Atharva Veda 2.31.2: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 31, Mantra 2
Sukta 31
दृ॒ष्टम॒दृष्ट॑मतृह॒मथो॑ कु॒रूरु॑मतृहम्। अ॒ल्गण्डू॒न्त्सर्वा॑न् छ॒लुना॒न् क्रिमी॒न् वच॑सा जम्भयामसि
dṛṣṭám adŕ̥ṣṭam atṛhám átho kurū́rum atṛhám | algaṇḍū́nt sárvān chalúnān krimī́n vácasā jambhayāmasi
The seen, the unseen—these we tear away; yea, the Kurūru too we tear away. All Algaṇḍus, all Chalunā-worms, the Krimís—by our uttered word we make them gape and crush them down.
കാണുന്നതും കാണാത്തതും—ഇവ രണ്ടും ഞങ്ങൾ കീറി നീക്കുന്നു; അതെ, കുരൂരു-വിനെയും ഞങ്ങൾ കീറി നീക്കുന്നു. എല്ലാ അൽഗണ്ഡുക്കളും, എല്ലാ ഛലുനാ-കൃമികളും, കൃമികളും—ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഉച്ചരിച്ച വചനത്താൽ അവരെ ജംഭിപ്പിച്ചു (വായ്തുറപ്പിച്ചു) അമർത്തി നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker tears away the seen and unseen (afflictions), and also the Kurūru; all Algandús, Chalunā-worms, and Krimís are made to gape/crush down by the spoken word (vacas).
The inner meaning
Healing must address both obvious symptoms and covert causes; naming multiple ‘species’ of trouble is a psychological strategy for completeness—no hidden remainder escapes attention.
The truth in it
Comprehensive cure requires confronting the visible and invisible dimensions of harm; language can map the unseen and thereby disempower it.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Krimināśana (Vermin-expulsion)
Its aim
To expel and destroy all worms/parasites—both perceptible and occult—named and unnamed, from the patient.
Word by Word
Pada patha
दृष्टम् । अदृष्टम् । अतृहम् । अथो इति । कुरूरुम् । अतृहम् । अल्गण्डून् । सर्वान् । छलुनान् । कृमीन् । वचसा । जम्भयामसि ।
- दृष्टम्
- seen (visible)seen, manifest (i.e., perceptible worms/parasites; those evident to sight)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot दृष्ट (√दृश्) [कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक]
- अदृष्टम्
- unseen (invisible)unseen, hidden (i.e., imperceptible/internal worms; occult causes of disease)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अदृष्ट (√दृश्) [कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक]
- अतृहम्
- (a kind of) harmful being/affliction (atṛha)we crush/tear out (from √tṛh ‘to tear, pull up’; magical ‘uprooting’ of the affliction)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अतृह (प्रातिपदिक; निघण्टु/अथर्वणीय-प्रयोगः)
- अथो
- and alsoand also, moreover (adds a further class of targets)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot अथो (अव्यय)
- कुरूरुम्
- Kurūru (a named worm/disease-agent)the ‘kurūru’ (a named worm/creeping parasite; also a noxious growth/creature in Atharvanic nosology)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot कुरूरु (प्रातिपदिक; अथर्वणीय-रोग/कृमि-नाम)
- अतृहम्
- atṛha (harmful being/affliction)we crush/tear out (repetition for emphatic efficacy; ‘double binding’ in spell-style diction)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot अतृह (प्रातिपदिक)
- अल्गण्डून्
- Algaṇḍus (swellings/boils; disease-agents)algaṇḍus (a class of worms/larvae; often glossed as intestinal/skin-boring vermin in Atharvanic tradition)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot अल्गण्डु (प्रातिपदिक; रोग/ग्रन्थि-नाम)
- सर्वान्
- allall, without remainder (totalizing formula to prevent ‘residual’ infestation)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot सर्व (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
- छलुनान्
- Chalunās (named worms/parasites)the ‘chalunā’ (a named kind of krimi; ‘deceitful/slipping’ worms—those that evade detection/expulsion)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot छलुन (प्रातिपदिक; कृमि/दोष-नाम)
- क्रीमीन्
- worms, parasitesNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot कृमि (प्रातिपदिक)
- वचसा
- with (our) utterance/wordwith (our) speech/utterance (mantra as operative instrument; ‘word-weapon’)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- जम्भयामसि
- we crush/disable (make powerless)we make (them) gape; we crush with the jaws (from √jambh ‘to crush, bite’; figuratively ‘to smash’ the krimis by incantation)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपदRole — (क्रिया)Root √जम्भ् (जम्भयति)
Sandhi Notes
- दृष्टम् | अदृष्टम् | अतृहम् | अथो | कुरूरुम् | अतृहम् | अल्गण्डून् | सर्वान् | छलुनान् | क्रीमीन् | वचसा | जम्भयामसि । Sandhi:
- (1) अल्गण्डून् + सर्वान् → अल्गण्डून्त्सर्वान् (न् + स् = न्त्स्)
- (2) क्रिमीन् + वचसा → क्रिमीन् वचसा (दीर्घ-ई + व् संयोगे नासिक्य-नकारः स्थिरः; संहितायां ‘क्रिमीन्’ इति पाठः)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (often attributed generically to Atharvan/Angiras lineages for bhaiṣajya hymns; specific r̥ṣi assignment depends on anukramaṇī tradition).
- Devata
- Krimi-nāśana (the mantra’s operative power; sometimes treated as directed against personified Krimi-demons rather than invoking a single deva).
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable; standard for many Atharvanic healing verses—confirmable by full metrical scan in a padapāṭha-accented edition).
- Rasa
- Vira and Raudra
Sāyaṇa takes the verse as a krimi-nāśana-mantra: it targets both dṛṣṭa and adṛṣṭa (visible and invisible) parasites, naming specific varieties (kurūru, algaṇḍu, chalunā) to ensure comprehensive expulsion. ‘Atṛham’ is explained as uprooting/tearing out the worms from their seats in the body; ‘vacasā’ marks the mantra itself as the operative force; ‘jambhayāmasi’ is interpreted as causing the krimis to be crushed/disabled as though by jaws—an idiom for decisive destruction.
Unknown (AVŚ 2.31 krimi-bhaiṣajya; anukramaṇī attribution to be verified)
Totalizing krimi-expulsion through paired categories (seen/unseen) and named worm-types; Vāc-driven jambhana.
Demonstrates Atharvanic completeness: enumerate the spectrum of harm, then apply the crushing force of mantra so nothing remains outside the net of speech.
Krimi-nāśana power activated by Vacas (mantric utterance)
Speech as a net that catches both seen and unseen agents; jambhana as the closing mechanism.
Dislodges occult/latent infestation and destroys named worm-classes.
Prevents hidden recurrence by addressing adṛṣṭa factors and multiple species.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; list of names may compress/expand slightly in Atharvanic delivery
Name-lists (algandūn… chalunān… krimīn) function as rhythmic ‘beads’—often recited with equal stress rather than strict metrical weight.
Enumerative, incantatory; builds momentum through cataloging.
Creates a ‘sweeping’ effect—covering all categories before delivering the crushing verb jambhayāmasi.
Seat the patient facing east; the Atharvan priest prepares a simple protective boundary (pariṣecana or marking) as customary in bhaiṣajya rites.
Recite the krimi-mantras over the patient’s affected region (abdomen/skin lesion) while performing a symbolic ‘tearing out’ gesture (pulling motion with fingers or a blade of grass).
Optionally accompany recitation with sprinkling or wiping (prokṣaṇa/mārjana) to enact removal; the named classes (kurūru, algaṇḍu, chalunā) are ‘called out’ as targets.
Conclude by a final crushing gesture (clenching fist or pressing downward), synchronizing with jambhayāmasi to ‘smash’ the parasites ritually and verbally.
Kauśika Sūtra: krimi-prakaraṇa (worm-expulsion rites; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition—commonly placed among the bhaiṣajya-karmāṇi for krimi-nāśana).
Atharvan/Brahman as bhaiṣajya-operator: he diagnoses the affliction as krimi (including adṛṣṭa causes), vocalizes the binding/expulsive formula, and performs the corresponding removal-and-crushing gestures to actualize the mantra.
Recite while sweeping the body with kusa/hand from head to foot, then disposing sweepings; or over potable water administered to patient (where ritually appropriate).
At first signs of infestation; repeated for several days to ensure coverage of ‘unseen’ remnants.
Householder-healer or Atharvan; careful articulation of names is central.
Kauśika: krimi charms commonly involve recitation over water/food and sweeping/expulsion acts; exact citation for AVŚ 2.31.2 to be confirmed via Kauśika concordance.
Supportive ritual alongside hygiene and medical treatment; can be used as a ‘completion’ chant after cleaning routines.
Mantra (vacas) as the primary instrument; Implicit: expulsion/cleansing medium (often water, fumigation, or amulet in krimi-suktas; not explicit in this verse)
No physical drug is named; the operative substance is vacas (utterance). The list of worm-names acts like a diagnostic pharmakon: to name is to bind and neutralize.
Worm/parasite afflictions including named types (algandú, chalunā) and obscure entities (kurūru), plus seen/unseen components.
Comprehensive verbal capture (naming) + tearing away (atṛh-) + crushing/gaping (jambh-).
Krimi-roga with both gross and subtle etiologies; ‘adṛṣṭa’ aligns with unseen causation (nidāna) and latent doṣic factors; jambhana parallels krimighna action.
Broad-spectrum parasite control; addressing both symptoms and hidden sources (environmental reinfection, asymptomatic reservoirs).
Algandú, Chalunā worms, Krimi, and Kurūru (named affliction).
To remove and destroy all worms/infestations—visible and invisible—by the force of mantra-speech.
Totalizing enumeration + verbal ‘tearing away’ + jambhana (mouth-forcing/crushing) as disempowerment technique.
Occult/hidden recurrence; incomplete treatment.
- दृष्ट / अदृष्ट (dṛṣṭa/adṛṣṭa)
- manifest symptoms vs occult/latent causes; known vs unknown factors
- अतृह (atṛha)
- forceful separation; uprooting rather than soothing
- कुरूरु (kurūru)
- the ‘named unknown’—a specific but hard-to-classify pathology
- अल्गण्डु (algaṇḍú)
- stubborn infestation; personified pathogen
- छलुन (chalunā)
- variegated parasite classes; the many forms of one problem
- वचस् (vácas)
- diagnostic + expulsive power; mantra as operative medicine
- जम्भयामसि (jambhayāmasi)
- forcing the enemy’s mouth open—disarming and destroying it
Scan for the ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’ in the body-mind; uproot and crush subtle drainers.
Manipura (elimination) and Svadhisthana (gut/fluids regulation)
Body-scan on inhale (dṛṣṭam/adṛṣṭam), forceful exhale on atṛham/jambhayāmasi (gentle if weak).
A net of syllables pulls out dark threads; the threads are crushed into inert dust.
Dhāraṇā with diagnostic clarity; then decisive release.
Chant once as a ‘survey’ (seen/unseen), once as ‘naming,’ and once as ‘crushing’; finish with quiet breathing to restore steadiness.
Keep even stress on name-list; place a stronger accent on vacasā and jambhayāmasi as the operative pivot.
Deliver dṛṣṭam/adṛṣṭam as balanced pair; slightly pause before the list of worm-types; conclude with a firm jambhayāmasi.
Focused, declarative; not harsh—clarity and completeness are the power here.
Atharvanic enumeration is itself a technique: do not rush the list; each name is a ‘capture’ before expulsion.
7 times
When symptoms are ambiguous or recurring and you want a ‘cover all bases’ cleansing intention.
During a cleansing bath, after cleaning bedding/clothing, or before beginning a treatment course.
Sense of thoroughness and protection; supports consistent hygiene and follow-through.
Seek medical/veterinary diagnosis for suspected infestation; do not rely on mantra alone.
No plant is named in this verse; the operative ‘substance’ is vacas (speech) itself. Atharvanic medicine frequently couples materia medica with incantation, but here the taxonomy of worms (dṛṣṭa/adr̥ṣṭa; kurūru/algaṇḍu/chalunā) suggests a primarily verbal-ritual technology: naming + totalizing (‘all’) + violent verb-forms (‘tear out’, ‘crush’) functions as the therapeutic mechanism.
The verse presumes a specialist who can deploy efficacious speech to manage bodily disorder—an Atharvan priestly competence distinct from, yet complementary to, śrauta liturgy. The patient is acted upon; the priest acts through authoritative language, reflecting a hierarchy where ritual speech is a controlled resource and disease is a domain of priestly intervention.
The diction is characteristically Atharvanic in its cataloguing of named afflictive agents (kurūru, algaṇḍu, chalunā) and its pragmatic, coercive verbal style. While RV has demonological and healing language, AV intensifies technical nosology and direct performative verbs (atṛham, jambhayāmasi) aimed at bodily pathology, indicating a more specialized therapeutic register.
The Gopatha Brāhmaṇa broadly legitimizes Atharvanic mantras as effective instruments for averting harm and restoring order, often by framing them as extensions of sacrificial power into domestic/medical domains. In that logic, ‘vacasā’ is not mere speech but brahmanically empowered utterance: the mantra’s correct recitation and application are what render the expulsion of both dṛṣṭa and adr̥ṣṭa krimis ritually certain.
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