Atharva Veda 12.2.44: Kanda 12, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 44

Sukta 2

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अ॒न्त॒र्धिर्दे॒वानां॑ परि॒धिर्म॑नु॒ष्याऽणाम॒ग्निर्गार्ह॑पत्य उ॒भया॑नन्त॒रा श्रि॒तः

Sanskrit recitationAtharva Veda 12.2.44

IAST Transliteration

antardhír devā́nāṃ paridhír manuṣyā́ṇām agnír gārhapatyá ubháyān antarā́ śritáḥ ||

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

A screen for Gods, a fence for men is Agni, the House-Fire: between the twain he standeth, set as the middle stay.

Translation

ദേവന്മാർക്കു മറ, മനുഷ്യർക്കു വേലി—അഗ്നി, ഗാർഹപത്യാഗ്നി; ഇരുവരുടെയും ഇടയിൽ അവൻ മദ്ധ്യസ്ഥ താങ്ങായി സ്ഥാപിതനാകുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• अन्तर्धिः: inner covering; concealment; inner enclosure
• अन्तर्धिः: Kartā
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर्धि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अन्तर्’ + ‘धि’)

• देवानाम्: of the gods
• देवानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव- (प्रातिपदिक)

• परिधिः: enclosure; boundary; surrounding rim
• परिधिः: Kartā
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिधि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘परि’ + ‘धि’)

• मनुष्याणाम्: of humans
• मनुष्याणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य- (प्रातिपदिक)

• अग्निः: Agni; fire
• अग्निः: Kartā
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि- (प्रातिपदिक)

• गार्हपत्यः: the Gārhapatya (household) fire
• गार्हपत्यः: Kartā (as qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective (epithet) / Noun
• Root: गार्हपत्य- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘गृहपति’ से व्युत्पन्न)

• उभयानन्तरा: lying between both (sides); intermediate to both
• उभयानन्तरा: Adhikaraṇa (locative sense: ‘in-between’ as a relational location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभय-अन्तर- (समास-प्रातिपदिक; उभय + अन्तर)

• श्रितः: is placed; is stationed; is resorted to
• श्रितः: Kartā (predicative of the subject अग्निः)
• Type: Verb-derived participle
• Root: √श्रि (श्रयति) → श्रित (क्त-प्रत्यय)

Attribution

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (funerary corpus)

Devata: Agni Gārhapatya

Chandas: Anuṣṭubh

Mantra Rasa

Primary: shanta

Secondary: vira