Atharva Veda 20.128.2: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 128, Mantra 2
Sukta 128
यो जा॒म्या अप्र॑थय॒स्तद् यत् सखा॑यं॒ दुधू॑र्षति । ज्येष्ठो॒ यद॑प्रचेता॒स्तदा॑हु॒रध॑रा॒गिति॑
yó jāḿyā áprathayas tád yát sakhā́yaṁ dudhū́rṣati | jyéṣṭho yád apracetā́s tád āhur ádharā́ íti ||
Whoso among his own folk furthereth not their weal—inasmuch as he would fain assail a comrade—when the elder is void of counsel, that, men say, is ‘the lower sort.’
സ്വജനങ്ങളുടെ ക്ഷേമം വളർത്താതെ, സഖാവിനെ ആക്രമിക്കുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവൻ—ജ്യേഷ്ഠൻ വിവേകരഹിതനായിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ—അവനെ ജനങ്ങൾ ‘അധര’ (താഴ്ന്നവർഗം) എന്നു പറയുന്നു.
Rishi: Traditionally Ṛgvedic provenance (Book 20 supplement); specific ṛṣi attribution for 20.128 is not uniform across ancillary lists.
Devata: Implicit: social order/dharma; no single devatā explicitly invoked in this mantra.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (approx.; AV 20 often preserves RV-style meters)
Primary: raudra
Secondary: shanta
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