Mantra 23
Sukta 2
इमं जीवेभ्यः परिधिं दधामि मैषां नु गादपरो अर्थमेतम्। शतं जीवन्तः शरदः पुरूचीस्तिरो मृत्युं दधतां पर्वतेन
imáṃ jīvébhyaḥ paridhíṃ dadhāmi mā́iṣāṃ nú gā́d áparo ártham etám | śatáṃ jī́vantaḥ śarádaḥ purūcī́s tiró mṛtyúṃ dadhatāṃ párvatena ||
This rampart for the living I set in place: let not for these, even now, the later end—this doom—be reached. Living, may they attain a hundred autumns, many in number; may they set themselves beyond Death, as by a mountain-barrier.
Rishi: Traditionally associated with Atharvanic seers of the Pṛthivī-sūkta complex (book 12); precise r̥ṣi assignment varies by anukramaṇī tradition.
Devata: Āyus (Life) and apotropaic power against Mṛtyu (Death); implicitly Pṛthivī as protective ground in the 12.2 context.
Chandas: Triṣṭubh-like cadence (edition-dependent; book 12 often exhibits mixed/expanded meters).
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