Sukta 22
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often anonymous/Angiras-type attribution in AV healing hymns)
Devata: Āpas (Waters), with Marutic/cloud agencies implied
Chandas: Mixed; predominantly Triṣṭubh-like cadence in Saunaka book 6 hymnic style
AV 6.22 ialah himne apām-bhaiṣajya yang ringkas, yang memperlakukan air—terutama hujan yang dipenuhi daya Marutik—sebagai ubat hidup yang membuka, melembapkan, dan menghidupkan kembali bumi serta tubuh. Ia menghubungkan hidrologi kosmik (awan, hujan, ṛta) dengan penyembuhan yang nyata: air memperkaya herba dengan getah, menambah pemakanan, dan membasuh kekeringan serta kekacauan. Dengan memuji turunnya air yang teratur dan kuasa pemanisnya, himne ini membingkai pemulihan sebagai pemulangan aliran yang benar—dalam tanah, tumbuhan, dan diri manusia.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
भैषज्यम्। कृ॒ष्णं नि॒यानं॒ हर॑यः सुप॒र्णा अ॒पो वसा॑ना॒ दिव॒मुत् प॑तन्ति । त आव॑वृत्र॒न्त्सद॑नादृ॒तस्यादिद् घृ॒तेन॑ पृथि॒वीं व्यूऽदुः
Inilah bhaiṣajya (penawar): yang gelap, yang menurun ke bawah; yang kekuningan, bersayap elok, bersalut air, terbang naik ke langit. Mereka melingkungi tempat duduk Ṛta (Tertib); kemudian dengan ghṛta (ghee), mereka membuka dan melembapkan Bumi ke seluruhnya.
Mantra 2
पय॑स्वतीः कृणुथा॒प ओष॑धीः शि॒वा यदेज॑था मरुतो रुक्मवक्षसः । ऊर्जं॑ च॒ तत्र॑ सुम॒तिं च॑ पिन्वत॒ यत्रा॑ नरो मरुतः सि॒ञ्चथा॒ मधु॑
Jadikanlah tumbuh-tumbuhan kaya-sari, wahai Air—yang membawa sejahtera—apabila kamu, wahai Marut yang berdada emas, bergerak dan bergelora. Di situlah kamu menambahkan baik tenaga pemakanan maupun budi yang baik, di tempat kamu, wahai Marut yang gagah, mencurahkan kemanisan madu.
Mantra 3
उ॒द॒प्रुतो॑ म॒रुत॒स्तां इ॑यर्त वृ॒ष्टिर्या विश्वा॑ नि॒वत॑स्पृ॒णाति॑ । एजा॑ति॒ ग्लहा॑ क॒न्येऽव तु॒न्नैरुं॑ तुन्दा॒ना पत्ये॑व जा॒या
Wahai Marut, yang digerakkan oleh air, hantarkanlah hujan itu—curahan yang memenuhi segala tempat rendah. Si penjudi menggigil, wahai anak dara; ia ditusuk dan ditekan ke bawah—mengusik lukanya—seperti isteri yang merindu suaminya.
Inside Sukta 22
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by declaring the rite itself as ‘bhaiṣajya’ and depicts tawny, fair-winged agencies clad in waters rising and moving within the cosmic order (ṛta).
- What it asks
Waters are asked to make plants sap-rich and benign; Marutas are urged to pour sweetness and nourishment where their rain falls.
- Where its power lies
The waters’ descent is portrayed as world-renewing—opening and moistening the earth ‘with ghṛta,’ thus asserting that rightly-invoked moisture restores life and potency.
- How it closes
It ends by commanding the Marutas to send the rain that fills low places, using a vivid social image of agitation to be pressed down/regulated—closing as a stabilization of harmful restlessness through directed rain and speech.
Famous verses
bhaiṣajyam
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apām-bhaiṣajya (Waters as remedy)
What it is for
To summon healing waters/rain that moisten and restore, to make plants sap-rich and benign, and to stabilize wellbeing by aligning the environment and body with ṛta-driven circulation.
Who it is for
Householders and village healers (Atharvanic practitioners) seeking recovery from wasting/dryness, strengthening of medicines and crops, and general restoration of vitality in person and land.
Also used as
- Paustika
- Shantika
The deity
Āpas are the purifying, life-bearing waters—rain, rivers, and ritual water—conceived as a benevolent medicine that carries sweetness (madhu), sap (pāyas), and orderly vitality (ṛta). The Marutas appear as the energizing, wind-and-cloud powers that “set the waters in motion,” making rain descend and plants become potent.
Powers of the deity
- Purify and cleanse (removing dryness, impurity, and disorder)
- Restore vitality by moistening and ‘opening’ the earth/body
- Enrich herbs with sap and medicinal potency
- Increase nourishment (ūrj) and auspicious favor (sumati)
- Drive and distribute rain to low-lying places and fields
Why the deity is called
Invoked to bring medicinal rain and holy moisture that revitalizes land and patient, strengthens herbs, and re-establishes beneficial flow and sweetness in life.
The seer
- Anonymus Atharvan (Angiras-type attribution in Book 6 healing corpus)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya charms centered on purification and rejuvenation through waters, rain, and herb-sap (apām/varṣa/oṣadhi-linked remedies), often integrating Marutic storm-agency as the activator of healing flow.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.21 (adjacent healing/apotropaic context, often grouped in Saunaka Book 6 clusters)
- AV 6.23 (neighboring short charm-style hymn in the same bhaiṣajya milieu)
- AV 1.2 (waters/purification theme; broader Atharvanic apām usage, tradition-level attribution)
Preparing for the rite
- Collect clean water (preferably rainwater or water drawn in a ritually clean manner) in a new or cleansed vessel.
- Prepare a small measure of ghṛta (ghee); keep simple herbal sprigs (oṣadhi) at hand as representatives of plant-medicine.
- Seat the patient (or place the medicinal water) facing an auspicious direction; maintain silence/cleanliness before recitation.
The rite
- Recite 6.22.1 over water and a touch of ghṛta, symbolically ‘opening/moistening’ what is dry or obstructed.
- Recite 6.22.2 while sprinkling (prokṣaṇa) the patient and/or the herbs, requesting sap, nourishment, and sweetness.
- Recite 6.22.3 to impel beneficial rain and to steady restless impulses; conclude by offering a final sprinkle and a small anointing with ghṛta if appropriate.
What it needs
- Water (āpaḥ), ideally rainwater
- Ghee (ghṛta)
- Herbs/plant sprigs (oṣadhīḥ) as medicinal proxies
- Optional: honey/sweet essence (madhu) as symbolic sweetness
When
Best performed at the onset of rains, after first thunderclouds, or at dawn; also suitable whenever dryness/wasting or need for herb-potency is ritually addressed.
The main substance
Water (āpaḥ), especially rainwater (vṛṣṭi)
Herbs
- Oṣadhīḥ (general medicinal plants; any locally efficacious healing herbs may be represented)
How it is prepared
Keep water in a clean vessel; optionally mix a few drops of ghṛta (and, if used, a trace of madhu) while reciting, then sprinkle the patient/herbs and anoint lightly with ghṛta.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used to invoke waters—especially rain—as a healing force that restores moisture, strengthens vitality, and increases the medicinal potency of herbs.
The Marutas are the storm-and-cloud powers that set rain in motion; the hymn treats them as the active agencies that help the waters descend with sweetness and nourishment.
No specific plant is named here; ‘oṣadhīḥ’ is generic. Practitioners typically use locally known healing herbs or simple sprigs as representatives while sprinkling or preparing medicinal water.
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