Sukta 5
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (per Anukramaṇī for AV 5.5).
Devata: Lākṣā/Silācī (personified substance); associated with Rātrī, Nabhas, Aryaman.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh.
Mantras
Mantra 1
लाक्षा रात्री॑ मा॒ता नभः॑ पि॒तार्य॒मा ते॑ पिताम॒हः । सि॒ला॒ची नाम॒ वा अ॑सि॒ सा दे॒वाना॑मसि॒ स्वसा॑
Lac—Night is thy mother; the Sky thy father; Aryaman thy grandsire. By name thou art Silācī: thou art the Gods’ own sister.
Mantra 2
यस्त्वा॒ पिब॑ति॒ जीव॑ति॒ त्राय॑से॒ पुरु॑षं॒ त्वम्। भ॒र्त्री हि शश्व॑ता॒मसि॒ जना॑नां च॒ न्यञ्च॑नी
Whoso drinketh thee, he liveth: thou savest the man. For thou art the constant sustainer of the peoples, and a repeller that turneth (evil) downward.
Mantra 3
वृ॒क्षंवृ॑क्ष॒मा रो॑हसि वृष॒ण्यन्ती॑व क॒न्यला॑ । जय॑न्ती प्रत्या॒तिष्ठ॑न्ती॒ स्पर॑णी॒ नाम॒ वा अ॑सि
From tree to tree thou mountest, like a vigorous maiden-girl; conquering, standing forth in front, thou art indeed by name the Spareṇī.
Mantra 4
यद् द॒ण्डेन॒ यदिष्वा॒ यद् वारु॒र्हर॑सा कृ॒तम्। तस्य॒ त्वम॑सि॒ निष्कृ॑तिः॒ सेमं निष्कृ॑धि॒ पूरु॑षम्
What hath been wrought with staff, what with arrow, what by Varuṇa’s binding, with burning force—thereof thou art the release: do thou release this man.
Mantra 5
भ॒द्रात् प्ल॒क्षान्निस्ति॑ष्ठस्यश्व॒त्थात् ख॑दि॒राद्ध॒वात्। भ॒द्रान्न्य॒ग्रोधा॑त् प॒र्णात् सा न॒ एह्य॑रुन्धति
From the auspicious plakṣa thou comest forth, from aśvattha, from khadira, from dhava; from the auspicious nyagrodha, from the leaf—come thou to us, O Arundhatī.
Mantra 6
हिर॑ण्यवर्णे॒ सुभ॑गे॒ सूर्य॑वर्णे॒ वपु॑ष्टमे । रु॒तं ग॑छासि निष्कृते॒ निष्कृ॑ति॒र्नाम॒ वा अ॑सि
O golden-hued, gracious, sun-hued, most excellent in form—thou goest unto ṛta, O Niṣkṛti: ‘Release’ indeed is thy name.
Mantra 7
हिर॑ण्यवर्णे॒ सुभ॑गे॒ शुष्मे॒ लोम॑शवक्षने । अ॒पाम॑सि॒ स्वसा॒ लाक्षे॒ वातो॑ हा॒त्मा ब॑भूव ते
O golden-hued, auspicious, strong one, thou of the shaggy breast: thou art of the Waters, O sister Lākṣā; verily the Wind hath become thy very self.
Mantra 8
सि॒ला॒ची नाम॑ कानी॒नोऽज॑बभ्रु पि॒ता तव॑ । अश्वो॑ य॒मस्य॒ यः श्या॒वस्तस्य॑ हा॒स्नास्यु॑क्षि॒ता
Silācī by name—Kānīna; Ajababhru is thy sire. The dark horse that is Yama’s—verily with that one’s sinew art thou besprinkled.
Mantra 9
अश्व॑स्या॒स्नः संप॑तिता॒ सा वृ॒क्षां अ॒भि सि॑ष्यदे । स॒रा प॑त॒त्रिणी॑ भू॒त्वा सा न॒ एह्य॑रुन्धति
Fallen from the horse’s mouth, she settles upon the trees. Becoming winged, an essence, come hither unto us, O Arundhatī, the restrainer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both: the hymn treats lac and silācī as personified sacred powers. By giving them divine kinship (Night, Sky, Aryaman), the material becomes ritually empowered to protect and heal.
Arundhatī functions as the restraining, fastening force of protection. The repeated invitation aims to localize that power so it ‘settles’ and ‘clings’ onto the amulet, knot, person, or home.
Typically by reciting over lac/silācī and a leaf/cord, then tying or sealing an amulet or protective knot. The goal is to bind auspicious protection in place and block affliction from entering or returning.
Ask anything about Sukta 5 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.