Sukta 44
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (unspecified here)
Devata: Roga (disease) as addressed entity; cosmic order as supporting power
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable)
Mantras
Mantra 1
रोगनाशनम्। अस्थाद् द्यौरस्थात् पृथिव्यस्थाद् विश्वमिदं जगत्। अस्थुर्वृक्षा ऊर्ध्वस्वप्नास्तिष्ठाद् रोगो अयं तव
Heaven stood fast, Earth stood fast, and all this moving world stood fast; the trees stood, sleepers with their tops aloft: so let this disease of thine stand fixed (and cease to roam).
Mantra 2
शतं या भेषजानि ते सहस्रं संगतानि च । श्रेष्ठमास्रावभेषजं वसिष्ठं रोगनाशनम्
A hundred are the medicaments that are thine, and a thousand also, gathered into one. The best—medicine for the flux—most excellent, a destroyer of disease.
Mantra 3
रुद्रस्य मूत्रमस्यमृतस्य नाभिः । विषाणका नाम वा असि पितॄणां मूलादुत्थिता वातीकृतनाशनी
Thou art Rudra’s urine, the navel of ambrosia. ‘Viṣāṇakā’ indeed is thy name—sprung from the root of the Fathers—a destroyer of disorders wrought by Wind.
Frequently Asked Questions
To stop disease from “moving about” in the body by commanding it to stand still, and to empower a concentrated remedy that checks flux and vāta-type disorders.
It uses cosmic stability as a binding model: as the universe stands fixed in order, the disease is ordered to become fixed and powerless rather than roaming and harming.
It is the name of a specific bheṣaja (remedy), treated as a potent root-based medicine/amulet and sacralized as Rudra’s essence and connected to amṛta, especially for vāta-caused conditions.