Sukta 84
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (not specified in the provided excerpt)
Devata: Nirṛti (and implicitly Bhūmi as the receiving/covering power)
Chandas: Mixed/prose-like Atharvanic anuṣṭubh tendency (long pādas; AV style)
Mantras
Mantra 1
निर्ऋतिमोचनम्। यस्या॑स्त आ॒सनि॑ घो॒रे जु॒होम्ये॒षां ब॒द्धाना॑मव॒सर्ज॑नाय॒ कम्। भूमि॒रिति॑ त्वाभि॒प्रम॑न्वते॒ जना॒ निरृ॑ति॒रिति॑ त्वा॒हं परि॑ वेद स॒र्वतः॑
A loosening from Nirṛti. On thy dreadful seat I offer, for the releasing of these that are bound. ‘Earth,’ so men conceive and name thee; ‘Nirṛti,’ so I, on every side, know thee.
Mantra 2
भूते॑ ह॒विष्म॑ती भवै॒ष ते॑ भा॒गो यो अ॒स्मासु॑ । मु॒ञ्चेमान॒मूनेन॑सः॒ स्वाहा॑
O Power, become rich in oblation: here is thy portion, that which is among us. Release these from yonder guilt—Svāhā!
Mantra 3
ए॒वो ष्व॑१स्मन्नि॑रृतेऽने॒हा त्वम॑य॒स्मया॒न् वि चृ॑ता बन्धपा॒शान्। य॒मो मह्यं॒ पुन॒रित् त्वां द॑दाति॒ तस्मै॑ य॒माय॒ नमो॑ अस्तु मृ॒त्यवे॑
So then, O Nirṛti, depart from us: do thou asunder cut the iron bonds, the binding nooses. Yama doth verily give thee back again to me: to that Yama be reverence—reverence to Death.
Mantra 4
अ॒य॒स्मये॑ द्रुप॒दे बे॑धिष इ॒हाभिहि॑तो मृ॒त्युभि॒र्ये स॒हस्र॑म्। य॒मेन॒ त्वं पि॒तृभिः॑ संविदा॒न उ॑त्त॒मं नाक॒मधि॑ रोहये॒मम्
In iron, in the wooden stock, thou liest pierced; here pressed down by deaths a thousand-fold. With Yama, in accord with the Fathers, lead thou this man upward to the highest heaven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nirṛti is the Atharvavedic power of misfortune and dissolution—what ‘binds’ a person into bad fate, illness, or death-pressure. The hymn compels her to depart and be absorbed/contained by Earth (Bhūmi).
Because the affliction is treated as a death-bond. The hymn both commands release and respectfully addresses Death’s jurisdiction so the patient can be ‘given back’—or, if not, be guided safely with Yama and the ancestors.
They are the strongest imagined fetters of calamity—deathlike constraints that feel unbreakable. Ritually they can be represented by a cord (and optionally an iron token) that is loosened or symbolically cut during recitation.
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