Atharva Veda Sukta 136
Kanda 20Anuvaka 14Sukta 13616 Mantras

Sukta 136

Rishi: Uncertain/late compilation layer (AV 20 is largely Rigvedic/khila-associated; specific ṛṣi attribution not stable here)

Devata: Vanaspati/ritual agency; also the personified Mahānagnī as operative figure

Chandas: Mixed/late; approximates Anuṣṭubh-like cadence but not securely determinable from the transmitted text alone

Himne Atharvaveda yang lewat ini ialah amalan rumah tangga untuk kemakmuran dan perlindungan, yang memperlakukan halangan sebagai sesuatu yang “tetap di pos-posnya” lalu memaksanya memecah barisan dan melarikan diri. Ia menggabungkan vanaspati (kuasa tumbuhan ritual), persembahan makanan bijirin (saktu/odana), serta sapuan minyak untuk menenangkan kuasa-kuasa yang ganas, meredakan kecederaan setempat, dan memastikan urusan rumah tangga berjalan bersih serta berjaya.

Kind of charm

Paushtika (prosperity)
Recitation with translationAtharva Veda 20.136

Mantras

Mantra 1

खिलानि । यद॑स्या अंहु॒भेद्याः॑ कृ॒धु स्थू॒लमु॒पात॑सत्। मु॒ष्काविद॑स्या एज॒तो गो॑श॒फे श॑कु॒लावि॑व

Bait Khila. Apabila, dengan membelah celah yang sempit, engkau membuat yang kasar itu menekan rapat; buah zakarnya sesungguhnya, ketika ia bergetar, seperti anak-anak burung dalam bekas tapak kuku lembu.

Mantra 2

यदा॑ स्थू॒लेन॒ पस॑साणौ मु॒ष्का उपा॑वधीत्। विष्व॑ञ्चा व॒स्या वर्ध॑तः॒ सिक॑तास्वेव॒ गर्द॑भौ

Apabila dengan yang kasar itu buah zakar yang membengkak ditekan, keduanya mengembang ke sisi dan membesar—seperti dua keldai di pasir.

Mantra 3

यदल्पि॑का॒स्वऽल्पिका॒ कर्क॑धू॒केव॒षद्य॑ते । वास॑न्ति॒कमि॑व॒ तेज॑नं॒ यन्त्य॒वाता॑य॒ वित्प॑ति

Apabila, di tempat-tempat kecil, yang kecil itu menetap seperti karkadhūka; laksana cemeti musim bunga, gerak-geri terus menuju ketenangan tanpa angin, wahai tuan kekayaan.

Mantra 4

यद्दे॒वासो॑ ललामगुं॒ प्रवि॑ष्टी॒मिन॑माविषुः । स॒कु॒ला दे॑दिश्यते॒ नारी॑ स॒त्यस्या॑क्षि॒भुवो॑ यथा

Ketika para Dewa menzahirkan yang berjambul, yang bertanda itu, lalu ia masuk ke dalam; perempuan itu, bersama seisi rumahnya, bersinar—seperti wilayah mata milik Yang Benar.

Mantra 5

म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्यतृप्नद्वि॒ मोक्र॑द॒दस्था॑नासरन्। शक्ति॑का॒नना स्व॑च॒मश॑कं सक्तु॒ पद्य॑म

Mahānagnī tidak terpuaskan: ia melepaskan mereka berpisah-pisah; ia menelan, dan tempat-tempat kedudukan mereka pun lari menjauh. Di tengah rimbunan pasak-pasak runcing, berkulit elok, aku mampu—(dengan) tepung sangrai (saktu), dengan langkah yang tersukat.

Mantra 6

म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्युलूखलमति॒क्राम॑न्त्यब्रवीत्। यथा॒ तव॑ वनस्पते॒ निर॑घ्नन्ति॒ तथै॑वति

Mahānagnī, melangkah melintasi lesung (ulūkhala), berkata: “Sebagaimana, wahai Vanaspati, mereka menumbuknya hingga keluar, demikian juga jadilah.”

Mantra 7

म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्युप॑ ब्रूते भ्र॒ष्टोथाप्य॑भूभुवः । यथै॒व ते॑ वनस्पते॒ पिप्प॑ति॒ तथै॑वति

Mahānagnī, mendekat, melafazkan: “Gugurlah—ya, jadilah begitu! Sebagaimana, wahai Vanaspati, engkau membesar dan subur, demikian juga jadilah.”

Mantra 8

म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्युप॑ ब्रूते भ्र॒ष्टोथाप्य॑भूभुवः । यथा॑ वयो॒ विदाह्य॑ स्व॒र्गे न॒मवद॑ह्यते

Mahānagnī, mendekat, mengucapkan: “Tersungkur—ya, jadilah demikian! Seperti seekor burung, wahai yang membakar, di syurga ia melayang, menunduk dalam perjalanannya—”

Mantra 9

म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्युप॑ ब्रूते स्वसा॒वेशि॑तं॒ पसः॑ । इ॒त्थं फल॑स्य॒ वृक्ष॑स्य॒ शूर्पे॑ शूर्पं॒ भजे॑महि

Mahānagnī, mendekat, mengucapkan: “Seorang saudari—kuasa itu masuk ke dalam timbunan biji-bijian. Demikianlah, daripada buah pohon itu, di atas nyiru penampi, semoga kita memperoleh nyiru demi nyiru sebagai bahagian kita.”

Mantra 10

म॒हा॒न॒ग्नी कृ॑कवाकं॒ शम्य॑या॒ परि॑ धावति । अ॒यं न वि॒द्म यो॑ मृ॒गः शी॒र्ष्णा ह॑रति॒ धाणि॑काम्

Mahānagnī, dengan tongkat śamyā, berlari mengelilingi kṛkavāka. Kita tidak tahu binatang liar apakah ini yang dengan kepalanya melarikan Dhāṇikā.

Mantra 11

म॒हा॒न॒ग्नी म॑हान॒ग्नं धाव॑न्त॒मनु॑ धावति । इ॒मास्तद॑स्य॒ गा र॑क्ष॒ यभ॒ माम॑द्ध्यौद॒नम्

Mahānagnī berlari mengejar Mahānagna, ketika dia berlari. Peliharalah lembu-lembu ini daripada miliknya itu; wahai Yabha, makanlah nasi rebus untukku.

Mantra 12

सुदे॑वस्त्वा म॒हान॑ग्नी॒र्बबा॑धते मह॒तः सा॑धु खो॒दन॑म्। कु॒सं पीव॒रो न॑वत्

Para Mahānagnī menekanmu, wahai Sudeva, dengan tikaman yang dahsyat, elok-terbentuk, dari yang agung; seperti kuśa—membengkak, sentiasa baharu.

Mantra 13

व॒शा द॒ग्धामि॑माङ्गु॒रिं प्रसृ॑जतो॒ग्रतं॑ परे । म॒हान्वै भ॒द्रो यभ॒ माम॑द्ध्यौद॒नम्

Seekor lembu vaśā—jari yang terbakar ini—biarlah dilepaskan; mudarat yang paling ganas biarlah dihantar jauh ke sana. Besar sungguh dan berkat (jadilah engkau), wahai Yabha: makanlah nasi rebus untukku.

Mantra 14

विदे॑वस्त्वा म॒हान॑ग्नी॒र्विबा॑धते मह॑तः सा॑धु खो॒दन॑म्। कु॒मा॒री॒का पि॑ङ्गलि॒का कार्द॒ भस्मा॑ कु॒ धाव॑ति

Wahai Videva, Mahānagnī (api Agni yang besar) menindasmu dengan keras, dengan tikaman yang dahsyat lagi terbuat rapi. Anak dara kecil itu, yang kekuningan, Kārda—bersama abu—ke manakah ia berlari?

Mantra 15

म॒हान्वै भ॒द्रो बि॒ल्वो म॒हान्भ॑द्र उदु॒म्बरः॑ । म॒हां अ॑भि॒क्त बा॑धते मह॒तः सा॑धु खो॒दन॑म्

Sesungguhnya besar Bilva yang berkat; besar dan berkat juga Udumbara. Yang besar itu—apabila disapu/diurapi sebagaimana patut—menangkis Musuh yang besar; eloklah kerja menggali itu dilakukan.

Mantra 16

यः कु॑मा॒री पि॑ङ्गलि॒का वस॑न्तं पीव॒री ल॑भेत्। तैल॑कुण्ड॒मिमा॑ङ्गु॒ष्ठं रोद॑न्तं शुद॒मुद्ध॑रेत्

Sesiapa pada musim bunga menemukan gadis kemerah-merahan itu, yang penuh dan subur—hendaklah dia dengan mangkuk minyak ini, dengan ibu jari ini, mengangkat keluar yang menangis itu, dalam kesucian.

Inside Sukta 136

How it unfolds

  1. How it opens

    The hymn frames harm as a force that can be confronted through ritual vegetal agency and a managed, personified appetite (Mahānagnī), setting a protective scene of boundaries and controlled power.

  2. What it asks

    Loosen and scatter the fixed ‘stations’ of obstruction; send the fiercest harm away; accept the household offering so the rite completes without loss.

  3. Where its power lies

    The mantric speech claims practical efficacy through concrete instruments—stakes/boundary, measured steps, food-offering, and purifying thumb-unction—turning danger into an ordered domestic outcome.

  4. How it closes

    It ends by ‘lifting out’ the weeping/afflicted one in purity, sealing the rite as both protective and cleansing.

Kind of hymn

Paustika (Domestic/Prosperity) with apotropaic overtones

What it is for

Removal of obstruction and harm from the household sphere, relief of acute pain/injury, and attainment of a prosperous, successfully completed domestic operation through offerings and protective acts.

Who it is for

Householders (gṛhastha), domestic ritual specialists, and family members performing protective/healing rites for children or workers in the home.

Also used as

  • Rakṣoghna
  • Bhaiṣajya
  • Shāntika

The deity

Vanaspati functions here as the ritualized, empowered ‘tree/wood/plant’ principle that supports protective boundaries and efficacious domestic rites; Mahānagnī appears as a fierce, hunger-driven personified force that can dislodge harmful ‘stations’ when properly managed; Yabha is invoked as an eater/receiver who accepts the food-offering and thereby redirects or neutralizes the ugra (fierce) harm.

Powers of the deity

  • Dislodges and scatters entrenched harm (‘stations’/sthānāni)
  • Provides protective enclosure via wooden/plant implements and boundary-making
  • Transfers harm outward (‘send it yonder’) and restores household order
  • Accepts propitiatory food (saktu/odana), converting threat into appeased agency
  • Supports purification and soothing through oil-unction

Why the deity is called

To break the hold of fixed obstructions, expel the fiercest harmful agency, and complete a household task safely by combining protective implements with pacifying nourishment and purification.

The seer

  • Anirukta (late compilation layer; non-stable ṛṣi attribution)Atharvan. Paustika and rakṣā-type domestic charms: driving away obstructive presences, stabilizing household fortune, and minor healing through food-offerings and unction

Other hymns of this seer

  • AV 20.135
  • AV 20.137
  • AV 20 (general: late/khila-associated strata with variable attributions)

Preparing for the rite

  • Select a clean domestic space (hearth/threshold or work-area for grain/food preparation).
  • Prepare saktu (parched grain-meal) and odana (boiled rice) as offering/appeasement foods.
  • Arrange protective śaktikā (pointed stakes/spears or stake-like boundary markers) as a symbolic thicket/barrier.
  • Set out a small oil vessel (tailakuṇḍa) with clean oil; wash hands; maintain śuci (ritual cleanliness).

The rite

  • Recite the hymn while establishing the protective boundary (placing/visualizing the ‘thicket of stakes’) and naming the obstruction as something to be loosened and scattered.
  • Offer saktu and/or odana to the invoked eater/receiver (Yabha / appeased agency), explicitly directing the ugra harm to ‘go yonder’.
  • For localized injury/distress (e.g., burning pain), touch/soothe the affected part with a thumb anointed from the oil-bowl, reciting the relevant verse(s).
  • Conclude by reaffirming purity (śuci/śud) and the successful ‘lifting out’ of the afflicted one from distress.

What it needs

  • saktu (parched grain-meal)
  • odana (boiled rice)
  • taila (oil)
  • tailakuṇḍa (oil-bowl/vessel)
  • śaktikā (stakes/spears or boundary markers)
  • clean water for washing (optional but customary)

When

Preferably at a domestic work-time (food preparation/meal) or when obstruction/injury is present; verse 20.136.16 suggests springtime (vasanta) as especially apt for the oil-purification act.

The main substance

Food-offerings (saktu and odana) supported by purificatory oil (taila)

Herbs

  • Vanaspati (general vegetal/wood-plant agency; not a single named herb in the cited verses)

Amulets

  • śaktikā (stake/spear-like protective implements)
  • tailakuṇḍa (oil vessel used as consecrated ritual implement)

How it is prepared

Parched grain is ground/kept as saktu for offering; rice is cooked as odana for propitiation; clean oil is placed in a small vessel and applied with the thumb to the afflicted area while maintaining ritual cleanliness.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is used in a household setting to break and drive away entrenched obstruction or harmful presence, while also supporting minor healing and purification through food offerings and oil-unction.

They function as propitiatory foods: by offering edible nourishment to the invoked agency (notably Yabha), the rite redirects or pacifies fierce harm and restores order to the domestic space.

It indicates a practical purification/healing act: clean oil from a vessel is applied with the thumb to ‘lift out’ the afflicted, crying person from distress, emphasizing śuci (ritual cleanliness) and soothing restoration.

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