Atharva Veda 9.5.38: Kanda 9, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 5, Mantra 38
Sukta 5
तास्ते॑ रक्षन्तु॒ तव॒ तुभ्य॑मे॒तं ताभ्य॒ आज्यं॒ ह॒विरि॒दं जु॑होमि
tā́s te rakṣantu táva túbhyam etáṃ | tā́bhya ā́jyaṃ havír idáṃ juhomi
Let those protect this for thee, for thy behoof. Unto them I pour this oblation of ghee.
वो सब दिशा तुम्हारी रक्षा करें और तुम्हारे काम आएँ। मैं अब उनके लिए घी का दान करता हूँ।
The meaning
What it says
The speaker requests the Dik-s (the Quarters/Directions) to guard the intended object or outcome (“this”) for the benefit of the addressed person, and offers them ghee as a propitiatory payment.
The inner meaning
Orientation and boundary-setting: the psyche ‘stations’ awareness in all directions so that intrusive forces (fear, distraction, hostile intent) cannot enter the ritual/resolve. The ghee offering represents feeding the protective attention that keeps one’s aim intact.
The truth in it
Protection is strengthened when one acknowledges the whole field (all ‘directions’ of life) and reciprocates with a conscious offering; guardianship arises from right relationship with one’s environment and its powers.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika / Rakṣoghna (Protective)
Its aim
To enlist the quarters as protectors of the rite’s outcome, by paying them with a ghee oblation.
Word by Word
Pada patha
ताः । ते॒ । रक्षन्तु । तव । तुभ्यम् । ए॒तम् । ताभ्यः । आज्यम् । हविः । इदम् । जुहोमि
- ताः
- those (fem. pl.)those (quarters just invoked)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourfor thee; thyPronounषष्ठी; एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रक्षन्तु
- may (they) protectlet them protect (apotropaic guarding)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे); परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot रक्ष् (पालने)
- तव
- of you / yourof thee; thyPronounषष्ठी; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तुभ्यम्
- to youunto thee (beneficiary)Pronounचतुर्थी; एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- एतम्
- this (one/this)this (rite/offering/result)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ताभ्यः
- from those (fem. pl.) / of thoseunto them (to those quarters)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी/षष्ठी; बहुवचनRole अपादान (पञ्चमी) / सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आज्यम्
- ghee (clarified butter)clarified butter (ghee; oblation medium)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot आज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- हविः
- oblationoblation; sacrificial offeringNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्म (जुहोमि-क्रियायाः)Root हविस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचनRole विशेषण/निर्देशक (हविः-सम्बन्धे)Root इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जुहोमि
- I offer (into the fire)I offer into the fire (make oblation)Verbलट्; परस्मैपदम्; उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot हु (यज्ञदानयोः)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) तास्ते = ताः + ते (विसर्ग-लोपः/सवर्णदीर्घः)
- (2) तुभ्यमेतम् = तुभ्यम् + एतम् (अनुस्वार/म् + स्वरः)
- (3) ताभ्य आज्यम् = ताभ्यः + आज्यम् (विसर्ग-लोपः)
- (4) हविरिदम् = हविः + इदम् (विसर्गस्य ‘र्’ आदेशः)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (not specified here)
- Devata
- Dik (Quarters)
- Chandas
- Short ritual verse; anuṣṭubh-like
- Rasa
- Shanta and Vira
Sayana glosses the quarters as ‘rakṣaṇakartṛ’ (protective agents). The ghee oblation is the ‘upahāra’ that secures their guardianship; ‘juhomi’ indicates the decisive fire-act that binds the invoked powers to the sacrificer’s protection.
Unknown (Atharvanic tradition; anukramaṇī attribution not specified here)
Rakṣā-karman (protective warding), directional guardianship, rite-securing oblations.
Atharvanic protection often works by ‘closing the perimeter’—enlisting cosmic jurisdictions (Dik-s) through offering and command-formulas to prevent ritual leakage and hostile entry.
Dik (Quarters/Directions)
They define space, boundary, and orientation; as guardians they regulate ingress/egress of forces in the ritual field.
Apotropaic enclosure: guarding the beneficiary and the rite’s ‘this’ (etam) from harm, interference, and inauspicious approach.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables; compact injunctive + offering clause
Atharvanic ritual anuṣṭubh often tolerates sandhi-driven compression and pragmatic word order around the performative verb (juhomi).
Clipped, directive, ‘sealed’ cadence suited to warding and closure.
Creates a sense of enclosure and completion: request → dedication → offering, ending on the performative act.
After invoking the quarters, make an ājya oblation into the domestic fire.
Recite the mantra at the moment of pouring, explicitly contracting protection from the quarters.
Optionally repeat with orientation to principal and intermediate quarters as local practice dictates.
Kauśika Sūtra: dik-devatā offering with ājya in pañcaudana context (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan priest performs/oversees the ājya-homa and ensures the protective ‘rakṣā’ framing of the rite.
Offered at the start/end of a domestic rite (threshold, new room, travel departure, night protection) while mentally placing guardians at the quarters.
Twilight (sandhyā), before sleep, before beginning a risky undertaking.
Householder may perform; if formal, a purohita offers ghee with directional invocations.
Lamp/ghee offering at home shrine while turning to four directions and reciting once or thrice.
ājya (ghee); havis (oblation)
Implicit: juhomi presumes offering into Agni/fire as the transmitting medium.
Ghee—refined, luminous fat—functions as concentrated vitality and consent; offered into fire it becomes ‘portable protection,’ carried to the Dik-s as cosmic administrators of space.
Stress-boundary practice: a brief protective affirmation paired with a grounding ritual action (lighting a lamp, mindful offering) to reduce anxiety and increase perceived safety.
To recruit the Quarters as sentinels so the rite’s result remains protected and reaches the intended beneficiary.
Directional invocation + propitiatory oblation (ājya-havis) as a ‘binding contract’ with spatial guardians.
Rakṣas, hostile glances/intent, ritual disruption, liminal dangers from ‘outside’ the perimeter.
- दिश् (dik) / ताः (tāḥ)
- cosmic perimeter; the total environment that can either shelter or expose
- रक्षन्तु (rakṣantu)
- apotropaic sealing; establishing a warding boundary
- तुभ्यम् (tubhyam)
- transfer of protection/merit to the beneficiary
- आज्य (ājya)
- consecrated nourishment; ‘fuel’ for divine guardianship and ritual success
- हविः (havis)
- reciprocity contract; ritual ‘payment’ that stabilizes unseen support
- जुहोमि (juhomi)
- activation—turning intent into efficacious action through Agni as transmitter
Protective mandala awareness: sense the body and home as a guarded field in all directions.
Mulādhāra (safety/grounding)
4-direction breathing: inhale ‘gather,’ exhale ‘seal’ to east/south/west/north in sequence.
A ring of light at the perimeter of one’s space, fed by a small inner flame.
Alert calm (rakṣā-smṛti).
Recite once while facing each direction (4x), then offer (literal or mental) a drop of ghee/light; end with silent stillness to ‘set’ the seal.
ताः (tāḥ): long ā, visarga audible; आज्यम् (ājyaṃ): palatal ‘jya’ cluster clean, anusvāra light; हविरिदम् (havir idam): maintain sandhi separation if teaching—havis | idam
Simple Atharvanic recitation; keep udātta on accented syllables as per śākhā tradition; avoid over-melodizing.
Lean on imperative rakṣantu and the performative juhomi; slight pause after etam.
Firm, sealing tone; not harsh.
Best used as a ‘closing formula’ after establishing the ritual space; the offering clause is itself the efficacy trigger.
3 times
Starting a journey, moving into a new home, beginning an important exam/meeting, feeling spiritually ‘exposed.’
Before crossing thresholds; at dusk; before sleep; before initiating any domestic rite.
Sense of guarded space, reduced fear, fewer disruptions; traditional aim: warding of malign influences and securing the rite’s fruit.
Do not substitute for medical/mental-health care when needed; if using fire, follow safety norms.
The key ‘substance’ is ājya, a universal ritual solvent and carrier. Here it functions as payment and binding medium, converting cosmological entities (quarters) into active protectors—parallel to how medicinal vehicles carry drug potency.
Protection is procured through correct offering, implying that ritual order (managed by specialists) governs security. The beneficiary depends on priestly competence to negotiate with cosmic powers.
The language is compact and transactional (‘protect this for thee… I offer ghee to them’), characteristic of Atharvanic pragmatic liturgy rather than RV encomium.
Gopatha-type explanation would treat the quarters as ‘guardians of boundaries’; feeding them with ājya secures liminal control, preventing rival interference and stabilizing the rite’s result.
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