Sukta 8
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (specific r̥ṣi not stated in the provided excerpt)
Devata: Vicṛtā and Tārakā (personified deliverers/unbinders); secondarily the expulsion of kṣetriya-disease
Chandas: Mixed/irregular as noted in the tradition: Virāṭ / Nicṛt-pathyā-pañkti (per the supplied metrical note)
Mantras
Mantra 1
क्षेत्रियरोगनाशनम्। ४ विराट्, ५ निचृत्पथ्यापङ्क्तिः। उद॑गातां॒ भग॑वती वि॒चृतौ॒ नाम॒ तार॑के । वि क्षे॑त्रि॒यस्य॑ मुञ्चतामध॒मं पाश॑मुत्त॒मम्
Upward let the two Blessed Ones depart—Vicṛtā by name, the two Deliverers: asunder let them loose, from kṣetriya-disease, the lower noose and the upper.
Mantra 2
अपे॒यं रात्र्यु॑च्छ॒त्वपो॑च्छन्त्वभि॒कृत्व॑रीः । वी॒रुत् क्षे॑त्रिय॒नाश॒न्यप॑ क्षेत्रि॒यमु॑च्छतु
Away! let this Night lift and pass; away let the assailing powers be lifted off. The Virút, the Kṣetriya-destroyer—let it lift away the Kṣetriya malady.
Mantra 3
ब॒भ्रोरर्जु॑नकाण्डस्य॒ यव॑स्य ते पला॒ल्या तिल॑स्य तिलपि॒ञ्ज्या। वीरुत् क्षे॑त्रिय॒नाश॒न्यप॑ क्षेत्रि॒यमु॑च्छतु
With babhru, with Arjuna’s stalk, with barley for thee; with chaff, with sesame, with sesame-paste—let Virut, the kṣetriya-destroyer, thrust the kṣetriya away.
Mantra 4
नम॑स्ते॒ लाङ्ग॑लेभ्यो॒ नम॑ ईषायु॒गेभ्यः॑ । वी॒रुत् क्षे॑त्रिय॒नाश॒न्यप॑ क्षेत्रि॒यमु॑च्छतु
Obeisance be to thee, unto the ploughs; obeisance unto the pole and yokes. Let the Virút-plant, the destroyer of kṣetriya, thrust the kṣetriya malady away.
Mantra 5
नमः॑ सनिस्रसा॒क्षेभ्यो॒ नमः॑ संदे॒श्येऽभ्यः । नमः॒ क्षेत्र॑स्य॒ पत॑ये वी॒रुत् क्षे॑त्रिय॒नाश॒न्यप॑ क्षेत्रि॒यमु॑छतु
Homage to the bleared and oozing-eyed ones; homage to the powers that haunt the neighborhood. Homage to the Lord of the Field. Let the Virút-plant, the destroyer of field-plague, drive the kṣetriya affliction away.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this sukta, kṣetriya is treated as a named affliction (and almost a personified force) that binds the patient like a noose; the mantra’s goal is to loosen and expel it rather than merely describe symptoms.
They are paired, ‘blessed’ deliverers invoked as unbinders—powers that cut or loosen bonds—so the patient is released from the disease’s grasp (both ‘upper’ and ‘lower’).
The ploughing set symbolizes cutting, turning, and uprooting; by saluting these implements, the rite borrows that ‘uprooting’ power to dislodge the kṣetriya malady and thrust it away.
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