Atharva Veda 3.21.6: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 21, Mantra 6
Sukta 21
उ॒क्षान्ना॑य व॒शान्ना॑य॒ सोम॑पृष्ठाय वे॒धसे॑ । वै॒श्वा॒न॒रज्ये॑ष्ठेभ्य॒स्तेभ्यो॑ अ॒ग्निभ्यो॑ हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्
ukṣā́nnāya vaśā́nnāya sómapṛṣṭhāya vedháse | vaiśvānarájyeṣṭhebhyás tébhyo agníbhyo hutám astv etát ||
To him whose food is the bull, to him whose food is the vaśā, to Soma-backed Ordainer:—to those Fires whose chief is Vaiśvānara, to those Agnis, be this oblation offered, yea, let it be so.
ଯାହାର ଆହାର ଉକ୍ଷାନ୍ (ବୃଷଭ) ଅଟେ, ଯାହାର ଆହାର ବଶା ଅଟେ, ସୋମପୃଷ୍ଠ ବେଧସ୍ (ବିଧାତା)ଙ୍କୁ—ବୈଶ୍ୱାନର ଯାହାଙ୍କ ମୁଖ୍ୟ ସେହି ଅଗ୍ନିମାନଙ୍କୁ, ସେହି ଅଗ୍ନିମାନଙ୍କୁ ଏହି ହୁତି ଅର୍ପିତ ହେଉ; ହଁ, ଏମିତି ହେଉ।
The meaning
What it says
An offering formula addressed to multiple Agni-forms—those who ‘eat bull’ and ‘eat vaśā’, to the Soma-backed Ordainer, and to the fires whose chief is Vaiśvānara—may this oblation be offered.
The inner meaning
A ritual of appeasement: acknowledge the consuming, potentially dangerous powers within life (heat, metabolism, anger, decay) and feed them rightly so they do not feed on us.
The truth in it
Destructive energies cannot be wished away; when recognized and given proper channels (discipline, ritual, ethics), they become protective and sustaining.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (pacification of dangerous fire/kravyād)
Its aim
To propitiate and pacify manifold Agni-forms, especially the perilous ‘kravyād’ aspect, by formal oblation and address.
Word by Word
Pada patha
उक्ष-अन्नाय । वश-अन्नाय । सोम-पृष्ठाय । वेधसे । वैश्वानर-ज्येष्ठेभ्यः । तेभ्यः । अग्निभ्यः । हुतम् । अस्तु । एतत् ।
- उक्षान्नाय
- to the bull-fed / bull-nourished (one)Noun (compound epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot उक्षन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- वशान्नाय
- to the cow-fed / cow-nourished (one)Noun (compound epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot वशा (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
- सोमपृष्ठाय
- to (him) whose back is (supported by/covered with) Soma; Soma-backedto him whose back is Soma (Soma-backed; linked with Soma-pressing/altar region; a ritual epithet of Agni)Noun (tatpuruṣa compound epithet)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot सोम (प्रातिपदिक) + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वेधसे
- to the wise one / ordainerto the Ordainer/Disposer (wise contriver; epithet of Agni as ritual-knower)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: -से)Role सम्प्रदानRoot वेधस् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विध्/व्यध्’ से व्युत्पन्न)
- वैश्वानरज्येष्ठेभ्यः
- to those foremost (fires) of Vaiśvānarato those whose chief is Vaiśvānara (the foremost among the Agnis; ‘Vaiśvānara’ as the principal fire-form)Adjective used substantively (compound)पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot वैश्वानर (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्येष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेभ्यः
- to themto those (aforementioned)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्निभ्यः
- to the firesNounपुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- हुतम्
- offered; oblation (that which is offered)offered (as oblation; also ‘duly sacrificed’—a completed ritual act)Participle (past passive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हु (धातु) → हुत (कृदन्त; क्त)
- अस्तु
- let it beVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRole विधेय क्रियाRoot अस् (धातु)
- एतत्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म/विषयRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- उक्षान्नाय | वशान्नाय | सोमपृष्ठाय | वेधसे | वैश्वानर-ज्येष्ठेभ्यः | तेभ्यः | अग्निभ्यः | हुतम् | अस्तु | एतत् ।
- 1) उक्षान्नाय = उक्षन् + अन्न + (चतुर्थी एकवचन) → -अन्नाय (समासान्त/प्रातिपदिक-निर्माण) ।
- 2) वशान्नाय = वशा + अन्न + (चतुर्थी एकवचन) → -अन्नाय ।
- 3) सोमपृष्ठाय = सोम + पृष्ठ + (चतुर्थी एकवचन) ।
- 4) वेधसे: वैदिक चतुर्थी-एकवचन रूप -से (वेधस्-शब्द) ।
- 5) वैश्वानरज्येष्ठेभ्यः = वैश्वानर + ज्येष्ठ + (चतुर्थी बहुवचन) ।
- 6) हु॒तम॑स्त्वे॒तत्: संहितायां ‘हुतम् अस्तु एतत्’ → ‘हुतमस्त्वेतत्’ (अस्तु + एतत् = स्त्वेतत्; उकार-लोप/संयोग) ।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages for śānti hymns; specific r̥ṣi attribution depends on anukramaṇī)
- Devata
- Agni (plural forms), especially Vaiśvānara; implicitly the kravyād aspect to be appeased
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (predominant cadence; exact metrical scan may vary by pada)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sayana treats the epithets as naming fierce, many-formed Agnis to whom a propitiatory offering is directed, so that their dangerous aspect (here, connected with kravyād/‘flesh-eating’ fire in the surrounding verses) is pacified. ‘Vaiśvānara’ is glossed as the principal fire among the group; the plural ‘agnibhyaḥ’ indicates distributed fire-powers pervading regions and rites.
Atharvanic transmission (anukramaṇī-dependent for AVŚ 3.21)
Śānti and apotropaic fire-pacification: oblation formulas that domesticate dangerous Agni forms (including kravyād) and seal ritual space.
Represents the Atharvanic art of living with perilous forces—bringing even ‘flesh-eating’ fire into covenant through offering.
Agnis (plural), chief Vaiśvānara; Soma-backed Vedhas
Fires distributed across functions—hearth, lightning, cremation, inner heat—kept in right domains by propitiation; Vaiśvānara as the integrating universal fire.
By stabilizing agni (inner fire), reduces ‘fiery affliction’ (burning fevers, inflammation as a symbolic class) and protects from accidental fire harm.
Pacifies kravyād/dangerous fires; prevents fiery intrusion into home/ritual ground.
4×8; dense compound epithets in first two pādas, offering formula in latter.
Mantric prose-tight compounds (ukṣānnāya, vaśānnāya) can create metrical roughness typical of AV ritual diction.
Solemn, declarative; feels like a ‘sealed offering statement’.
Grounding and stabilizing; suitable for homa-like recitation with measured breath.
Prepare a domestic fire (gārhapatya or a pacificatory fire) and seat the Atharvan priest to the north/east as prescribed.
Make a small offering (havis) into the fire while reciting the mantra, treating the addressed Agnis as recipients.
Repeat with the sequence of mantras in the hymn, each time accompanying recitation with an oblation, aiming at ‘śānti’ (appeasement).
Conclude with a silent or spoken śānti-formula and remove residual offerings according to household-rite protocol.
Kauśika Sūtra: kravyād-śamana / agni-śānti context (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition; applied in pacificatory fire-rite sequences with AV 3.21).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant: reciter of the śānti-mantras, supervisor of correct oblation, and ritual ‘pacifier’ of dangerous fire-forms.
Recite during a small domestic offering at hearth when there is fear of fire mishap, after a frightening lightning event, or during illness framed as ‘heat’.
Evening hearth time; also after any fire-accident scare as a pacifying rite.
Householder can offer ghee with mantra; an Atharvanic priest may be called for persistent ‘fiery’ disturbances.
A short lamp-offering with mindful fire safety: light, offer a drop of ghee (or symbolic offering), then extinguish safely.
havis/oblation (unspecified here; typically ghee or food-offering); conceptual ‘many fires’ (agnayaḥ) as ritual agents
Explicit: Agni in plural; implied dangerous kravyād aspect to be appeased.
Feeding fire is feeding transformation: what consumes becomes an ally when honored; ‘Soma-backed’ signals cooling containment of heat.
Fiery afflictions broadly construed (burning sensations, ‘heat’ disorders), and apotropaic protection from fire-related harm/kravyād influence.
Pacification through offering: feed/appease the consuming power so it ceases to consume improperly; restores right relation with agni.
Agni regulation (jāṭharāgni as analogue) and pitta pacification by ‘Soma-backed’ tempering; ritual cooling through proper offering.
Ritualized stress regulation: acknowledging ‘anger/heat’ and channeling it into structured practice; also fire-safety ritual psychology.
To propitiate manifold Agnis and especially pacify dangerous fire-aspects so they do not harm the household or patient.
Homa/oblation formula (havis) with comprehensive address; naming epithets to ‘locate’ and settle each fire in its proper sphere.
Accidental fire, lightning/fire intrusion (by extension), ‘fiery’ malevolent forces, kravyād contamination.
- agni (अग्नि) / agnayaḥ (अग्निभ्यः)
- transformative power; digestion, passion, destruction and purification
- vaiśvānara (वैश्वानर)
- shared metabolic/cosmic fire that sustains order; communal hearth
- kravyād (implicit)
- death/decay force needing pacification so it stays in its sphere
- huta (हुतम्)
- regulated exchange; giving to what consumes so it does not take unlawfully
- vedhas (वेधस्)
- ordering intelligence that sets boundaries for powers
- soma-pṛṣṭha (सोमपृष्ठ)
- cooling, luminous support to fiery force—fire tempered by soma
Inner agni pacification: visualize a steady central flame (Vaiśvānara) that is bright but not scorching; offer ‘breath’ into it to regulate intensity.
manipura
Sītalī/Sītkārī (cooling breath) after recitation; or slow nāḍī-śodhana to balance heat.
A golden flame in the navel area capped by a cool moon-disc (Soma) above it.
Composed, regulated, ‘contained heat’.
Work with heat ethically: transform anger into clarity; end with cooling practices and grounding (feet awareness).
वैश्वानर: articulate śv cluster clearly.; सोमपृष्ठाय: keep ṣṭh conjunct crisp.; उक्षान्नाय/वशान्नाय: keep gemination/cluster clarity; do not nasalize unnecessarily.
Even, liturgical; keep compounds clearly segmented to avoid slurring.
Emphasize vaiśvānara-jyeṣṭhebhyaḥ and the offering closure ‘hutam astu etat’.
Solemn, steady, offering-tone.
Coordinate each recitation with a small offering (or a symbolic hand-offering gesture) to ‘complete’ the performative force.
3 times
Fear after fire accident, recurring ‘heated’ conflict in home, illness experienced as burning/restlessness.
During a small lamp/homa offering, especially evenings; also after storms/lightning fear.
Sense of safety, cooling of ‘heat’, restored order and confidence around fire.
Maintain actual fire safety; avoid open flames if unsafe; medical care for burns/fever is essential.
No explicit plant appears; the ‘substance’ is havis itself. The mantra’s efficacy is constructed through precise naming of Agni’s dangerous alimentary epithets (bull-/vaśā-eater), converting threat into controllable ritual recipient via offering.
The verse presumes a specialist who can correctly identify and address differentiated fire-powers; such taxonomic ritual knowledge marks Atharvan/Brahman authority over household danger-management (fire, death-impurity, predation).
The dense epithet-compounding (ukṣānná-, vaśānná-, sómapṛṣṭha-) is RV-like, but the Atharvanic pragmatic framing—explicitly pacificatory and pluralizing ‘agnibhyaḥ’ as a field of powers—leans toward later ritual-technical usage.
Gopatha-style reasoning typically grounds efficacy in correct identification of devatā and in the oblation’s capacity to ‘turn’ a force from harmful to protective. This hymn fits that logic: naming and feeding the fire-forms establishes control and śānti over kravyād danger.
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