Atharva Veda 4.13.2: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 13, Mantra 2
Sukta 13
द्वावि॒मौ वातौ॒ वात॒ आ सिन्धो॒रा प॑रावतः॑ । दक्षं॑ ते अ॒न्य आ॒वातु॒ व्य॑१न्यो वा॑तु॒ यद् रपः॑
dvā́v imáu vātáu vā́ta ā́ síndhor ā́ parāvátaḥ | dákṣaṃ te anyá āvātú vy ànyó vātú yád rápah
Two are these Winds, O Wind—one from the Sindhu, one from the far region. Let the one blow hither bringing thy efficacious strength; let the other blow apart, away, whatever harm there is.
風よ、この二つの風がある。ひとつはシンドゥ（Sindhu）より、ひとつは遠き地より来る。ひとつはここへ吹き来たりて、汝の霊験ある力をもたらせ。もうひとつは、いかなる害（rapas）も散らし、遠ざけよ。
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (variable anukramaṇī).
Devata: Vāta (Wind), with implicit dual functional aspects.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (likely; may be irregular).
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa distinguishes a beneficent wind that brings ‘dakṣa’ (healing efficacy) and a dispersive wind that drives off ‘rapas’ (disease/evil). The geography (‘Sindhu’, ‘parāvat’) marks the wind’s purifying remoteness and its capacity to transport both remedy and expulsion.
Summon a beneficent wind to bring healing power and a second wind to disperse disease/evil influence (rapas).
Rapas: generalized harm—disease-impurity, malign influence, pain-causing presence.
Elemental conveyance and ventilation: invite a strengthening wind-current; command dispersal of pathogenic residue.
Vāta as doṣa is not explicitly ‘pacified’ here; rather, vāta is harnessed as carrier/cleanser—akin to restoring proper vāyu-gati (right movement) in channels.
Airflow/ventilation and breath regulation as supportive measures in recovery; psychosomatic framing of ‘inhalation of strength’ and ‘exhalation of harm’.
bhaisajya
Patient (imām—‘this one’) and the surrounding space.
Bring efficacious strength to the patient and scatter away harmful influence/disease.
Directional command (ā/vi) + bifurcation of a single deity into two operative functions (beneficent/expulsive).
Rapas (harm, contagion, evil influence).
The verse distinguishes two winds: one arriving from the Sindhu (Indus) and one from the far distance. The speaker requests that one wind bring “dakṣa” (effective power/skill) toward the patient, while the other drives away and disperses “rapas” (harm, malign influence, disease-impurity).
Breath and vital momentum are split into two functions: assimilation and elimination. One current draws in strength, clarity, and functional order; the other expels intrusive patterns—pain, fear, contagion, and psychic “toxins.” Healing is framed as correct directional flow (ā- vs vi-).
Well-being depends on balanced intake and release: what nourishes must be welcomed, what harms must be dispersed. Nature’s forces (wind/breath) can be aligned through intention and speech to restore right order.
- वात (vāta)
- prāṇa/breath; the mobile principle that carries influences and effects change
- सिन्धु (sindhu)
- source-realm of potency; a ‘clean’ current bringing vigor and renewal
- परावत् (parāvat)
- the beyond/unknown; forces that can remove, carry off, or exile harm
- दक्ष (dakṣa)
- healing competence; bodily intelligence that re-establishes function
- रपस् (rapas)
- pathogenic/inauspicious residue; intrusive affliction to be scattered
- आ- (ā) / वि- (vi)
- therapeutic polarity: drawing-in medicine vs. dispersing pathology
Two-stream breath: inhale ‘dakṣa’ (competence/strength), exhale ‘rapas’ (harm).
Anāhata (air element) as stabilizer of prāṇa flow; optional link to Viśuddha for ‘vā́c as medicine’.
Gentle nāḍī-śodhana-inspired alternation (without strain), emphasizing ā (inflow) and vi (outflow).
A clean river-breeze entering the chest; a dark haze of rapas being blown apart and away behind the body.
Clear, ventilated awareness—lightness and non-clinging.
Recite once per breath-cycle: first half on inhalation, second on exhalation; keep the exhale longer to emphasize dispersal.
Simple Atharvanic recitation with clear udātta emphasis on vocative and imperatives; keep ā/vi contrasts audibly distinct.
Stress ‘vāta’ vocative; lengthen ‘ā’ in ā-vātu; make ‘vi’ crisp in vi…vātu to signal dispersal.
Keep retroflex ṭ/ḍ distinct if present in your tradition; here focus on clean dental t/d in vāta., Pronounce ‘sindhoḥ’ with visarga lightly before pause., Maintain clear separation of ‘ā-vātu’ vs ‘vya-anyo’/‘vi anyo’ per padapāṭha intention.
Airy but steady; do not force volume—let the ‘wind’ quality come from smooth breath.
Pair recitation with a deliberate outward breath or hand-fan gesture on the ‘vi…’ portion to enact expulsion.
7
After exposure to illness, entering a heavy/closed room, or when feeling ‘weighed down’ by malaise or negativity.
Open a window/door; face the breeze if possible; recite while inhaling on the ‘ā…’ request and exhaling on the ‘vi…’ command.
Subjective lightness, calmer breathing, sense of protection; traditional aim: reduction of rapas and restoration of functional vitality (dakṣa).
Not a substitute for medical care in serious illness; avoid hyperventilation—keep breath gentle.
पदच्छेदः (सम्भाव्यः): द्वौ इमौ वातौ । वातः आ सिन्धोः आ परावतः । दक्षम् ते अन्यः आ-वातु । वि अन्यः वातु यत् रपः । मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) द्वा + इमौ → द्वाविमौ (स्वर-सन्धि: अ + इ → ए/ऐ-प्रक्रिया; संहितायां ‘द्वावि-’ रूपम्). (2) वातः + आ → वात आ (विसर्गस्य लोप/परिवर्तनं पदपाठे पृथक्). (3) सिन्धोः + आ → सिन्धोरा (विसर्गः + आ → ‘रा’). (4) वि + अन्यः → व्यन्यः (इ/य्-आदेशः: वि + अ… → व्य…). (5) यद् + रपः → यद् रपः (व्यञ्जन-सन्धिः न विशेषः; पदपाठे पृथक्).
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