Sukta 76
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (Anukramaṇī attribution not supplied in input)
Devata: The disease entity (gaṇḍamālā) as addressed adversary; salt as auxiliary power
Chandas: Not securely determinable from input alone
AV 7.76 は治療（Bhaiṣajya）の讃歌で、gaṇḍamālā 型の腫脹（頸部・リンパ系の腫れ）を溶かし、乾かして退けることを目的とする。病は打ち砕かれ、分解され、無力化されるべき敵として呼びかけられ、塩（lavaṇa）は補助的な乾燥・浄化の力として招かれる。さらに本呪歌は、侵入してくる病因的存在を追放し、身体の統合と健全さを回復するというアタルヴァ系治癒論理に基づいている。
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
गण्डमालाचिकित्सा। आ सु॒स्रसः॑ सु॒स्रसो॒ अस॑तीभ्यो॒ अस॑त्तराः । से हो॑रर॒सत॑रा लव॒णाद् विक्ले॑दीयसीः
（頸の腫れの）治療：砕けよ、よく砕けよ。悪性にして「虚なる」ものどもから、さらにいっそう無へと帰せ。まことに、いよいよ崩れ落ちよ。塩によって乾き去り、湿り気が尽きよ。
Mantra 2
या ग्रैव्या॑ अप॒चितोऽथो॒ या उ॑पप॒क्ष्याः । वि॒जाम्नि॒ या अ॑प॒चितः॑ स्वयं॒स्रसः॑
首の腫れであれ、脇の腫れであれ、肩の関節の腫れであれ――いかなる腫れも、みずからほどけ、みずから落ち去れ。
Mantra 3
यः कीक॑साः प्रशृ॒णाति॑ तली॒द्यऽमव॒तिष्ठ॑ति । निर्हा॒स्तं सर्वं॑ जा॒यान्यं॒ यः कश्च॑ क॒कुदि॑ श्रि॒तः
脊椎を砕き、まことに身に居座る talīdya よ――その jāyānya のすべてよ、ことごとく外へ、沈み去るところまで退け。どこに付着していようとも、背のこぶ（隆起）に取りついて宿るものは、みな出て行け。
Mantra 4
प॒क्षी जा॒यान्यः॑ पतति॒ स आ वि॑शति॒ पूरु॑षम्। तदक्षि॑तस्य भेष॒जमु॒भयोः॒ सुक्ष॑तस्य च
翼あるジャーヤーニャ（Jāyānya）が飛ぶ；それは人の内へと入り込む。それこそが、損なわれぬ者の薬であり、また両者の薬――よく打たれ（傷つき）ながらも整う者の薬でもある。
Mantra 5
वि॒द्म वै ते॑ जायान्य॒ जानं॒ यतो॑ जायान्य॒ जाय॑से । क॒थं ह॒ तत्र॒ त्वं ह॑नो॒ यस्य॑ कृ॒ण्मो ह॒विर्गृ॒हे
われらはまことに汝の出生を知る、ジャーヤーニャよ――ジャーヤーニャよ、汝はいずこより生まれしや。しかるに、われらがその家に供物（havis）を調えて捧ぐる者を、そこで汝はいかにして打ち倒さんや。
Mantra 6
धृ॒षत् पि॑ब क॒लशे॒ सोम॑मिन्द्र वृत्र॒हा शू॑र सम॒रे वसू॑नाम्। माध्य॑न्दिने॒ सव॑न॒ आ वृ॑षस्व रयि॒ष्ठानो॑ र॒यिम॒स्मासु॑ धेहि
勇ましく壺（kalaśa）よりソーマ（Soma）を飲め、インドラ（Indra）よ、ヴリトラ殺し、財宝をめぐる戦の勇士よ。正午の搾り（savana）にて汝の力をほとばしらせよ。富に据えられし者よ、われらのうちに富を置け。
Inside Sukta 76
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens with a direct therapeutic command: the swellings are ordered to ‘break up’ and become ‘more unreal than the unreal,’ setting an adversarial tone toward the disease.
- What it asks
That gaṇḍamālā collapses, crumbles, and is desiccated—its moisture failing—through the operative power of salt and the spoken charm.
- Where its power lies
The mantra frames the remedy as effective for conditions both ‘uninjured’ (preventive/early) and ‘well-stricken’ (established), asserting broad curative scope against an entering affliction-agent.
- How it closes
A concluding reinforcement invokes Indra’s bold, obstruction-breaking might and wealth/strength-bestowal, sealing the cure with renewed vitality and protection.
Famous verses
लवणाद् विक्लेदीयसीःधृषत् पिब कलशे सोमम्Kind of hymn
Bhaiṣajya (Healing)
What it is for
Reduction/dissolution and drying of neck-swellings, cessation of moisture/softening in the lesion, and restoration of intact health with protective reinforcement.
Who it is for
Householders, village healers, Atharvanic ritualists/physicians (bhaiṣajika), and families treating chronic swellings or recurrent ‘entering’ afflictions.
Also used as
- Shāntika (pacificatory, disease-quelling)
- Rakṣoghna/Graha-apotropaic (repelling an entering affliction-agent)
- Paustika (supportive strengthening via embedded Indraic verse)
The deity
The primary ‘devatā’ is the affliction itself—gaṇḍamālā—addressed as a malign, moisture-bearing obstruction to be disintegrated. Salt functions as the operative counter-power that dries, purifies, and collapses the swelling; a secondary layer frames disease as an intrusive ‘flying’ agent to be neutralized, and an Indra-verse supplies a generalized obstruction-breaking and strengthening force.
Powers of the deity
- Breaks apart and crumbles pathological growths (śoṣaṇa + bhedana imagery)
- Dries moisture and reduces ‘ooze’/softness associated with swelling
- Expels intrusive affliction-agents conceived as entering the body
- Restores bodily wholeness (akṣita) and resilience
- Calls in Indraic force for obstruction-removal and renewed vigor
Why the deity is called
To render gaṇḍamālā ‘as nothing,’ desiccate it through salt, and secure a return to intact health by driving out the illness-agent and re-establishing strength.
The seer
- Atharvanic seerAtharvan. Bhaiṣajya charms: disease-expulsion, drying/desiccation rites, and protective formulas that treat illness as a hostile entity to be shattered and driven out.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 7.74
- AV 7.75
- AV 7.77
- AV 7.79
Preparing for the rite
- Obtain clean salt (lavaṇa); optionally roast lightly to enhance ‘drying’ symbolism.
- Prepare a small quantity of clean water or whey for mixing (optional), and a clean cloth/band for application.
- Seat the patient facing east or north; keep the affected area exposed and clean.
- Establish a calm, quiet space; mark a boundary (simple protective intention) around patient and practitioner.
The rite
- Recite the hymn while rubbing a pinch of salt gently over/around the swelling (clockwise), visualizing ‘crumbling’ and ‘drying.’
- Optionally make a salt-water paste and apply as a thin smear; recite the key ‘break up’ verse during application.
- If treating the ‘entering/flying’ affliction motif, gesture outward (expulsion) after the relevant verse, as if sending the agent away.
- Conclude by a brief strengthening recitation (the embedded Indraic verse) over the crown/heart to seal vigor.
What it needs
- Salt (lavaṇa)
- Clean water (optional)
- Cloth/bandage (optional)
- Small bowl or palm for salt
- (If used) Soma is symbolic here; practically, a strengthening libation or simple water offering may substitute in domestic setting
When
Preferably in the morning for drying/clearing rites, or at a daily fixed time for 3–7 days; can also be done when swelling is observed to be increasing.
The main substance
Salt (lavaṇa)
Amulets
- Small cloth wrap/bandage for the affected area (as a carrier for salt contact)
How it is prepared
Use dry salt for gentle rubbing, or make a minimal paste with clean water/whey; apply thinly while reciting, emphasizing ‘drying’ and ‘crumbling’ imagery.
Frequently Asked Questions
It targets gaṇḍamālā-type swellings, especially around the neck/lymph region, asking that they crumble and dry up so the body returns to intact health.
Salt (lavaṇa) is invoked as a drying and purifying force—symbolically and practically associated with desiccation—so the swelling’s ‘moisture’ fails and the mass collapses.
Both layers appear: the swelling is treated physically (drying/collapsing), and the illness is also imagined as an entering, intrusive agent that must be expelled and kept away.
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