Atharva Veda 6.124.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 124, Mantra 2
Sukta 124
यदि॑ वृ॒क्षाद॒भ्यप॑प्त॒त् फलं॒ तद् यद्य॒न्तरि॑क्षा॒त् स उ॑ वा॒युरे॒व। यत्रास्पृ॑क्षत् त॒न्वो॒३यच्च॒ वास॑स॒ आपो॑ नुदन्तु॒ निरृ॑तिं परा॒चैः
yádi vṛkṣā́d abhy-àpaptat phálaṃ tád yády antárikṣāt sá u vāyúr evá | yátrā́spṛkṣat tanvò yác ca vā́saso ā́po nudantu nírṛtiṃ parācáiḥ
If from a tree a fruit hath fallen upon (me)—or if from the mid-air: that, in truth, is Wind alone. Where it hath touched, of the body, and what of the garment—let the Waters thrust Nirṛti away, far off.
ഒരു വൃക്ഷത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഒരു ഫലം എന്റെ മേൽ വീണിട്ടുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ—അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അന്തരീക്ഷത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വീണിട്ടുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ: അത് സത്യത്തിൽ വായു തന്നെയാണ്. അത് ശരീരത്തിൽ എവിടെ സ്പർശിച്ചുവോ, വസ്ത്രത്തിൽ എന്തിനെ (സ്പർശിച്ചുവോ)—ജലങ്ങൾ നിരൃതിയെ അകലെ, വളരെ അകലെ, തള്ളിക്കളയട്ടെ.
The meaning
What it says
If a fruit falls from a tree or seems to strike from mid-air, the event is reclassified as the action of Vāyu (Wind), not an ominous agent; then the Waters are invoked to wash/drive away Nirṛti (calamity/decay) from the exact points of contact on body and clothing.
The inner meaning
Startle and anxious interpretation (omen-fear) is cognitively ‘reframed’: what felt like hostile fate is reduced to impersonal natural causality (wind). The psyche is then ‘cleansed’ at the contact-points—somatically (body) and socially (garment as public self).
The truth in it
Misfortune often enters through interpretation and contagion-anxiety; naming a neutral cause and performing a cleansing act restores agency, boundaries, and order.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (contact-omen cleansing)
Its aim
To cleanse and banish misfortune arising from ominous contact (fallen fruit/aerial touch), driving Nirṛti away from body and clothing.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यदि । वृक्षात् । अभि-अपपतत् । फलम् । तत् । यदि । अन्तरिक्षात् । सः । उ । वायुः । एव । यत्र । अस्पृक्षत् । तन्वः । यत् । च । वाससः । आपः । नुदन्तु । निरृतिम् । पराचैः ।
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/शर्त-अव्ययRoot यदि
- वृक्षात्
- from a treeNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot वृक्ष
- अभि
- towards, uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अभि
- अपपतत्
- fell downVerbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot पत् (पतति)
- फलम्
- a fruitfruit (fallen fruit as a carrier of ill-luck/defilement in this charm-logic)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot फल
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (सम्बन्ध/अनुवाद)Root तद्
- यत्
- whichwhatever (any part/instance)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (यद्-तद् सम्बन्ध)Root यद्
- अन्तरिक्षात्
- from the mid-air/atmospherefrom the midspace (aerial origin; unseen agencies)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot अन्तरिक्ष
- सः
- he/that (one)that (agency/event so arising)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot तद्
- उ
- indeedindeed; just (emphatic particle)IndeclinableनिपातRoot उ
- वायुः
- windNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (सम्बन्ध/समासार्थ)Root वायु
- एव
- just, indeedjust; precisely (identificatory emphasis)IndeclinableनिपातRoot एव
- यत्र
- wherewherever (site of contact)Indeclinableदेश-अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot यत्र
- आ
- unto, toIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot आ
- अस्पृक्षत्
- touchedit touched (contact as locus of pollution)Verbलङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot स्पृश् (स्पृशति)
- तन्वः
- of the bodyof the body; of the person (the vulnerable substrate)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: तन्वः = तन्वाः/तन्वाः-समकक्ष)Role Sambandha (षष्ठी)Root तनू
- यत्
- whatever (that which)whatever (any part/instance)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot यद्
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRoot च
- वाससः
- of the garment/clothingof the garments (cloth as pollution-carrier)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole Sambandha (षष्ठी)Root वासस्
- आपः
- the watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot अप्
- नुदन्तु
- may (they) drive awaylet them thrust away; drive off (apotropaic expulsion verb)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot नुद् (नुदति)
- निरृतिम्
- misfortune, destruction (Nirṛti)Nirṛti; dissolution, calamity, deathliness (personified misfortune)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot निरृति
- पराचैः
- away, backwards, afaraway, backward, afar (directional banishment)Adjective (used adverbially)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोगः)Role Karaṇa (adverbial instrumental)Root पराच्
Sandhi Notes
- वृक्षादभ्यपप्तत् → वृक्षात् + अभि + अपपतत् (द्→त् before अ; Vedic spelling shows -पप्त- for -पतत्)
- तद् यद् → तत् + यत्
- अन्तरिक्षात् स → अन्तरिक्षात् + सः
- वायुरेव → वायुः + एव (visarga sandhi)
- यत्रास्पृक्षत् → यत्र + आ + अस्पृक्षत्
- तन्वो३यच्च → तन्वः + यत् + च (ओ = अवग्रह/स्वर-संकेत; ३ = प्लुत/दीर्घ-चिह्न in pada-text tradition)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition.
- Devata
- Āpas (Waters); Vāyu as explanatory agent; anti-deity target: Nirṛti.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like; requires metrical verification.
- Rasa
- Shanta and Bhayankara
Sāyaṇa reads the verse as a general counter-charm for ominous contact: whether the impact is from a tree’s fruit or from the air, the agency is reduced to ‘Vāyu’ (thus naturalized and made manageable). The waters are commanded to expel Nirṛti from every point of contact—body and clothing—since defilement adheres to both.
Anonymous (AVŚ 6.124 tradition)
Apotropaic purification and contact-omen remediation using water rites; Nirṛti-expulsion formulae.
Embodies the Atharvan strategy of converting ominous contact into a manageable, ritually removable residue—protecting householders from everyday ‘accidents’ becoming fate.
Āpas (Waters) with Vāyu as explanatory agent; target: Nirṛti
Waters dissolve and carry away pollution/inauspiciousness; Vāyu mediates unseen motion and reclassifies the ‘aerial’ strike as natural; Nirṛti represents disintegration and ill-luck to be banished beyond the settlement.
Cleansing of contact-impurity; psychosomatic calming after shock; restoration of ‘wholeness’ after ominous touch.
Apotropaic barrier by washing/aspersing; drives calamity ‘parācaiḥ’ (away, outward) from body and clothing.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; AV often tolerates resolution/overcount near compounds and enclitics (u, eva).
Omen-removal verses frequently show slight syllabic looseness and prose-like explanatory segments (e.g., ‘sa u vāyur eva’).
Matter-of-fact opening (reclassification) followed by imperative expulsion; cadence supports a ‘turn’ from fear to command.
Stabilizing and distancing: the voice moves from describing the incident to ordering purification, producing relief and closure.
Identify the locus of contact (body part and garment area).
Sprinkle or wash the touched places with water while reciting the verse.
Optionally shake out or rinse the garment, synchronizing the action with ‘āpo nudantu’.
Cast the used water away in a ‘parāñc’ direction (away from the house/settlement), enacting banishment.
Kauśika Sūtra: cleansing after ominous contact; water-expulsion of Nirṛti (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan priest diagnoses the contact as Nirṛti-linked and performs the water-based expulsion; he directs disposal ‘away’ to prevent reattachment.
After an ominous touch (falling fruit/debris), sprinkle water on the spot of contact and on the garment; optionally rinse the garment and pour the used water away from the dwelling/boundary.
Immediately after the incident; ideally before re-entering inner rooms or sitting at the hearth.
Householder can perform; a purohita may add boundary rites if repeated omens occur.
Use clean water (optionally with a pinch of salt) for washing; pair with a brief verbal reframing and disposal of wash-water away from the home.
Water (Āpas); Fruit (fallen phala as omen-object); Wind (Vāyu as agent)
Āpaḥ are the active agents; likely used as sprinkling water (prokṣaṇa) or washing water for body/garment.
Water is the solvent of inauspicious contact; the fruit is not ‘curse’ but a trigger for purification; wind reframes causality so the rite can detach fear from the event.
Contact-omen impurity leading to misfortune, anxiety, and vulnerability to illness (Nirṛti as ‘decay’).
General body (tanū) and clothing (vāsaḥ).
Cognitive demystification (Vāyu) + ritual cleansing (āpaḥ) + directional banishment (parācaiḥ).
Comparable to śodhana/pavitra-kriyā logic: removing ‘āgantuka’ (externally arisen) disturbance; water as cooling/pacifying for fear-aggravated vāta/pitta responses.
Stress response after a sudden impact/near-miss; hygienic cleansing after contact with unknown debris; grounding ritual to reduce anxiety.
Nirṛti (inauspiciousness/decay) attached to the contact points.
Neutralize an ominous strike/contact and prevent ensuing misfortune by washing it off and driving Nirṛti outward.
Apotropaic re-naming (wind-only) + aspersion/washing + spatial banishment formula (‘parācaiḥ’).
Bad omens, contagion-anxiety, ‘carrying off’ of luck/health after a startling incident.
- फलम् (phala)
- omen-object; sudden impact of the unforeseen; ‘result’ that drops into one’s life
- वृक्ष (vṛkṣa) / अन्तरिक्ष (antarikṣa)
- known source vs. uncanny source; the ordinary vs. the seemingly supernatural
- वायुः (vāyu)
- natural explanation that de-demonizes fear; invisible mover of events
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- purification, boundary-setting, expulsion of contagion
- निरृतिः (nirṛti)
- entropy, depressive pull, social/ritual inauspiciousness attaching by contact
- नुदन्तु (nudantu)
- active apotropaic expulsion, not passive washing
- वासस् (vāsaḥ)
- social skin; reputation; the outer field that can ‘carry’ impurity
Reframe fear into neutrality; visualize impurity leaving the aura with water-flow.
muladhara
Slow nasal exhale with a brief pause after exhale (bahya-kumbhaka, mild).
At the contact point, imagine cool water washing a dark stain that streams outward beyond the perimeter of the home.
Grounded, boundary-aware, calm vigilance.
Recite once while touching water, then sprinkle/wash; finish with three slow breaths and a deliberate step across a threshold to mark ‘return to safety’.
Simple AV recitation with clear udātta on marked syllables; keep ‘vāyur eva’ as a distinct explanatory cadence.
Maintain separation of clauses; slight pause after ‘antarikṣāt’ and before ‘sa u vāyur eva’.
Clear, steady, ‘commanding calm’ on nudantu.
Pair mantra with actual prokṣaṇa (sprinkling) for full Atharvanic efficacy; the performative imperative ‘nudantu’ is key.
3 times
After a sudden ‘omen-like’ contact (object falls on you; bird dropping; debris from above) that leaves lingering unease.
As soon as possible; before resuming important tasks or entering prayer space.
Reduced anxiety, restored sense of auspiciousness, ritual ‘reset’ of body/clothing.
If injured, seek medical care first; do not substitute ritual for treatment. Ensure water use is safe for skin/fabric.
The ‘fruit’ is not medicinal but semiotic: a fallen fruit functions as an omen-object whose contact is treated as a vector for Nirṛti; water is the active counter-substance that removes the attached danger.
Everyday mishaps (a fruit falling) are ritualized as threats requiring specialist remediation; clothing is included, indicating concern for household order and purity regimes managed through Atharvanic rites.
The pragmatic ‘if…or if…’ diagnostic style and the explicit pollution-transfer logic (contact sites on body/garment) are more typical of Atharvanic domestic magic than of RV praise-hymns.
Gopatha’s framework supports ‘naming and redirecting’ harmful agencies: identifying the event as ‘Vāyu’ reduces demonic ambiguity, while the waters perform the expulsion of Nirṛti through a directed act.
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