Atharva Veda 2.33.6: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 33, Mantra 6
Sukta 33
अ॒स्थिभ्य॑स्ते म॒ज्जभ्यः॒ स्नाव॑भ्यो ध॒मनि॑भ्यः । यक्ष्मं॑ पा॒णिभ्या॑म॒ङ्गुलि॑भ्यो न॒खेभ्यो॒ वि वृ॑हामि ते
ásthibhyas te májjabhyáḥ snā́vabhyo dhamánibhyaḥ | yákṣmaṃ pāṇíbhyām aṅgulíbhyo nakhébhyo ví vṛhāmi te ||
From thy bones, from thy marrows, from thy sinews, from thy pulsating vessels—from thy hands, from thy fingers, from thy nails—thy wasting yákṣma do I rend away, plucking it forth from thee.
നിന്റെ അസ്ഥികളിൽ നിന്ന്, മജ്ജയിൽ നിന്ന്, സ്നാവുകളിൽ നിന്ന്, ധമനികളിൽ നിന്ന്; നിന്റെ കൈകളിൽ നിന്ന്, വിരലുകളിൽ നിന്ന്, നഖങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന്— നിന്റെ യക്ഷ്മത്തെ ഞാൻ കീറി പുറത്തേക്ക് വലിച്ചെടുക്കുന്നു; നിന്നിൽ നിന്ന് പറിച്ചെടുത്ത് അകറ്റുന്നു.
The meaning
What it says
Yakṣma is torn out from bones, marrow, sinews, vessels, and even hands, fingers, and nails—total body-tissue cleansing down to the extremities.
The inner meaning
Targets the fear of ‘deep’ illness: not only skin-level symptoms but the sense that weakness has entered the very structure (asthi/majja). The mantra restores confidence in structural integrity and future strength.
The truth in it
When depletion feels systemic, healing must be imagined and enacted systemically—down to the foundations and the ‘tools’ by which one acts in the world (hands).
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing)
Its aim
To expel yákṣma (wasting/consumption) from all bodily tissues and extremities by ritual extraction.
Word by Word
Pada patha
अस्थिभ्यः । ते । मज्जभ्यः । स्नावभ्यः । धमनिभ्यः । यक्ष्मम् । पाणिभ्याम् । अङ्गुलिभ्यः । नखेभ्यः । वि । वृहमि । ते ।
- अस्थिभ्यः
- from the bonesfrom the bones; from the bony frame (seat where disease may lodge)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourof thee/thy; referring to the patient as ritual addresseePronounषष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मज्जभ्यः
- from the marrowfrom the marrows; from the inner pith (deep-seated vitality, hence deep-seated disease)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot मज्जा (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्नावभ्यः
- from the sinewsfrom the sinews/tendons; binding tissues (channels of pain/constraint)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot स्नावन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- धमनिभ्यः
- from the vessels/arteriesfrom the dhamanīs, the pulsating vessels/ducts (life-carrying conduits; disease-pathways)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot धमनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- यक्ष्मम्
- disease/consumption (yakṣma)yákṣma, wasting disease/consumption (often TB-like; a devouring affliction to be expelled)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
- पाणिभ्याम्
- from the two handswith (my) two hands; the operative grasp used in the riteNounपुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; द्विवचनRole ApādānaRoot पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
- अङ्गुलिभ्यः
- from the fingersfrom the fingers; extremities (fine channels; points of ritual manipulation)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक)
- नखेभ्यः
- from the nailsfrom the nails; outermost tips (where impurity/disease may cling)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचनRole ApādānaRoot नख (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, away, asunderapart, asunder, out; marker of separation/extractionIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वृहामि
- I tear out / uprootVerbलट् (वर्तमाने); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole KartāRoot √वृह् (वृहँ—उन्मूलने/उत्पाटने)
- ते
- of you / yourfrom thee/for thee; the patient as beneficiary and locus of removalPronounषष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) यक्ष्मं + पाणिभ्याम् → यक्ष्मं पाणिभ्याम् (anusvāra before labial retained)
- वि + वृहामि
- (3) ते occurs twice as enclitic genitive singular of युष्मद्, ‘of you/your’
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages for bhaiṣajya hymns; specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī lists).
- Devata
- Yákṣma (as personified disease) as the direct target; implicitly the healing power of Atharvanic speech.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (4 pādas of 8 syllables; typical of AV healing charms)
- Rasa
- Vira and Raudra
Sāyaṇa glosses yákṣma as a wasting, consuming malady that penetrates the bodily constituents (dhātus). The enumerated loci—bones, marrow, sinews, dhamanīs, and the extremities—are treated as successive seats where the disease may adhere. The verb √vṛh ‘to tear out’ with ví signals forcible extraction, as one uproots a plant; the mention of ‘hands/fingers/nails’ supports a karman involving tactile/gestural removal (stroking, grasping, or symbolic plucking) performed by the Atharvan priest for the patient.
Unknown (yakṣma-bhaiṣajya sequence, AVŚ 2.33)
Deep-tissue healing charms; extending eviction logic from organs to dhātus (supporting tissues) and extremities.
Represents Atharvanic ‘total-body’ apotropaia: no refuge remains for the disease, not even in the nails.
Yakṣma (personified disease) opposed by Bhaiṣajya-vāc
A consuming presence that hides in the body’s deepest supports; the charm denies it any substrate.
Mantra acts as a purifying sweep through structural tissues and peripheral instruments of action.
Protects mobility and capability (hands/fingers) as well as longevity (bones/marrow).
4×8; crisp list cadence culminating in ‘vi vṛhāmi te’.
List-heavy pādas can feel ‘stacked’; performance relies on clear caesurae rather than strict metrical purity.
Hammering enumeration; each tissue-name is a beat.
Somatic ‘scan’ from deep supports to outer extremities; reinforces completeness.
Seat the patient facing east; establish a simple domestic fire or healing space as per the Atharvan’s practice.
The Atharvan priest recites the sukta, and at this mantra performs a sequential ‘touch-and-draw’ action: touching (or hovering over) the patient’s limbs while verbally naming the internal constituents (bones, marrow, sinews, vessels).
With both hands, the priest makes a plucking/tearing gesture outward from the patient’s body, as if uprooting the yákṣma; the motion is repeated at the hands, fingers, and nails to signify removal from the extremities.
The extracted ‘disease’ is symbolically cast away (to the north or to a designated discard spot), sometimes into water or onto refuse-ground depending on local ritual prescription.
Conclude with protective recitation and a sealing touch (light laying-on of hands) to prevent re-entry of the affliction.
Kauśika Sūtra: yákṣma-bhaiṣajya context (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition; applied in the yákṣma-removal rites where the priest performs ‘extraction’ gestures while reciting AV 2.33).
Atharvan/Brahman as healer-exorcist: he identifies the disease’s seats, performs the extraction-gesture (ākarṣaṇa/vyāvṛtti), and ritually transfers/banishes the yákṣma from the patient.
Recite while lightly tapping bones/limbs (non-painfully), then rubbing hands/fingers and flicking outward on ‘vi vṛhāmi’.
Morning strengthening rite; or before sleep if fear of systemic decline is strong.
Healer or elder recites; patient may self-recitate while performing hand-gestures.
KauśS yakṣma-cikitsā context (edition-dependent).
Somatic therapy style: progressive body scan + hand-release gesture; combine with physiotherapy routines.
Hands/fingers/nails as ritual instruments of extraction (tactile karman); Implicit ‘plucking out’ model (disease as weed/parasite)
The body’s own ‘hard’ and ‘sharp’ parts (bone, nail) become allies—structures that refuse the disease and tools that pull it out.
Yakṣma (wasting/consumption; systemic depletion)
Bones, marrow, sinews, vessels; hands, fingers, nails.
Exorcistic extraction from dhātu-like tissues and extremities; speech-act paired with tactile/gesture removal.
Maps well onto dhātu-kṣaya (tissue depletion), especially asthi/majja-kṣaya; dhamanī suggests prāṇa/rasa-rakta flow impairment.
Systemic weakness (cachexia, malnutrition), chronic fatigue states; also neuropathy/hand weakness anxiety addressed through restoring ‘agency’ imagery.
Yakṣma as an embedded agent in tissues.
Complete eviction of yakṣma from structural tissues and extremities.
Enumerative totalization + extraction verb; can be paired with physical ‘plucking’ gesture from hands/fingers outward.
Deep-seated recurrence; loss of strength and manual ability.
- अस्थि (asthi)
- framework; endurance; long-term stability
- मज्जा (majjā)
- core vitality; hidden nourishment (ojas-like depth)
- स्नायु (snāyu)
- cohesion; binding power holding life together
- धमनि (dhamanī)
- life-currents; circulation of strength
- पाणि/अङ्गुलि/नख (pāṇi/aṅguli/nakha)
- agency; capacity to grasp, work, protect; ‘nails’ as natural claws to pull out harm
- वि वृह् (vi vṛh)
- root-extraction; decisive removal rather than mere soothing
Rebuilding the ‘inner scaffolding’—steadiness in bones and core vitality in marrow.
Mūlādhāra (structure) and Maṇipūra (strength) as supportive centers.
Even-count breathing (e.g., 4-4) without strain; exhale with the ‘flick away’ visualization.
White-gold light filling bones and marrow; dark specks driven out through fingers and nails and dispersed.
Dhāraṇā on strength and coherence.
Chant 3–9 times, then sit quietly feeling weight and support in the skeleton.
Follow AV accent; keep tissue-names clearly separated; land strongly on ‘yakṣmaṃ’ and ‘vi vṛhāmi’.
Micro-pause after each ablative plural (asthibhyaḥ/majjabhyaḥ/…).
Energetic, cutting, ‘pulling’ tone; end with a clean release.
Gesture is integral: rub hands, then ‘pluck’ the air away from the body on the final pāda.
Feeling illness has entered ‘the bones’; weakness in limbs/hands; prolonged convalescence.
During rehabilitation routines; after bathing; before meals to affirm rebuilding.
Sense of systemic cleansing and restored agency; traditional aim: expel yakṣma from tissues and extremities.
Avoid harsh tapping/strain in frail patients; seek medical care for persistent systemic symptoms.
No explicit herb appears in this verse; instead the body itself is anatomically mapped as the ‘field’ of yákṣma. The operative technology is somatic and gestural: the priest’s hands enact the verb √vṛh (‘pluck out’), substituting tactile extraction for pharmacology. In the broader Atharvanic healing repertoire, such mantras often accompany herbs/amulets, but here the primary ‘substance’ is the ritualized hand as instrument.
The patient is grammatically objectified as ‘thee’ (te), while the speaker-priest asserts agency (‘I pluck out’). This asymmetry encodes the Atharvan’s specialized authority: mastery of efficacious speech plus karman over the vulnerable body. The anatomical catalog also implies a learned, quasi-technical register that reinforces priestly expertise distinct from ordinary household knowledge.
The medical-anatomical enumeration (asthi, majjan, snāvan, dhamanī) is more characteristic of Atharvanic healing diction than of typical RV praise-poetry, reflecting a functional, diagnostic style. The forceful performative verb √vṛh with ví (‘tear out, separate out’) exemplifies Atharvanic pragmatic speech-acts—language designed to do, not merely to laud.
Gopatha Brahmana generally frames Atharvanic mantras as effective through correct knowledge (vidyā), correct application (karman), and the binding power of named correspondences. This verse exemplifies that logic: by naming progressively deeper bodily strata and then the extremities, the rite ‘covers’ the whole person, leaving no locus for yákṣma to remain; efficacy is achieved by totalizing enumeration plus the enacted separation (ví) of the affliction.
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