Atharva Veda 4.6.2: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 6, Mantra 2
Sukta 6
याव॑ती॒ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी व॑रि॒म्णा यावत् स॒प्त सिन्ध॑वो वितष्ठि॒रे। वाचं॑ वि॒षस्य॒ दूष॑णीं॒ तामि॒तो निर॑वादिषम्
yā́vatī dyā́vā-pṛthivī́ varímṇā yā́vat saptá síndhavo vitaṣṭhiré | vā́caṃ víṣasya dū́ṣaṇīṃ tā́m itó nír avādiṣam
As wide as Heaven and Earth in their broad expanse, as far as the Seven Rivers have stretched abroad—so far have I spoken forth and banished from hence the poison’s tainting speech.
Seluas hamparan Langit dan Bumi, sejauh Tujuh Sungai terbentang—sejauh itulah aku telah berkata-kata dan menghalau dari sini tutur yang menajiskan milik racun itu.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker measures the act of utterance against the widest cosmic spans—Heaven–Earth and the Seven Rivers—and declares that the poison’s contaminating “speech/taint” has been driven out from “here” beyond those limits.
The inner meaning
Poison is framed as intrusive, persuasive negativity (a “tainting speech”) that enters mind and body; the mantra expands the practitioner’s inner space to cosmic scale so the toxic suggestion cannot remain lodged in the psyche.
The truth in it
What harms us often arrives as “speech” (message, rumour, fear, self-talk). By anchoring oneself in a larger order (cosmic bounds), one can relocate the toxin outside one’s lived field and restore clarity.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Raksha (Protection)
Its aim
To expel the contaminating force of poison—conceptualized as a harmful ‘speech’—beyond the furthest cosmic boundaries.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यावती । द्यावा-पृथिवी । वरिम्णा । यावत् । सप्त । सिन्धवः । वितष्ठिरे । वाचम् । विषस्य । दूषणीम् । ताम् । इतः । निः । अवादिषम् ।
- यावती
- as great as / as far as (fem.)As far as/so great as; measure of extent for total expulsion.Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot यावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- द्यावापृथिवी
- heaven-and-earthHeaven-and-Earth; cosmic bounds invoked as the maximal frame.Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (द्वन्द्व-समासः, एकवद्भावः)Role KartāRoot द्यावापृथिवी (समास; द्यौ + पृथिवी)
- वरिम्णा
- by extent / by breadthBy breadth/expanse; emphasizing vastness and completeness.Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot वरिमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यावत्
- as far as / up to the point thatAs far as; correlating with cosmic measures.Indeclinableअव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध-शब्द)
- सप्त
- sevenSeven; totality marker (canonical completeness).Adjective(अव्ययवत्) बहुवचनार्थे; अत्र ‘सिन्धवः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्Role KartāRoot सप्तन् (संख्या-शब्द)
- सिन्धवः
- rivers / streamsRivers/streams; the seven waters as world-extent.Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
- वितष्ठिरे
- have extended / have spread outHave stretched out/spread; establishing the world’s full reach.Verbलिट् (परोक्षभूत), 3 पुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot स्था (धातु) + वि (उपसर्ग)
- वाचम्
- speech / utteranceSpeech/utterance; here the spell-form of poison (its ‘voice’/incantatory force).Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot वाच् (प्रातिपदिक)
- विषस्य
- of poisonOf poison; genitive—poison’s operative agency.Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole SambandhaRoot विष (प्रातिपदिक)
- दूषणीम्
- harmful / corruptingDefiling/corrupting; the contaminant speech that harms and spreads.Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot दूषणि (प्रातिपदिक; दूष्-धातोः नामधातु/स्त्रीप्रत्ययान्त)
- ताम्
- that (her/it)That; the specific harmful utterance-force.Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- इतः
- from hereFrom here; away from the patient/ritual space.Indeclinableअव्ययRole ApādānaRoot इतः (अव्यय)
- निः
- out / forthOut, forth; expulsion marker.Indeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्गभावः)Role क्रियाविशेषणम्Root निस्/निः (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अवादिषम्
- I have uttered / I spoke forthI have spoken away/uttered forth; performative banishment by counter-speech.Verbलुङ् (अorist), 1 पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot वद् (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग)
Sandhi Notes
- यावती | द्यावापृथिवी | वरिम्णा | यावत् | सप्त | सिन्धवः | वितष्ठिरे || वाचम् | विषस्य | दूषणीम् | ताम् | इतः | निः | अवादिषम् ।
- 1) द्यावा + पृथिवी → द्यावापृथिवी (द्वन्द्व, एकवद्भाव)
- 2) निः + अवादिषम् → निरवादिषम् (विसर्गस्य ‘र्’ आदेशः स्वरादौ)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
- Devata
- Anti-poison power; cosmic bounds (Dyāvā-Pṛthivī) as witnesses
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh-like (Atharvanic; long pādas with cosmographic simile)
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
Sāyaṇa construes ‘vā́c’ as the operative manifestation of poison—its communicable, contaminating force (dūṣaṇī). The mantra is a verbal counter-agent: by utterance the priest expels the poison’s ‘speech’ beyond the cosmic limits marked by dyāvāpṛthivī and the seven rivers, ensuring complete removal from the patient’s vicinity.
Anukramaṇī-variable (Atharvanic healer-seer)
Viṣa-hara (anti-poison) and rakṣā-mantra craft using cosmographic banishment and performative vāc.
Embodies the Atharvan stance that vāc itself is a pharmakon: by correctly framed speech the toxin is relocated beyond the world’s boundary.
Dyāvā-Pṛthivī as cosmic bounds; Viṣa-dūṣaṇī-nirṇaya (anti-poison expulsion power)
They define the maximum enclosure of the world; the mantra uses that enclosure as a legal/ritual perimeter to eject poison beyond jurisdiction.
Creates a ‘field’ in which poison is declared outside; supports systemic purification after envenomation or toxic exposure.
Boundary-setting and banishment; sealing the home/body against re-entry of the contaminant.
4 pādas with extended cosmographic simile; cadence approximates triṣṭubh but with Atharvanic looseness in syllable weight.
Longer, descriptive pādas; simile-heavy opening followed by a compact operative extraction/banishment clause.
Expansive then decisive—broad sweep (cosmos) → sharp expulsion (nir-).
Builds a felt widening of space, then a forceful ‘push-out’ at the end; suited to driving rites.
The Atharvan seats the patient and establishes a purified ritual space.
Facing outward (symbolic expulsion), he recites the mantra as a banishing declaration.
He may accompany the recitation with outward gestures (casting away, spitting symbolically, or sprinkling away from the patient) to enact ‘nir-’ (outward removal).
The rite is repeated to ensure the poison’s ‘contaminant voice’ is fully displaced.
Kauśika Sūtra: viṣa-pratiṣedha/śānti for poisoning (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition)
Atharvan as purifier and banisher: he performs apotropaic counter-speech to sever poison’s communicability.
Recite while circling the patient or threshold, ‘pushing’ outward with the palm or with a gesture to the quarters; can accompany washing/cleaning after suspected poisoning.
Immediately after bite/ingestion suspicion; also after entering a place associated with contamination.
Atharvan healer (or household head) as speaker-exorcist; emphasizes correct articulation of nir- clause.
Kauśika: viṣa-prayoga/viṣa-nāśana contexts (general anti-poison applications; exact sūtra varies by mapping of AVŚ 4.6).
Used as a protective affirmation during detox/medical care; paired with hygiene and emergency response.
Poison (viṣa) as a transmissible contaminant; Seven Rivers (sapta sindhavaḥ) as cosmographic totality
Implicit via sapta síndhavaḥ (rivers as total purifying waters and world-boundary).
No herb is named; the main ‘substance’ is vāc. Poison is treated as a contaminant carried by speech/air-contact; rivers mark the world’s cleansing edge where impurity is sent away.
Poisoning/envenomation; also ‘toxic contamination’ construed as spell/taint.
Banishment by performative speech and boundary extension: the poison’s defiling agency is relocated beyond cosmic limits.
Viṣa-cikitsā logic: viṣa as doṣa-aggravating, fast-spreading contaminant; mantra supports decontamination, stabilization, and fear reduction.
Acute toxin exposure support ritual; psychologically parallels removing panic/rumination and re-establishing perceived safety boundaries.
Poison (viṣa) and its dūṣaṇī agency
To expel the poison’s defiling agency (‘tainting speech’) from the patient/home beyond the furthest cosmographic boundary.
Cosmographic banishment + verbal exorcism (nir- utterance) establishing a perimeter of exclusion.
Re-entry/spread of toxin; secondary contamination; malign speech/hex-like influence
- dyāvā-pṛthivī
- Cosmic witnesses; the full field of embodied existence within which healing is re-established
- varimán
- Protective vastness; widening of boundary so harm has no foothold
- sapta síndhavaḥ
- Totality of the inhabited world; the furthest “mapped” limit for banishment
- vāc
- Performative power; also the medium through which contamination/spell/rumour travels
- viṣa
- Toxic intrusion—venom, infection, curse, panic
- dūṣaṇī
- Pollution principle that corrupts what it touches
- nir-avādiṣam
- Exorcistic utterance; verbal extraction and expulsion
Boundary meditation: expand awareness to ‘dyāvā-pṛthivī’ breadth, then exhale the toxin beyond the perimeter.
anahata (space/expansion)
Slow inhale imagining widening; firm exhale on nir-avādiṣam as ‘casting out’.
A dark stain leaving the body as a stream pushed beyond seven luminous rivers.
Steady, spacious vigilance (rakṣā-bhāva).
Chant 3–9 times, then sit silently for one minute holding the sense that the toxin is ‘not in my field’; follow with practical medical measures if poisoning is real.
Atharvanic recitation with clear udātta on key nouns; emphasize the expulsion prefix ‘nir-’.
Hold the cosmographic clauses evenly; strike the final operative segment (vācaṃ… nira-vādiṣam) with slightly stronger stress.
Firm, outward-projecting, not shouted; last pāda slightly more forceful.
Gesture-rite fits: outward sweep to the quarters on the final clause; avoid reciting as mere narrative—treat as operative banishment.
7 times
Suspected poisoning (bite/food), toxic household exposure, or feeling ‘contaminated’ by hostile words/spells.
Immediately while seeking medical help; during cleansing of the space; after removing the source.
Psychophysiological stabilization, sense of protection; traditional expulsion of viṣa’s agency.
Not a substitute for emergency care in poisoning/envenomation; seek antivenom/medical treatment promptly.
The verse does not prescribe a plant; it treats poison as semiotic-contagious (‘speech’). The therapeutic model is informational/ritual: counter-utterance interrupts transmission and relocates the harmful essence beyond the world-frame.
The priest’s speech is presented as cosmically scalable—able to move harm to the world’s edge. This magnifies Brahmanic authority: the healer’s utterance outranks the poison’s ‘utterance’.
The reification of ‘vā́c’ as a pollutant vector is a notable Atharvanic innovation, aligning with later notions of contagion/pollution. The cosmic simile is RV-like, but deployed for practical banishment rather than praise.
Gopatha’s framework that brahman (sacral speech) governs and counteracts hostile forces supports the idea that poison has a ‘vā́c’ that can be overridden. The mantra’s efficacy is the successful replacement of harmful speech with authoritative counter-speech.
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