Sukta 33
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (specific ṛṣi not stated in the supplied excerpt)
Devata: Yákṣma (as disease-demon) / healing-extraction force of the Atharvan
Chandas: Noted in the Anukramaṇī for this hymn-cycle: mixed meters; this mantra is commonly treated as anuṣṭubh-like in cadence, but the excerpt indicates a metrical sequence across verses (5–7) and does not explicitly label v.1.
Mantras
Mantra 1
यक्ष्मविबर्हणम्। ५ उपरिष्टाद्विराड्बृहती, ६ उष्णिग्गर्भा निचृदनुष्टुप्, ७ पथ्यापङ्क्तिः। अक्षीभ्यां ते नासिकाभ्यां कर्णाभ्यां छुबुकादधि । यक्ष्मं शीर्षण्यं ऽ मस्तिष्काज्जिह्वाया वि वृहामि ते
From thine eyes, from thy nostrils, from thine ears, from above the chin— The yákṣma that is head-ensconced, from the brain, from the tongue, I tear it forth from thee.
Mantra 2
ग्रीवाभ्यस्त उष्णिहाभ्यः कीकसाभ्यो अनूक्याऽत्। यक्ष्मं दोषण्य१मंसाभ्यां बाहुभ्यां वि वृहामि ते
From thy neck, from thy shoulder-parts, from thy ribs, from thy spine,—the wasting-disease, the mischief-working one, with shoulders and with arms I rend away from thee, clean apart.
Mantra 3
हृदयात् ते परि क्लोम्नो हलीक्ष्णात् पार्श्वाभ्याम्। यक्ष्मं मतस्नाभ्यां प्लीह्नो यक्नस्ते वि वृहामसि
From thy heart, away from thee; from the klóman, from the hālīkṣṇa, from either flank— The yakṣma from the lower trunk, from the spleen, from thy liver, forth do we tear it out.
Mantra 4
आन्त्रेभ्यस्ते गुदाभ्यो वनिष्ठोरुदरादधि । यक्ष्मं कुक्षिभ्यां प्लाशेर्नाभ्या वि वृहामि ते
From thine intestines, from thy rectum, from the bladder, from the belly—from off them—out of thy flanks, from the spleen, from the navel, I tear away the Yakṣma from thee.
Mantra 5
ऊरुभ्यां ते अष्ठीवद्भ्यां पार्ष्णिभ्यां प्रपदाभ्याम्। यक्ष्मं भसद्यं१ श्रोणिभ्यां भासदं भंससो वि वृहामि ते
From thy thighs, from thy bony members, from thy heels, from thy fore-feet; the yakṣma, seated in the rump— from the hips, seated in the buttock-seat, from the buttocks—apart from thee I tear it out.
Mantra 6
अस्थिभ्यस्ते मज्जभ्यः स्नावभ्यो धमनिभ्यः । यक्ष्मं पाणिभ्यामङ्गुलिभ्यो नखेभ्यो वि वृहामि ते
From thy bones, from thy marrows, from thy sinews, from thy pulsating vessels—from thy hands, from thy fingers, from thy nails—thy wasting yákṣma do I rend away, plucking it forth from thee.
Mantra 7
अङ्गेअङ्गे लोम्निलोम्नि यस्ते पर्वणिपर्वणि । यक्ष्मं त्वचस्य ऽ ते वयं कश्यपस्य वीबर्हेण विष्वञ्चं वि वृहामसि
In limb after limb, in hair after hair, which of thine is in joint after joint—thy cutaneous wasting-disease: that, all-pervading, we, with Kaśyapa’s vībarha, tear forth and rend away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yakṣma is a wasting, debilitating illness treated as a demon-like presence that can lodge in organs, skin, joints, and the head. The hymn addresses it as something that can be forcibly removed.
It works like an exorcistic therapy: the verses name specific body locations and repeatedly declare “we tear it out,” using authoritative speech as the extracting instrument.
The cited verses do not require a plant medicine or object. The core method is recitation with focused attention on the body-parts named, often accompanied by a symbolic pulling-out gesture.