his friend against decay—O Agni, immortal, thou [guardest] us mortals.
अग्नि, पीछे से, आगे से, नीचे से, ऊपर से, सब तरफ से हमें बचा। तू अपने दोस्त की तरह हमें संभाल। तू अमृत है, हम मरते हैं, तू हमें बचाता रहे।
The meaning
What it says
Agni, the inspired sage, is asked to encircle the worshippers with protection from every direction (behind, before, below, above), like a loyal friend guarding a friend from jariman (decay/aging).
The inner meaning
The psyche seeks a stable inner ‘fire’ (clarity, courage, discriminative heat) that holds the perimeter of awareness—protecting from regressions (past), anxieties (future), instinctual pulls (below), and oppressive ideals (above). Jariman becomes the slow erosion of vitality and resolve.
The truth in it
Sustained life and integrity require a vigilant, luminous center that protects from threats seen and unseen, and that counters gradual decline through daily renewal.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Rakṣoghna with Paustika overtones (protection + longevity/anti-decay)
Its aim
To establish all-around protection and to avert ‘jariman’ (decay/old age), extending apotropaic fire-power into life-span maintenance.
Word by Word
Pada patha
पश्चात् । पुरस्तात् । अधरात् । उत । उत्तरात् । कविः । काव्येन । परि । पाहि । अग्ने । सखा । सखायम् । अजरः । जरिम्णे । अग्ने । मर्तान् । अमर्त्यः । त्वम् । नः ।
- पश्चात्
- from behind; afterwardsfrom behindIndeclinableअव्यय (दिक्कालवाचक)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पश्चात् (अव्यय)
- पुरस्तात्
- from the front; beforefrom the frontIndeclinableअव्यय (दिक्कालवाचक)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot पुरस्तात् (अव्यय)
- अधरात्
- from belowAdjective (used adverbially)पुं/नपुं, पञ्चमी एकवचन (अधरात् = अधर-तस्/अधरात्)Role ApādānaRoot अधर (प्रातिपदिक)
- उत
- and alsoIndeclinableअव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थ)Root उत (अव्यय)
- उत्तरात्
- from above; from the northfrom above; from the upper side/northward (protective quarter)Adjective (used adverbially)पुं/नपुं, पञ्चमी एकवचन (उत्तरात्)Role ApādānaRoot उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
- कविः
- the sage/poet (Agni)the seer-poet; wise one (Agni as inspired knower)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot कवि (प्रातिपदिक)
- काव्येन
- with poetic power; with hymn-craftwith poetic/ritual craft; with inspired formula (kāvya as efficacious speech)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot काव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around; on every sidearound; on all sidesIndeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्गः; ‘around, on all sides’)Root परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- पाहि
- protect!protect! guard!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot पा (धातु)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole Sampradāna (addressed)Root अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सखा
- a friendfriendNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सखायम्
- (his) frienda friend/companion (the worshipper as Agni’s ally)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अजरः
- unagingunaging; undecayingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (सखा इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot अजर (प्रातिपदिक)
- जरिम्णे
- for old age; to decrepitudeagainst old age/decay; in the matter of senescence (as a harm to be resisted)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot जरिमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचनRole Sampradāna (addressed)Root अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- मर्तान्
- mortalsmortals; human beingsNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot मर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
- अमर्त्यः
- immortalAdjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (त्वम् इति विशेषणम्/समनाधिकरणम्)Role KartāRoot अमर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वम्
- youthouPronounमध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- to us; for usus; ourPronounषष्ठी/चतुर्थी बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक ‘नः’ = our/to us; here best as चतुर्थी)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पश्चात् पुरस्तात् अधरात् उत उत्तरात्—दिक्पञ्चमी-प्रयोगः (अपादान/अधिकरणभावः)
- काव्येन परि पाहि—‘परि’ उपसर्ग/अव्ययः, ‘पाहि’ = पा धातोः लोट् 2sg. पाह्यग्ने → पाहि + अग्ने (इकारस्य यणादेशः/संहितायां ‘य’ आगमः)
- सखा सखायम्—सखा (प्रथमा) + सखायम् (द्वितीया) ‘friend (as subject) [protects] friend’ प्रकारः
- अजरॊ जरिम्णे → अजरः + जरिम्णे (विसर्ग-लोपः/ओ-रूपं पदसंहितायाम्)
- मर्ताँ अमर्त्यस्त्वं नः → मर्तान् + अमर्त्यः + त्वम् + नः (अन्त्य-अनुस्वार/नासिक्य-परिवर्तनं संहितायाम्; ‘अमर्त्यस्त्वम्’ = अमर्त्यः + त्वम्, विसर्गः ‘स्’ आदेशेन)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (to be verified by Anukramaṇī)
- Devata
- Agni
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh-like (to be confirmed)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Vira
Agni is ‘kavi’ because he knows the paths and detects hidden foes; ‘kāvya’ is not mere poetry but mantra-craft that accomplishes protection. The friend-to-friend trope authorizes intimacy with the deity. ‘Jarimṇe’ is read as senescence/weakening—an Atharvanic extension from demonology to life-span protection: Agni’s undecaying nature is invoked to repel human decay.
AVŚ 8.3 (Agni-rakṣoghna complex, nearby verses); AVŚ 1.8; 2.9 (rakṣas/yātudhāna-repelling Agni/Fire formulas—general parallels)
Unknown (Anukramaṇī attribution to be verified for AVŚ 8.3)
Rakṣoghna perimeter-protection; Agni as apotropaic guardian and anti-decay (jariman) ally; Atharvanic ‘around-about’ protection formulae.
Represents the Atharvanic use of Agni not only as sacrificial fire but as a domestic, lived protective intelligence—installed as a constant companion against both sudden attack and slow decline.
Agni
Mediator and purifier; the ‘seeing’ fire that illuminates and consumes hostile forces; guardian of thresholds (home, body, speech).
Counters jariman (senescent decay) by rekindling vitality/ojas through warmth, digestion (agni), and clarity.
Four-directional enclosure; apotropaic burning of intrusive beings (rakṣas, yātudhāna) and misfortune.
Triṣṭubh (approx.; Atharvanic triṣṭubh-like cadence)
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (with Atharvanic flexibility and resolution)
Directional enumerations often create slight metrical drag; caesura after spatial list is common.
Expansive, enclosing rhythm—suited to ‘paridhi’ (encirclement) intention.
Produces a felt perimeter: the voice ‘maps’ space, then seals it with Agni’s companionship.
Recite while circumambulating (pari-) the patient/house or the fire, aligning the spoken ‘paripāhi’ with physical encirclement.
Mark the quarters (front/back/below/above) by turning or touching ground and raising hand upward at the relevant words.
If used for longevity, accompany with steady feeding of the fire (non-violent, sustaining offerings) to symbolize ‘ajara’ continuity.
Kauśika Sūtra: protective encirclement rites; also used in āyuṣya (longevity) contexts where Agni is invoked as ajara (edition-dependent).
Atharvan as āyuṣya-rakṣitṛ: combines boundary-protection with life-span safeguarding, coordinating gesture, circumambulation, and fire-maintenance.
Recite while kindling the domestic fire or lamp; mentally ‘seal’ the four directions around home, child, patient, or traveler.
Dawn/evening; before sleep; before travel; during periods of weakness or convalescence.
Householder may perform; in heightened threat, an Atharvan priest (brahman/atharvan) leads with protective circumambulation.
Use as daily protective affirmation with a candle/lamp; combine with mindful perimeter-walk of the home.
Agni (fire); kāvya (efficacious poetic/mantric craft)
Agni as the operative substance-force (heat, light, purifier).
Fire is both medicine and fortress: it ‘cooks’ disorder into order; kāvya is the crafted spell that makes protection tangible in lived space.
Jariman (senescent decay; chronic wasting/decline)
Protective heat and illumination: rekindling inner agni, warding off vitality-leaks and hostile influences that accelerate decline.
Supports jatharāgni and ojas; counters vāta-driven degeneration (old-age dryness/weakness) through warming, stabilizing protection.
Chronic stress/allostatic load and age-related frailty—addressed via daily regulation, warmth, routine, and protective boundaries.
All-around apotropaic protection and longevity-support by averting decay (jariman).
Pari-bandha (ritual encirclement) through speech; invoking Agni as sakhā (bonded ally) and as kavi (diagnostic intelligence).
Directional threats, unseen assailants, and gradual deterioration of life-force.
Longevity, household stability, sustained vigor.
- पश्चात् / पुरस्तात् / अधरात् / उत्तरात्
- total perimeter-guarding; protection across time (past–future) and psyche (instinct–ideal)
- कविः
- Agni as discerning intelligence that ‘knows’ hidden forces
- काव्येन
- mantra as operative technology; vāc as pharmakon
- परि पाहि
- ritual encirclement; boundary-making against intrusion
- सखा / सखायम्
- reciprocal covenant: the deity as intimate protector, not distant force
- अजरः / अमर्त्यः
- deathless principle of fire-consciousness sustaining mortal life
- जरिम्णे
- entropy, chronic deterioration, loss of ojas and steadiness
Establish an inner ‘fire-circle’ of awareness that protects all directions of the mind.
Manipura (agni/tejas)
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana followed by short, warm exhales to ‘ignite’ steadiness (avoid strain).
A four-direction ring of flame-light around the body, sealing leaks and strengthening vitality.
Steady, luminous vigilance without agitation.
Chant slowly, then sit with the felt sense of warmth at the navel and a quiet perimeter around the whole body; end with gratitude to Agni as sakhā.
Use a steady recitation with emphasis on directional cadence; maintain udātta lift on key invocatives (e.g., अग्ने) per Śaunakīya accent tradition.
Mark a clear pause after the four-direction list; give weight to कविः काव्येन and parí pāhi as the operative ‘seal’.
Warm, grounded, slightly resonant (as if ‘kindling’).
Atharvanic efficacy often increases with spatial enactment: face each direction briefly while reciting the directional segment.
11 times
Feeling vulnerable to ‘drain’—illness recovery, aging concerns, hostile environment, travel, or household unrest.
At dawn/evening with a lamp; before entering contested spaces; during convalescence; before sleep for protective enclosure.
Greater sense of safety, steadier vitality, reduced fear of decline; strengthened protective ‘field’ around person/home.
Not a substitute for medical care in age-related disease; avoid overuse of actual smoke/fire in respiratory conditions.
The verse shifts from material pharmaka to ‘kāvya’ as a non-material technology: inspired speech plus fire. Longevity is pursued not by herb but by aligning mortal bodies with Agni’s ‘ajara’ quality through ritual analogy.
It frames protection and longevity as services mediated by ritual expertise; the client becomes ‘friend’ of Agni through priestly speech, implying controlled access to divine friendship via correct performance.
‘Kavi’ and ‘kāvya’ are old, but the explicit anti-decay application (‘jarimṇe’) is characteristically Atharvanic in its pragmatic extension of divine epithets into life-cycle management.
Gopatha treats brahman as a craft that ‘encloses’ and stabilizes; ‘pari pāhi’ matches that enclosure logic. The immortality/mortality contrast supports the transfer of stability from divine to human through rite.
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.
