Mantra 3

Sukta 23

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

असितं ते प्रलयनमास्थानमसितं तव । असिक्न्यस्योषधे निरितो नाशया पृषत्

IAST Transliteration

asítaṁ te praláyanam āsthā́nam asítaṁ táva | asíknyasyóṣadhe nír̥ito nāśaya pŕ̥ṣat

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Black is thy seat, thy station for undoing; black, again, is thine. O Herb, of the Black One, destroy Nirṛti; smite thou the Speckled (bane).

Translation

Hitam tempat dudukmu, tempatmu untuk meluruhkan; hitam pula milikmu. Wahai tumbuhan, milik Yang Hitam, hancurkan Nirṛti; pukullah yang berbintik-bintik (racun) itu.

Word by Word

• असितम्: dark, black
• असितम्: कर्म (विशेष्य-सम्बन्धेन) / विधेय-विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असित (प्रातिपदिक) < √अस् (अस् = ‘to be’, here adjectival stem ‘dark/black’)

• ते: of you, your
• ते: सम्बन्ध (possessor) / षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• प्रलयनम्: dissolution, melting away
• प्रलयनम्: कर्म / विधेय-नाम
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रलयन (प्रातिपदिक; ‘dissolution, melting away’)

• आस्थानम्: abode, standing-place, resort
• आस्थानम्: कर्म / विधेय-नाम
• Type: Noun
• Root: आस्थान (प्रातिपदिक; ‘standing-place, seat, resort’)

• असितम्: dark, black
• असितम्: कर्म (विशेष्य-सम्बन्धेन) / विधेय-विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असित (प्रातिपदिक)

• तव: of you, your
• तव: सम्बन्ध (possessor) / षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• असिक्न्यस्य: of the black(-coloured) (herb)
• असिक्न्यस्य: सम्बन्ध (of the black(-coloured) one/herb) / षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध
• Type: Adjective (used substantively) / Noun-epithet
• Root: असिक्न्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘blackish/dark-coloured’, esp. of a plant/herb)

• ओषधे: O herb/plant
• ओषधे: सम्बोधन (addressed entity)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ओषधि (प्रातिपदिक)

• निरितः: from Nirṛti (destruction/misfortune)
• निरितः: अपादान (source: ‘from Nirṛti/destruction’)
• Type: Noun (proper) / Adjectival form
• Root: निरित (प्रातिपदिक; ‘Nirṛti’, goddess/personification of destruction/misfortune) अथवा ‘निरित’ = ‘from Nirṛti’

• नाशय: destroy, drive away
• नाशय: क्रिया (आज्ञा); कर्ता = (त्वम्) ओषधे
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (नाशयति)

• पृषत्: the speckled one; the spotted affliction
• पृषत्: कर्म (object of नाशय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृषत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘speckled one’, also ‘drop/spray’; here as a hostile speck/spot/affliction)

Attribution

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (hymn-seer not securely fixed; commonly transmitted under Atharvan/Angirasic strata for early AV charms)

Devata: Oṣadhi (Herb) as operative deity; antagonists: Nirṛti and ‘Pṛṣat’ (harm-personification)

Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; to be confirmed against pada-count in the Śaunaka accent tradition)

Mantra Rasa

{"primary_rasa":"vira","secondary_rasa":"bhayankara","emotional_arc":"From establishing a dark protective ground to forceful expulsion of calamity.","listener_experience":"A sense of being guarded by a strong, absorptive shield; courage to confront dread.","intensity":7}