Atharva Veda 2.29.6: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 29, Mantra 6
Sukta 29
शि॒वाभि॑ष्टे॒ हृद॑यं तर्पयाम्यनमी॒वो मो॑दिषीष्ठाः सु॒वर्चाः॑ । स॒वा॒सिनौ॑ पिबतां म॒न्थमे॒तम॒श्विनो॑ रू॒पं प॑रि॒धाय॑ मा॒याम्
śivā́bhiṣṭe hṛ́dayaṃ tarpayāmy an-amīvó módiṣīṣṭhāḥ suvárcāḥ | savāsináu pibatāṃ mántham etám aśvínō rūpáṃ paridhā́ya māyā́m ||
With this benign, well-wished draught I sate the heart: be thou disease-unvexed; rejoice, and shine with goodly lustre. Let the two Aśvins, duly arrayed, drink this mantha, having assumed their form and their wondrous healing power.
Dengan tegukan yang jinak dan penuh doa baik ini aku mengenyangkan hati; jadilah engkau tidak diganggu penyakit; bergembiralah dan berserilah dengan sinar yang indah. Biarlah kedua Aśvin, berhias dengan sepatutnya, meminum mantha ini, setelah menyarung rupa mereka serta māyā—kuasa penyembuhan mereka yang ajaib.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages; specific r̥ṣi attribution for 2.29 may vary by anukramaṇī).
Devata: The Aśvins (divine twin healers); secondarily the healing draught as empowered substance.
Chandas: Mixed/uncertain in AV transmission; commonly treated as a triṣṭubh/jagatī-type cadence in this style (verify against the pada-count in the edition used).
Primary: karuna
Secondary: shanta
Sāyaṇa takes the address as a healing benediction: the ‘heart’ is to be tṛpta—restored and steadied—by a propitious drink/mixture. ‘Anamīva’ is explicitly apotropaic (exclusion of roga). ‘Suvarchas’ is read as the visible sign of restored vitality. The Aśvins are invoked as bhaiṣajyau (divine physicians); ‘rūpaṃ paridhāya’ is glossed as their taking an appropriate manifestation for succour, while ‘māyā’ is their extraordinary remedial skill (not deceit), enabling swift cure.
To refresh the patient’s heart/vital center, expel disease, and restore radiant health; to enlist the Aśvins’ physicianly intervention through a prepared mantha-drink.
General disease/affliction (amīva), weakness of the vital center/heart, post-illness fatigue.
hṛdaya (heart/vital center)
Tarpana of the heart with a benign draught; invoking Aśvins to ‘enter’ the remedy through their māyā (healing skill) and make it effective.
Hṛdya (heart-friendly) and bṛṃhaṇa/rasāyana approach; mantha-like preparations resemble nourishing formulations; emphasis on ojas/tejas restoration and mental joy (prasāda).
Supportive care: warm restorative drinks, hydration/nutrition, calming the nervous system; psychosomatic benefit of reassurance and ritualized caregiving.
bhaisajya
Patient/beneficiary; secondarily the healing draught itself.
Refresh the heart, remove disease, restore joy and radiance; enlist Aśvin healing through the prepared drink.
Empowerment of substance (mantha) by speech (tarpayāmi) + divine participation (Aśvins ‘drink’/assume form) = ingestion as sacrament/medicine.
Persistent illness, weakness, loss of luster, relapse.
With a benign, well-wished draught the reciter satiates the heart; the beneficiary is urged to be free from disease, rejoice, and shine with radiance. The Aśvins are invited to drink the mantha, having assumed their form and wondrous healing power (māyā).
Healing is administered as both medicine and blessing: the heart (vital center) is ‘tarpita’—satisfied, soothed, refilled. The Aśvins represent the psyche’s rapid-repair intelligence and the body’s twin capacities (restoration/renewal) activated through a prepared mixture and faith in its efficacy.
Remedy works best when substance, intention, and skilled healing agency converge; the heart’s replenishment is central to recovery, and joy/radiance are signs of restored life-force.
- शिवाभिष्ट (śivābhiṣṭa)
- non-harmful medicine; healing intention that ‘blesses’ the treatment
- हृदय (hṛdaya)
- vital center—emotional and physiological core
- तर्पयामि (tarpayāmi)
- replenishment; restoring depleted reserves
- अनमीव (anamīva)
- freedom from affliction; intactness
- सुवर्चस् (suvarcas)
- return of health-signs: glow, confidence, vitality
- मन्थ (mantha)
- prepared remedy; integration of ingredients and mantra
- अश्विनौ (aśvinau)
- divine physicians; swift intervention; twin principles of diagnosis and cure
- माया (māyā)
- therapeutic art/techne—skillful means that makes healing ‘appear’
Heart replenishment and healing assistance: ‘May the inner physicians restore me.’
Anahata (hṛdaya)
Slow coherent breathing (5–6 breaths/min) while mentally repeating ‘anamīvo modiṣīṣṭhāḥ suvarcāḥ’.
A cool-white, milk-gold nectar filling the heart; twin streams of light (Aśvins) entering and repairing; radiance spreading to face/skin.
Restorative openness and trust.
Recite 9 times before sipping a warm, soothing drink; then sit quietly 3 minutes focusing on gentle heart warmth and gratitude.
Soothing first hemistich; slightly brighter lift on ‘aśvino… pibatām’.
Emphasize hṛdayaṃ, tarpāyāmi, anamīvo, suvarcāḥ; keep ‘pibatām’ clear and invitational.
Keep śivābhiṣṭe as śi-vā-bhiṣ-ṭe (clear ṣṭ)., Pronounce anamīvo with long ī (a-na-mī-vo)., Maintain conjunct nth in mantham distinctly (man-tham).
Gentle, caregiving tone; second half slightly more luminous/bright.
Best paired with actual administration of a benign drink; the mantra’s efficacy is framed as entering via the substance and the Aśvins’ ‘skill’ (māyā).
9
Illness recovery, anxiety with chest tightness, fatigue, low morale during convalescence.
Before giving a warm restorative drink; at bedtime for calming the heart; during caregiving sessions.
Comfort, reduced distress, supportive focus on recovery; ritualized care that encourages hydration/nutrition and hope.
Ensure the drink’s ingredients are medically appropriate (allergies, diabetes, lactose intolerance); seek urgent care for chest pain or severe symptoms.
(1) शिवाभिष्टे = शिवा + अभिष्टे (समास/सन्धि: आ + अ → आ). (2) तर्पयाम्यनमीवः = तर्पयामि + अनमीवः (इ + अ → य्-अ; ‘…म्यन…’). (3) मोदिषीष्ठाः सुवर्चाः: पदान्त-विसर्ग/स्वरचिह्न-भेदः; पृथक् पदे। (4) मन्थमे तम् = मन्थम् + एतम् (म् + ए → मे). (5) अश्विनो रूपं = अश्विनो + रूपम् (ओ + र् → ओ र्; संहितायां संयोगः).
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