Atharva Veda 6.49.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 5, Sukta 49, Mantra 2
Sukta 49
मे॒ष इ॑व॒ वै सं च॒ वि चो॒र्व॒ऽच्यसे॒ यदु॑त्तर॒द्रावुप॑रश्च॒ खाद॑तः । शी॒र्ष्णा शिरोऽप्स॒साप्सो॑ अ॒र्दय॑न्नं॒शून् ब॑भस्ति॒ हरि॑तेभिरा॒सभिः॑
meṣá iva váí sáṃ ca ví cór urá-cyase yád uttaradrā́v úparaś ca khā́dataḥ | śīrṣṇā́ śiró ’psasā́psó ardaýann aṃśū́n babhasti háritebhir āsábhiḥ
Like a ram, verily, thou art dashed together and driven apart, when, fleeing upward, thou gnawest from above. With the head he smites the head; with the waters—ye Waters—crushing (thee), he tramples thy filaments with tawny jaws.
ಮೇಷದಂತೆ ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ನೀನು ಒಟ್ಟುಗೂಡಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು ಮತ್ತೆ ಬೇರ್ಪಡಿಸಲ್ಪಡುವೆ; ಮೇಲಕ್ಕೆ ಓಡಿ ಹೋಗಿ ಮೇಲಿಂದ ಕಚ್ಚುತ್ತಾ ಇರುವಾಗ. ತಲೆಯಿಂದ ತಲೆಯನ್ನು ಹೊಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಜಲಗಳಿಂದ—ಓ ಜಲಗಳೇ—ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ನುಚ್ಚುಚೂರಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ, ಹಳದಿ-ಕಂದು ದವಡೆಗಳಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನ ತಂತುಗಳನ್ನು ತುಳಿದು ನಾಶಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (rṣi not specified in the provided excerpt)
Devata: Āpas (Waters) and the expulsion-force against the gnawing agent
Chandas: Likely Triṣṭubh/Jagatī-type (requires full hymn metrical audit; verse appears longer than Anuṣṭubh)
Primary: raudra
Secondary: vira
Sāyaṇa takes the simile ‘like a ram’ as indicating forceful expulsion by butting; the hostile agent is construed as a biting/gnawing pest or affliction that ‘climbs upward’ (uttaradrāv) and attacks from above. ‘Waters’ are invoked as a purificatory counter-agent; ‘aṃśūn’ are interpreted as hair-like fibres/feelers or subtle ‘threads’ by which the harm adheres, to be crushed. The color-term ‘harita’ is read as either the creature’s tawny biting parts or as a ritual-material descriptor (fibrous/plant-like), reinforcing the physicality of the rite.
To dislodge and crush a gnawing, upward-creeping pest/parasite or its disease-effect; to sever its ‘threads’ of attachment.
Krimi/infestation-like condition; a gnawing, upward-moving pest/parasite (literal or metaphorical)
Head (śīrṣṇā śiraḥ)
Expulsion + crushing: shock-force (ram/head), flushing (waters), severing filaments (aṃśu) to detach and remove.
Krimi (internal/external parasites) and kṣaya from ‘gnawing’; water-based cleansing aligns with śodhana (purificatory) logic.
Parasite management, delousing/scabies-type imagery, or deworming plus hygiene; also fits intrusive-compulsion relief via ‘cutting attachment’ framing.
bhaisajya
The harmful agent (krimi/pest) and its ‘threads’.
To dislodge, crush, and drive out a gnawing pest and its connective filaments; prevent reattachment.
Imitative violence + elemental agency: verbal depiction of crushing/gnawing-back, empowered by invoking Waters as active destroyers.
Re-infestation, lingering ‘roots’ of the pest.
Addressing a gnawing, upward-fleeing agent (pest/parasite): like a ram it is dashed and driven apart; head smites head; the Waters crush it; its filaments are trampled with tawny jaws.
The ‘gnawer’ is also compulsive agitation: a pattern that climbs upward (intrusive urges, anxiety, irritation). The charm mobilizes counter-force—impact, washing, and severing of ‘threads’—to break fixation and attachment.
Harm persists by clinging through fine threads; liberation comes by disrupting its grip (shock of insight), washing it out (cleansing), and cutting its connections (boundary-making).
- मेष (meṣa)
- forceful impact; head-on expulsion; aggressive removal
- खाद (khād-)
- parasitic consumption; chronic irritation/depletion
- अद्राव्/द्राव् (drāv-)
- expulsion dynamics; forcing the agent to retreat
- अप्सः/आपः (āpaḥ)
- cleansing, dissolving, flushing-out power
- अंशु (aṃśu)
- subtle attachments/roots of infestation; ‘holds’ that must be severed
- हरित आस्य (haritebhir āsabhiḥ)
- solar/fiery biting force that crushes and dislodges
Cutting ‘threads’: observe where the mind is being ‘gnawed’; apply firm attention to sever and flush the pattern.
Ājñā (head imagery) and Maṇipūra (forceful expulsion)
Kapalabhāti (mild, if appropriate) 3 rounds, then slow exhale recitation; contraindicated if dizziness/hypertension.
Blue-white water surging through the head/upper channels, crushing dark filaments and carrying them out.
Tīkṣṇa (sharp), decisive clarity.
Follow with calming practice (śavāsana/slow breathing) to settle after raudra mobilization.
More forceful articulation; maintain clarity on consonant clusters; keep accents as marked if using accented text.
Punch key verbs (khād-, ardayan, babhasti) slightly; pause at caesura-like points to ‘drive apart’.
अंशून् (aṃśūn): nasal + ś; keep long ū., अप्ससा (apsasā): articulate ps cluster cleanly., हरितेभिः (haritebhiḥ): light h; do not over-aspirate.
Firm, commanding, slightly louder than domestic blessings.
Atharvanic krimighna recitation is traditionally paired with actual cleansing actions (washing, sweeping, sunning bedding), making mantra the ‘directive’ of the procedure.
Suspected infestation (lice/bugs), recurrent ‘gnawing’ irritation, intrusive thoughts framed as parasitic.
During washing/cleaning; before bathing; while preparing cleansing water.
Sense of decisive removal and protection; reinforces disciplined hygiene and follow-through.
Seek medical/veterinary advice for infestations; avoid harsh practices on skin/eyes; mantra is adjunct, not sole treatment.
पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): मेषः इव वै सम् च वि चोर्वच्यसे यत् उत्तरद्राव् उपरः च खादतः । शीर्ष्णा शिरः अप्ससाप्सः अर्दयन् अंशून् बभस्ति हरितेभिः आसभिः । मुख्य सन्धि-समाधान: (1) सं च → सम् + च (अनुस्वार/परसवर्ण). (2) वि चोर्वच्यसे: वि + च + (…); पाठे ‘चो-’ संधि-रूप, ‘च’ निपातः ‘उर्वच्यसे’ इत्यादि रूपेण व्याख्या-सम्भव; अत्र सम्+वि+√वच् इति क्रियापद-समूहः ग्रहणम्. (3) यदुत्तरद्रावुपरश्च → यत् + उत्तरद्राव् + उपरः + च (द्+उ → दु; व्+उ → वु; अः+च → अश्च). (4) शिरोऽप्ससाप्सो → शिरः + अप्ससाप्सः (अः/ओऽ- सन्धि).
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