Atharva Veda 5.19.8: Kanda 5, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 19, Mantra 8
Sukta 19
तद् वै रा॒ष्ट्रमा स्र॑वति॒ नावं॑ भि॒न्नामि॑वोद॒कम्। ब्र॒ह्माणं॒ यत्र॒ हिंस॑न्ति॒ तद् रा॒ष्ट्रं ह॑न्ति दु॒च्छुना॑
tád vái rāṣṭrám ā́ sravati nā́vaṃ bhinnā́m ivódakám | bráhmāṇaṃ yátra híṃsanti tád rāṣṭráṃ hánti duḥchúnā ||
Verily that realm runneth out and away, as water from a boat that is cloven. Where men do violence unto the Brahman, that realm—by evil ill-luck—he smiteth down.
സത്യമായി ആ രാജ്യം ഒഴുകിപ്പോകുന്നു—പിളർന്ന വള്ളത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വെള്ളം ചോർന്നൊഴുകുന്നതുപോലെ. എവിടെ ബ്രാഹ്മണനെ ഹിംസിക്കുന്നു, അവിടെ ദുഷ്ട ദുർഭാഗ്യത്താൽ ആ രാജ്യം നശിക്കുന്നു.
The meaning
What it says
The realm leaks away like water from a split boat. Where people harm the Brahman, that realm is struck down by duḥchunā—evil ill-luck.
The inner meaning
When one damages the inner source of wisdom/ethics (Brahman), life’s ‘vessel’ develops a crack: energy, resources, and trust drain away. Duḥchunā is the felt experience of cascading misfortune that follows structural moral damage.
The truth in it
Societies and individuals are containers of shared trust. Violence against the moral-educational core creates systemic leakage—loss of coherence, prosperity, and safety—experienced as ‘bad luck’ but rooted in broken order.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Rājya/Rāṣṭra-protection; Brahmavarcasa (priestly sanctity) with apotropaic-political force
Its aim
To warn against and ritually avert the catastrophic consequences of injuring Brahmins; to stabilize the realm by protecting brahman
Word by Word
Pada patha
तत् । वै । राष्ट्रम् । आ । स्रवति । नावम् । भिन्नाम् । इव । उदकम् । ब्रह्माणम् । यत्र । हिंसन्ति । तत् । राष्ट्रम् । हन्ति । दुः-छुना ।
- तत्
- that (kingdom/realm)that (very consequence/result just stated; deictic to the curse-effect)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (अनुवर्तते: ‘हन्ति’ इत्यस्य)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वै
- indeed, verilyIndeclinableअव्ययRoot वै (निपात)
- राष्ट्रम्
- kingdom, realmrealm, polity, kingdom (the ordered socio-territorial body under a king)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Kartā (स्रवति इत्यस्य)Root राष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, forthforth, toward, into (directional preverb intensifying the flowing-away)Indeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्गार्थे)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- स्रवति
- flows, runs offflows, leaks away (of prosperity/strength draining from the realm)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √स्रु (स्रवति)
- नावम्
- a boatNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Upamā/उपमान (इव-सम्बन्धः) / Karma (इवोदकम् इत्यत्र उपमान-आधारः)Root नौ (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक; अव. ‘नाव्/नौ’)
- भिन्नाम्
- split, brokensplit, broken, holed (ritually: breached integrity; politically: fractured sovereignty)Adjective (past participle)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (नावम् विशेषयति)Root √भिद् (क्त-प्रत्यय; ‘भिन्न’)
- इव
- like, asas if, like (simile marker)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot इव (निपात)
- उदकम्
- waterNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Upamā/उपमेय (स्रवति इत्यस्य उपमा) / Kartā (उपमावाक्ये ‘उदकं स्रवति’)Root उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
- ब्रह्माणम्
- the brahmin / sacred power (Brahman)the Brahman/priestly power; a Brahmin (bearer of brahman, sacral authority)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (हिंसन्ति इत्यस्य)Root ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्र
- whereIndeclinableअव्यय (देश/अधिकरणवाचक)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot यत्र (अव्यय-सम्बन्ध)
- हिंसन्ति
- they harm, injurethey injure, harm, violate (social/ritual violence against brahman)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √हिंस् (हिंसति)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (हन्ति इत्यस्य)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- राष्ट्रम्
- kingdomthe realm (as a moral-ritual organism)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (हन्ति इत्यस्य)Root राष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- हन्ति
- kills, destroysstrikes down, destroys (brings ruin upon)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √हन् (हन्ति)
- दुच्छुना
- by evil contagion/ill-luck, by a malignant afflictionNoun (abstract/instrumental)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot दुच्छुना (प्रातिपदिक; ‘दुः-छुना’ इति निघण्टु-परम्परायां ‘दुष्ट-छुना/दुष्ट-क्षति’ अर्थे)
Sandhi Notes
- तत् वै राष्ट्रम् आ स्रवति नावम् भिन्नाम् इव उदकम् । ब्रह्माणम् यत्र हिंसन्ति तत् राष्ट्रम् हन्ति दुच्छुना । सन्धि-निर्णयः:
- (1) तद् + वै → तत् वै (जश्त्व/परसवर्ण नहीं; ‘द्’ → ‘त्’ पदान्त-नियमेन)
- (2) राष्ट्रम् + आ → राष्ट्रम् आ (अनुस्वार/विसर्ग नहीं; स्वर-सन्धि नहीं क्योंकि ‘म्’ अन्त)
- (3) नावं + भिन्नाम् → नावम् भिन्नाम् (अनुस्वार का परसवर्ण: ‘ं’ → ‘म्’ ‘भ्’ (ओष्ठ्य) के पूर्व)
- (4) इव + उदकम् → इवोदकम् (अ + उ → ओ; गुण-सन्धि)
- (5) तत् + राष्ट्रम् → तत् राष्ट्रम् (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि नहीं; ‘त्’ + ‘र’ यथावत्)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Traditionally Atharvanic/Angirasa attribution for this political-ethical hymn (to be verified against Anukramaṇī for AVŚ 5.19)
- Devata
- Brahman (sacral power) and the moral order sustaining the rāṣṭra; duḥchunā as baneful counter-force
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (predominant in AV political/ethical stanzas; to be confirmed by metrical count)
- Rasa
- Bhayankara and Shanta
Sāyaṇa glosses ‘rāṣṭra’ as the king’s ordered dominion sustained by brahmanic support; harming the ‘brāhmaṇa/brahmāṇa’ (the bearer of brahman) causes the realm’s ‘śravaṇa’—a leaking-away of śrī (prosperity) and bala (strength). ‘Duḥchunā’ is taken as pāpmī/chunā—malignant misfortune that, once invoked by brahman-injury, becomes the agent of political ruin.
Unknown (explicit note: attribution to be verified against AVŚ 5.19 Anukramaṇī)
Rāṣṭra-protection rhetoric; apotropaic moral causality framed through vivid simile
Integrates political theory with Atharvanic magic: misfortune (duḥchunā) is not random but invoked as a force triggered by sacrilege.
Brahman (sacral power) opposed by Duḥchunā (baneful ill-luck)
Brahman sustains order through speech/ritual authority; duḥchunā is the counter-current that collapses prosperity when that authority is violated.
Protects the realm by warning that violence against Brahman activates duḥchunā; encourages safeguarding the sacral center to keep fortune contained.
4×8; strong simile in pādas 1–2, causal verdict in 3–4
Atharvanic anuṣṭubh favors crisp similes and moral causals; sandhi around bhiṇṇāmivodakam may compress syllables in chanting practice
Didactic, image-driven; flows like the water it describes
Creates a somatic sense of ‘leaking away’—effective for impressing the cost of violence on the imagination.
Identify the rite as a rāṣṭra-śānti/expiation when brahman has been harmed or threatened.
The Atharvan priest recites the mantra while establishing a protective boundary (pari-dhā/pari-kriyā) around the settlement or royal seat.
A symbolic ‘sealing’ act is performed (e.g., binding/tying, or sprinkling) to prevent the ‘leaking’ of fortune, mirroring the boat simile.
Conclude with a pacificatory offering (homa) and a declaration of non-injury toward Brahmins.
Kauśika Sūtra: rāṣṭrābhicāra/śānti contexts for AV 5.19 (general application: protection of realm; expiation for brahmahiṃsā). Exact sutra-number varies by edition.
Atharvan/Brahman priest as guardian of brahman and political stability; he voices the causal link between brahmahiṃsā and rāṣṭra-kṣaya and performs śānti to ‘stop the leak’ of prosperity.
Recited to ‘seal leaks’ in household fortune during conflict—especially when elders/teachers are disrespected; used as admonition and pacification.
After quarrels, before communal decisions, during reconciliation rites
Brahman officiant frames the household/realm as a vessel to be kept whole; may prescribe restitution to restore integrity
Used as a reflective reading in leadership ethics sessions; paired with practical repair plans.
Boat (nāva) as polity-metaphor; Water (udaka) as prosperity/life-substance; Duḥchunā (personified ill-luck/baneful force)
udakam (water) as prosperity/life-fluid leaking from a split nāva (boat/polity)
Water is the conserved life-capital; the boat is the social container. Violence is the crack; duḥchunā is the current that completes the loss.
Systems thinking: institutional ‘leakage’ after ethical breaches; parallels to burnout/resource drain after chronic conflict and moral injury.
Community/leadership tempted to harm Brahmans; also the abstract force of duḥchunā
To avert rāṣṭra-collapse by warning against brahman-harm and naming duḥchunā as the destructive consequence; functions as pacificatory restraint.
Simile-magic (boat/water) + naming of duḥchunā + causal linkage (harm → smiting) to bind behavior.
Political decay, loss of prosperity, cascading misfortune
state stability, fortune containment
- राष्ट्रम् (rāṣṭram)
- life-system; collective stability
- आ स्रवति (ā sravati)
- leakage of fortune/legitimacy
- नावम् (nāvam)
- the polity/self as a vessel carrying people across danger
- भिन्नाम् (bhinnām)
- structural breach; moral crack
- उदकम् (udakam)
- prosperity, life-fluid, sustaining resource
- हिंसन्ति (hiṃsanti)
- injury to dharma-bearing center
- दुःछुना (duḥchunā)
- personified negative momentum; entropy of order
Identifying the ‘crack’—where one’s actions violate core values—and sealing it through repair
Slow-meditative breathing; visualize inhalation ‘filling the boat’ and exhalation ‘sealing the seam’
A boat on calm water; a golden resin seals the split; water remains contained and luminous
Restorative resolve; dhāraṇā on integrity
After recitation, name one concrete non-violent act to protect learning/sacred speech (listening, apology, restitution).
Let the first half flow (ā sravati) and tighten on hanti duḥchunā to mark the ‘strike.’
Pause after udakam; then deliver brahmāṇaṃ yatra hiṃsanti as the moral condition.
Measured, cautionary; crescendo slightly on hanti
Effective as a ‘leak-sealing’ admonition; pair with restitution to avoid mere fear-based religiosity.
Organizational/household conflict where disrespect toward teachers/elders or ethical norms is causing ‘leakage’ (losses, instability)
After breaches of trust; before making repairs or apologies
Promotes integrity, reduces conflict escalation, supports restoration of stability
Do not attribute all misfortune to blame; use as a prompt for repair, not superstition-driven scapegoating
No explicit botanical is named; the operative ‘substance’ is metaphorical (udaka) and the ritual technology is social-ethical: brahman is the sustaining ‘medicine’ of the realm, and duḥchunā the pathogenic agent released by brahmahiṃsā.
It encodes a polity-theology: the Brahmin’s inviolability is not merely personal but infrastructural—harm to him is framed as harm to the state itself, legitimating Brahmin protection as a condition of sovereignty.
The political term rāṣṭra is common in later Vedic political discourse; duḥchunā is characteristically Atharvanic as a technical term for malignant ill-luck/affliction, reflecting AV’s specialized apotropaic lexicon.
Gopatha frequently grounds Atharvanic efficacy in brahman’s supremacy and in expiations for transgressions against ritual order; this stanza aligns with that logic by making brahman-injury the trigger for systemic disorder requiring śānti.
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