Sukta 25
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (commonly anonymous/Angiras-type attribution in AV healing clusters)
Devata: The charm’s target is the disease-agent (vākāḥ) as a personified affliction; operative power is the mantra itself (brahman)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (Atharvanic healing verses frequently approximate anuṣṭubh; exact metrical scan may be irregular)
AV 6.25 ialah jampi pengusiran ringkas dalam tradisi Atharvan yang menghalau gugusan gangguan—dinamai sebagai vākāḥ—yang dibayangkan sebagai kuasa berkerumun yang “menekan” sendi-sendi tubuh tertentu (leher, bahu) dan mesti diusir keluar dari lingkungan pesakit. Dengan menyenaraikan agen-agen ini dalam kelompok yang meningkat (lima/lima puluh; tujuh/tujuh puluh; sembilan/sembilan puluh), himne ini secara ritual “mengira keluar” lalu mencerai-beraikan mereka, memeterai kesembuhan melalui kuasa performatif brahman (ucapan yang berkesan). Kuasanya bersifat apotropaik: ia tidak berunding dengan penyakit, tetapi memerintahkannya lenyap “dari sini” melalui formula pengusiran yang tegas.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
मन्याविनाशनम् पञ्च॑ च॒ याः प॑ञ्चा॒शच्च॑ सं॒यन्ति॒ मन्या॑ अ॒भि। इ॒तस्ताः सर्वा॑ नश्यन्तु वा॒का अ॑प॒चिता॑मिव
Mantera untuk memusnahkan amarah: yang lima—dan yang lima puluh—yang berhimpun dan menyerang sebagai amarah; dari sini biarlah semuanya lenyap, seperti lembu-lembu yang tidak terjaga yang berkeliaran.
Mantra 2
स॒प्त च॒ याः स॑प्त॒तिश्च॑ सं॒यन्ति॒ ग्रैव्या॑ अ॒भि। इ॒तस्ताः सर्वा॑ नश्यन्तु वा॒का अ॑प॒चिता॑मिव
Tujuh, dan tujuh puluh juga, yang berhimpun dan menekan pada leher—dari sini biarlah semuanya, gangguan Vākā itu, lenyap; seperti (tompok-tompok) pada orang yang mengalami apaciti (susut/kemerosotan) berlalu.
Mantra 3
नव॑ च॒ या न॑व॒तिश्च॑ सं॒यन्ति॒ स्कन्ध्या॑ अ॒भि। इ॒तस्ताः सर्वा॑ नश्यन्तु वा॒का अ॑प॒चिता॑मिव
Sembilan, dan sembilan puluh juga, yang berhimpun dan menekan pada bahu—dari sini biarlah semuanya, gangguan Vākā itu, lenyap; seperti (tompok-tompok) pada orang yang mengalami apaciti (susut/kemerosotan) berlalu.
Inside Sukta 25
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens without a theistic praise-frame, beginning instead with a diagnostic/identifying formula: numbered groups that ‘gather and assail’ the person.
- What it asks
A direct dismissal: ‘from here (itaḥ) let them all vanish (sarvā naśyantu)’—the core Atharvanic expulsion imperative.
- Where its power lies
Efficacy is asserted through totalizing enumeration and the simile of inevitable falling-away (‘as the marks/condition of the wasting one pass off’), implying the charm’s action is as sure as natural shedding.
- How it closes
Each verse seals itself with the same refrain-like banishment clause, functioning as a verbal ‘lock’ that ends the affliction’s presence in the ritual space.
Famous verses
itastāḥ sarvā naśyantu
sapta ca yāḥ saptatiśca
nava ca yā navatiśca
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic dermatological charm
What it is for
Immediate dispersal of eruptive lesions/pressure-like afflictions from neck and shoulder regions, and pacification of converging ‘wrath’ that can manifest as conflict or psychosomatic disturbance.
Who it is for
Householders, village healers (vaidya-type practitioners), Atharvanic ritualists, and anyone treating localized eruptions or tension/anger believed to ‘seize’ the body.
Also used as
- Shantika
- Apotropaic (rakṣā)
- Dermatological/eruption-removal charm
- Anti-quarrel/anger-dispelling (manyu-śamana)
The deity
The ‘deity’ function here is double: (1) vākāḥ are treated as animate disease-agents that assemble and attack body-locations; (2) brahman is the operative, coercive power of the spoken charm that compels their departure.
Powers of the deity
- Personifies illness as an agent that can be addressed, counted, and expelled
- Mantra as coercive speech: commands, dismisses, and ‘pushes out’ the affliction
- Localization of disease: identifies attack-points (manyā/neck region, graivya/neck, skandhya/shoulder) to target removal
- Totalization through numbers: ‘all of them’ are included so none remain hidden
- Restores bodily calm and social peace by removing both lesions and wrath-like pressure
Why the deity is called
To directly address the affliction as an opponent and to activate brahman so the clustered vākāḥ (and wrath-like convergences) dissolve and depart from the patient/household boundary.
The seer
- Anonymus Atharvaṇa (Angiras-type healing transmitter)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya and śānti-style apotropaic charms: banishment of skin-eruptions, swellings, and hostile influences through commanding speech, counting/totalizing formulas, and boundary-expulsion imagery.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.24 (adjacent healing/banishing cluster, traditional association)
- AV 6.26 (adjacent minor charm cluster, traditional association)
- AV 6.90 (representative Atharvanic bhaiṣajya style; anonymous transmission in many recensions)
Preparing for the rite
- Seat the patient facing east or toward open space (doorway/courtyard) to symbolize ‘exit’ for the affliction.
- Expose or lightly uncover the affected region (neck/shoulder) for targeted touching/gesture.
- Mark a simple boundary (line of dust/ash, or threshold) beyond which the disease is to be sent.
- Compose the mind: brief silence, steady breath; the charm works best as a firm command, not a plea.
The rite
- Recite 6.25.1 while making a sweeping gesture from the affected site outward, as if brushing away clustered forces.
- Recite 6.25.2 focusing on the neck (graivya): touch or hover the right hand over the neck and sweep away from the body on ‘itastāḥ…naśyantu’.
- Recite 6.25.3 focusing on the shoulder (skandhya): repeat the same banishing sweep toward the boundary/door.
- Optionally repeat the triad 3 times; after each cycle, flick the fingers outward as a dismissal act.
- Conclude by symbolically ‘disposing’ the illness beyond the boundary (spitting to the side, casting a pinch of dust/ash outward, or stepping across and back).
What it needs
- No substance is required by the verses themselves (mantra-centric).
- Optional: clean water for washing the area after recitation
- Optional: a pinch of dust/ash for boundary-marking and symbolic disposal
- Optional: a simple thread/cord as a temporary protective band after the banishment
When
At first notice of eruptions or pain/pressure at neck/shoulder; preferably morning or at sunset (liminal times suit expulsion rites).
Amulets
- Optional protective cord/thread (rakṣā-sūtra) tied after recitation
- Optional small knot of cloth kept near the neck/shoulder as a reminder of the banishment
Frequently Asked Questions
In AV 6.25, vākāḥ are treated as personified eruptive or pressure-like afflictions—agents that ‘gather and press upon’ the body and can be commanded to leave.
The counting formula ‘totalizes’ the illness: it ritually includes every hidden strand of the affliction, so the command ‘let them all vanish’ leaves nothing behind.
The verses themselves prescribe no medicine; the primary instrument is the spoken charm with a banishing gesture. Some traditions add washing or a simple protective thread, but these are optional supports.
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