Mantra 67

Sukta 5

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

प्र स्कन्धान् प्र शिरो जहि

IAST Transliteration

prá skandhā́n prá śíro jahi

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Smite off the shoulders, smite off the head.

Word by Word

• प्र: forth, forward; intensifier (prefix)
• प्र: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र (upasarga) / प्र (avyaya)

• स्कन्धान्: shoulders, shoulder-blades (lit. ‘shoulders’)
• स्कन्धान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्ध (prātipadika)

• प्र: forth, forward; intensifier (prefix)
• प्र: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र (upasarga) / प्र (avyaya)

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (prātipadika)

• जहि: strike! smite! kill! (remove/destroy)
• जहि: — (governs कर्म: ‘स्कन्धान्’, ‘शिरः’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)

Attribution

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angiras-type attribution (varies)

Devata: The invoked punitive power (Devī/Vajra) acting through the priest’s command

Chandas: Anuṣṭubh fragment (imperative pāda)

Mantra Rasa

{"primary_rasa":"raudra","secondary_rasa":"bhayankara","emotional_arc":"Immediate escalation: command → imagined blow → annihilating finality.","listener_experience":"Feels like a judicial sentence delivered as a strike; energizes protective aggression.","intensity":9}