Atharva Veda 3.13.4: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 13, Mantra 4
Sukta 13
एको॑ वो दे॒वोऽप्य॑तिष्ठ॒त् स्यन्द॑माना यथाव॒शम्। उदा॑निषुर्म॒हीरिति॒ तस्मा॑दुद॒कमु॑च्यते
éko vo devó ’py átiṣṭhat syándamānā yathāvaśám | úd ā́niṣur mahī́r íti tásmād udakám ucyate
One god among you took his stand, while ye flowed on at will. ‘The mighty ones brought it up,’—thus; therefore it is called udaká, the Water.
ତୁମମାନଙ୍କ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ଗୋଟିଏ ଦେବ ଦୃଢ଼ଭାବେ ଦଣ୍ଡାୟମାନ ହେଲେ, ଯେତେବେଳେ ତୁମେ ଇଚ୍ଛାନୁସାରେ ବହୁଥିଲ। ‘ମହୀମାନେ (ମହାନମାନେ) ଏହାକୁ ଉପରକୁ ଉଠାଇଲେ’—ଏଭଳି; ତେଣୁ ଏହାକୁ ‘ଉଦକ’ (ଜଳ) ବୋଲି କୁହାଯାଏ।
The meaning
What it says
An etiological (name-explaining) statement about water: while the waters flow freely, one presiding deva “stands” among them; because “the mighty ones brought it up,” it is called udaká (water).
The inner meaning
The psyche’s “flow” (feelings, impulses, thoughts) becomes healing when a steady regulating intelligence is present. Naming (udaka) is not mere label but a ritual act that stabilizes trust in water as a carrier of order and cure.
The truth in it
Life’s primal fluidity becomes beneficent when guided by a single stabilizing principle (dharma/ṛta). Consecration works by aligning substance (water) with cosmic governance and meaningful speech.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya / Cosmological-etiological support for water rites
Its aim
To authorize water’s potency through etiological naming and the idea of a presiding divine regulator, strengthening confidence in consecrated water.
Word by Word
Pada patha
एकः । वः । देवः । अपि । अतिष्ठत् । स्यन्दमानाः । यथा-वशम् । उद् । आनिषुः । महीः । इति । तस्मात् । उदकम् । उच्यते
- एकः
- one (single)one; a single divine principle/agent presidingAdjective (numeral)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot एक (प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- of you / yourof you/for you; addressing the WatersPronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवः
- god, deitygod; the presiding deity over the waters’ actionNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपि
- also, evenalso, moreover; connective particleIndeclinableअव्ययम्Root अपि (निपात)
- अतिष्ठत्
- stood, took a standstood, took position; established governance/oversightVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root स्था (धातु)
- स्यन्दमानाः
- flowing, streamingflowing; in continuous motionParticiple (adjectival)वर्तमान-कर्तरि कृदन्तः (शानच्), स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot स्यन्द् (धातु) → स्यन्दमान (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- यथा
- as, just asIndeclinableअव्ययम्Root यथा (अव्यय)
- अवशम्
- uncontrolledly, at will/without controlAdjective (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)Root अवश (प्रातिपदिक)
- उद्
- up, forthup, forth; directional prefix indicating rising/emergencePreverb/Indeclinableउपसर्गःRoot उद् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- आनिषुः
- they led/brought (up/forth)they brought up/raised forth; caused to emerge (waters welling up)Verbलिट्/लुङ्-प्रयोगः (वैदिक), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root नी (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग) → आ-नी
- महीः
- great (ones) / great (waters)the great ones; the mighty watersNoun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot मही (प्रातिपदिक)
- इति
- thus (quotative)thus; quotative marker for the etymic explanationIndeclinableअव्ययम्Root इति (अव्यय)
- तस्मात्
- from that, thereforetherefore; inferential linkPronounपुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, पञ्चमी, एकवचनम्Role ApādānaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- उदकम्
- waterwater; etymologized as ‘that which is brought up’ (ud-)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
- उच्यते
- is calledis called; explicit folk-etymology/semantic justificationVerb (passive)लट्, कर्मणि (भावे/कर्मणि), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root वच् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- एको॑ → एकः
- दे॒वोऽपि → देवः अपि (अः + अ → ओऽ)
- अतिष्ठ॒त् (अ + तिष्ठत्, लुङ्-रूप)
- स्यन्द॑माना → स्यन्दमानाः (पादान्त-प्रयोगे बहुवचन-प्रथमा)
- यथाव॒शम् → यथा अवशम्
- उदा॑निषुर्म॒हीरिति॒ → उद् आनिषुः महीः इति
- तस्मा॑दुद॒कमु॑च्यते → तस्मात् उदकम् उच्यते (त् + उ → द् उ, वैदिक-सन्धि)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (unspecified)
- Devata
- Āpas / presiding Deva over waters (not explicitly named here)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa reads the first hemistich as asserting a single presiding deity who ‘stands’ over the waters’ free flow. The second hemistich offers an etymological explanation: udaka is so named because the great waters ‘raise up’ (ud-√nī) or ‘bring forth’ the water—supporting the ritual notion that water is an emergent, life-bearing substance.
Anukramaṇī-anonymous (Atharvanic domestic corpus)
Āpaḥ-sūkta style consecrations; etiological and authorizing speech for water used in healing/purification rites.
Represents the Atharvan strategy of making a substance ritually ‘true’ by cosmological narration and name-etymology, strengthening śraddhā (confidence) in the remedy.
Āpas (Waters) with an implied presiding Deva (niyantṛ)
Primordial medium of life and purification; bearer of ṛta through regulated flow; foundation for consecrations, libations, and internal ‘cooling’ balance.
Purifies, cools, carries mantra-charge; supports recovery by restoring orderly flow (circulation, hydration, emotional settling).
Wards off impurity, ill-omen, and unseen afflictions by washing/aspersion and by establishing a ‘governed’ sacred boundary.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables (Atharvanic flexibility in sandhi-heavy segments)
Etiological prose-like cadence may slightly relax strict syllable counts; accentual rhythm is more important than perfect gaṇa regularity.
Measured, declarative, ‘naming’ rhythm—suited to consecration.
Creates cognitive certainty: the mantra ‘fixes’ water’s identity and authority, making the rite feel grounded and inevitable.
While drawing water (from well/stream), recite the mantra to mark it as ‘udaka’—the ‘brought-up’ life-medium.
Place the drawn water in a vessel; pause (‘atिष्ठत्’) to ‘establish’ it ritually.
Use the water for bathing/sprinkling/sipping as required by the larger karman.
Kauśika Sūtra: mantras for consecrating udaka in domestic rites (sprinkling, sipping, bathing); etiological verses often accompany preparation (edition-dependent numbering)
Atharvan priest supervises the drawing and ‘establishment’ of the water, ensuring correct mantra at the moment of acquisition and placement.
Consecrate a vessel of clean water (kalaśa); recite before sipping or sprinkling rooms/patient; suitable before administering herbal decoctions as vehicle.
Dawn or before treatment; also after returning from inauspicious contact (funeral, sickness).
Householder (gṛhapati) can recite; purohita optional for extended rites.
Kauśika: water rites and aspersion sequences commonly employ AV water mantras (general alignment; exact sūtra-pada varies by tradition).
Use as a mindful consecration before drinking water during illness or stress; pair with hygienic water practices.
Udaka (water)
udakám / āpaḥ as ritually authorized water (for sipping, sprinkling, bathing).
Water is not only physical fluid but the ritually ‘governed’ flow of life; the ‘one deva’ is the stabilizing law that makes water safe, purposeful, and curative.
Consecration by mythic authorization: water becomes an empowered carrier for cleansing, cooling, and restoring order (ṛta) in the body/mind.
Supports āpya-dravya function: hydration, cooling pitta, soothing vāta by stabilizing ‘flow’; used as anupāna (vehicle) for remedies.
Hydration and ritual reassurance/placebo-enhanced compliance; water as a safe carrier for oral rehydration or calming routines.
Ritual water used for drinking/aspersion/bathing.
To authorize and intensify the potency of ritual water by grounding it in a cosmological etiology and presiding regulation.
Nāmadheya/etiological speech-act (name-derivation) + installation of a presiding deva within the substance.
Impurity, inauspiciousness, diffuse ‘unregulated’ forces (seen as causes of malaise).
- āpaḥ / udakám
- the life-field of flow: vitality, purification, emotional-current, medium of blessing
- devaḥ (ekaḥ)
- regulating consciousness; the one stabilizer within multiplicity
- syandamānāḥ
- uncontrolled dispersion; the untrained mind’s movements
- yathāvaśám
- impulse-driven movement; natural tendency without restraint
- ud-ānīṣuḥ (udānīṣur)
- drawing healing potency upward; retrieval of life-essence from depth
- mahīḥ
- great powers—waters as vast mothers; also potent forces of restoration
- ucyate
- the performative power of vāc: naming authorizes efficacy
Stabilize inner ‘flow’ by invoking a single steady witness within changing sensations and thoughts.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (water/flow) with support from Ājñā (regulating intelligence).
Slow nasal breathing; exhale-lengthening to ‘govern’ flow (e.g., 4–6 inhale, 6–8 exhale).
See a clear stream; within it a luminous still pillar (the presiding deva) making the waters orderly and safe.
Śānta-dhāraṇā (calm, steady attention).
Recite, then drink a few sips mindfully; note the shift from scattered to regulated attention.
Recite in AV-style with clear udātta emphasis on accented syllables; keep a steady, declarative cadence.
Maintain the contrast of ‘ekaḥ … atisṭhat’ (firm) versus ‘syandamānāḥ’ (flowing) by slight rhythmic shaping.
Clear, steady, consecratory (not emotional).
Often used as a ‘setting’ verse before other water-healing verses; treat as authorization (adhiṣṭhāna) mantra.
3 times
Preparing consecrated water for illness, anxiety, or household purification.
Before sipping/sprinkling/bathing; before giving medicine mixed with water.
Increased sense of safety and order; supports calming and compliance with hydration/cleansing routines.
Use only clean potable water; mantra is not a substitute for medical care in serious illness.
The verse provides an etiological ‘naming spell’ for water rather than a botanical pharmacology. In practice it sacralizes the medium that can dissolve, carry, and activate plant-based remedies.
The claim that ‘one god’ presides over the waters mirrors centralized authority models; ritually, the priest’s act of ‘establishing’ the water parallels that governance at the household level.
The explicit folk-etymology (‘therefore it is called udaka’) is more typical of later explanatory tendencies and Atharvanic didacticism than of many RV hymns, though RV also contains occasional nirukta-like play.
Gopatha often treats names and etymologies as carriers of power: to know and utter the ‘true’ designation is to control the thing. This mantra’s etymic closure (‘ucyate’) aligns with that Atharvanic epistemology.
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