Atharva Veda 13.3.21: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 21
Sukta 3
नि॒म्रुच॑स्ति॒स्रो व्युषो॑ ह ति॒स्रस्त्रीणि॒ रजां॑सि॒ दिवो॑ अ॒ङ्ग ति॒स्रः । वि॒द्मा ते॑ अग्ने त्रे॒धा ज॒नित्रं॑ त्रे॒धा दे॒वानां॑ जनि॑मानि विद्म॒ तस्य॑ दे॒वस्य॑ । क्रु॒द्धस्यै॒तदागो॒ य ए॒वं वि॒द्वांसं॑ ब्राह्म॒णं जि॒नाति॑ । उद् वे॑पय रोहित॒ प्र क्षि॑णीहि ब्रह्म॒ज्यस्य॒ प्रति॑ मुञ्च॒ पाशा॑न्
ní-mrúcás tisró vyúṣo ha tisrás trī́ṇi rájāṃsi dívo aṅgá tisráḥ | vidmá te agne trédhā janítram trédhā devā́nāṃ janímāni vidmá tásya devásya | kruddhásyáitád ā́go yá eváṃ vidvā́ṃsaṃ brāhmaṇáṃ jinā́ti | úd vepaya rohita prá kṣiṇīhi brahmajyásya práti muñca pā́śān ||
Three are the downward darkenings, three the dawn-breakings; three, forsooth, the regions—three of heaven, O surely. We know, O Agni, thy threefold birthplace; threefold we know the births of the Gods—of that God. This is the offence against the wrathful One: whoso, thus knowing, injureth a learned Brahman. Up—make him tremble, O Rohita; waste him away: in requital loose forth the nooses upon the Brahma-hurter.
Trzy są ciemności zstępujące, trzy świty; trzy, zaprawdę, regiony, trzy nieba, o zapewniam. Znamy, o Agni, twoje trójakie miejsce narodzin; trójakie znamy narodziny Bogów, tego Boga. To jest występek przeciwko Gniewnemu: kto tak wiedząc, krzywdzi uczonego Brahmana. Wstań, spraw, by drżał, o Rohita; wyniszcz go: w odwecie uwolnij pęta na krzywdziciela Brahmy.
The meaning
What it says
The verse enumerates triple cosmic divisions (darkenings, dawns, regions, heavens) and claims knowledge of Agni’s threefold birthplace and the gods’ threefold births. It declares harming a learned Brahman as an offense against a wrathful god, then commands Rohita to make the offender tremble and waste away, releasing nooses upon the brahma-hurter.
The inner meaning
Knowledge (vidyā) is framed as sacred structure; attacking a bearer of knowledge destabilizes order and provokes punitive forces. The ‘noose’ symbolizes guilt, consequence, and social-ritual sanction tightening around the aggressor; trembling/wasting depict the psychosomatic collapse of one who violates protected boundaries.
The truth in it
When a society protects its custodians of learning and ethical speech, order endures; when it permits their injury, it invites systemic fear and retribution. Actions against sanctity rebound as binding consequences.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Punitive/Counter-sorcery; protection of Brahmanical sanctity)
Its aim
To retaliate against and incapacitate one who harms a learned Brahman; to redirect divine bonds (pāśa) onto the offender.
Word by Word
Pada patha
नि-म्रुचः । तिस्रः । व्युषः । ह । तिस्रः । त्रीणि । रजांसि । दिवः । अङ्ग । तिस्रः । विद्म । ते । अग्ने । त्रेधा । जनित्रम् । त्रेधा । देवानाम् । जनिमानि । विद्म । तस्य । देवस्य । क्रुद्धस्य । एतत् । आगः । यः । एवम् । विद्वांसम् । ब्राह्मणम् । जिनाति । उत् । वेपय । रोहित । प्र । क्षिणीहि । ब्रह्म-ज्यस्य । प्रति । मुञ्च । पाशान्
- निम्रुचः
- (the) three dawn-lights / dawn-glowsthe downward-darkenings; the nightly descents (Sāyaṇa: rātri-praveśāḥ, tamas-pravṛttayaḥ)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot निम्रुच् (प्रातिपदिक) / निम्रुच्-
- तिस्रः
- threeAdjective (Numeral)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध)Root त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
- व्युषः
- dawns / daybreaksthe dawnings; daybreaks (vyuṣ-: the bright opening that dispels evil)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot व्युष् (प्रातिपदिक) / व्युषस्-
- ह
- indeedindeed, verily (emphatic particle)IndeclinableनिपातRoot ह
- तिस्रः
- threeAdjective (Numeral)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध)Root त्रि
- तिस्रः
- threeAdjective (Numeral)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषण (कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध)Root त्रि
- त्रीणि
- threeAdjective (Numeral)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole विशेषणRoot त्रि
- रजांसि
- regions; realms; spacesthe regions/realms (earth–midspace–heaven; also ‘dusty expanses’ as cosmic strata)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म/कर्तृ (सन्दर्भानुसार)Root रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- दिवः
- of heaven / of the skyof heaven; of the sky (dyu- as the upper world)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root दिव्/द्यौस् (प्रातिपदिक: दिव्/द्यौः)
- अङ्ग
- indeed; nowO! / surely (interjection strengthening the assertion)IndeclinableनिपातRoot अङ्ग
- तिस्रः
- threeAdjective (Numeral)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषणRoot त्रि
- विद्म
- we knowVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परफेक्ट), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot विद् (धातु)
- ते
- of you / yourthy/yourPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्ने
- O AgniNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्रेधा
- in three waysthreefold (in three ways/places; Sāyaṇa: triṣu sthāneṣu)Indeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot त्रेधा
- जनित्रम्
- birthplace; origin; begetting (source)birthplace, origin, generative source (Agni’s triple origin: heaven, waters, men/altar)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot जनित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्रेधा
- in three waysthreefoldIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot त्रेधा
- देवानाम्
- of the godsNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनिमानि
- births; originsbirths, becomings, manifestations (mythic ‘modes of arising’ known to the knower)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot जनिमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- विद्म
- we knowVerbलिट्, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot विद्
- तस्य
- of thatPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- देवस्य
- of the godgod/divinity (here: the offended divine power backing the brahmin)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root देव
- क्रुद्धस्य
- of the angry (one)of the angered one (wrathful deity; anger activated by brahma-injury)Adjective (Participle)पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole विशेषण (सम्बन्ध)Root क्रुद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √क्रुध्)
- एतत्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/प्रत्ययित (सन्दर्भानुसार)Root एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आगः
- sin; offensesin, offence, guilt (apotropaically named to be transferred/loosed)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot आगस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whoPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- एवम्
- thusthus; in this manner (i.e., knowing these triads)Indeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot एवम्
- विद्वांसम्
- a knowing one; learneda knowing man; the learned one (specifically a Veda-knower)Noun/Adjective (Participle)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot विद्वांस् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √विद्)
- ब्राह्मणम्
- a BrahminNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
- जिनाति
- harms; overpowersharms, overpowers, strikes down (Sāyaṇa: hiṃsati/abhibhavati)Verbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot जि/जिन् (धातु; ‘to overpower, injure, subdue’)
- उत्
- up; forthup, forth (preverb of arousal/expulsion)Indeclinable (Preverb)उपसर्गRoot उत्
- वेपय
- make (him) tremblemake (him) tremble! (causative: instil shaking fear/fever-like agitation)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √वेप् (धातु; causative वेपय-)
- रोहित
- O Rohita (the Red one; a deity/solar form)O Rohita (the ‘Red One’: solar/royal power; also a punitive, disease-driving force)Noun (Vocative) / Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक; विशेषण/नाम)
- प्र
- forth; forwardforth, forward (intensifier)Indeclinable (Preverb)उपसर्गRoot प्र
- क्षिणीहि
- destroy; make waste awaywaste away, consume! (imperative: cause depletion of the offender’s strength)Verbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √क्षि (धातु; ‘to destroy, waste away’)
- ब्रह्मज्यस्य
- of the brahma-slayer / of the one who wrongs a Brahminof the brahma-slayer / brahma-injurer (one who harms sacred power or brahmin)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root ब्रह्मज्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘Brahmin-slayer/one who harms brahman’)
- प्रति
- back; againstback, in return (reversal/retaliation formula)Indeclinable (Preverb/Prep.)उपसर्ग/उपपदRoot प्रति
- मुञ्च
- release; loosenrelease, loosen, let go (unbind the bonds—either from victim or onto offender)Verbलोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot √मुच् (धातु)
- पाशान्
- nooses; bondsnooses, bonds (Varuṇic/royal fetters; here punitive constraints)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot पाश (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- निम्रुचः तिस्रः व्युषः ह तिस्रः तिस्रः त्रीणि रजांसि दिवः अङ्ग तिस्रः । विद्म ते अग्ने त्रेधा जनित्रम् त्रेधा देवानाम् जनिमानि विद्म तस्य देवस्य । क्रुद्धस्य एतत् आगः यः एवम् विद्वांसम् ब्राह्मणम् जिनाति । उत् वेपय रोहित प्र क्षिणीहि ब्रह्मज्यस्य प्रति मुञ्च पाशान् । सन्धि-विशेष:
- (1) क्रुद्धस्यै॒तदागो॒ → क्रुद्धस्य एतत् आगः (एतत् + आगः = एतदागः; पदपाठे पृथक्)।
- (2) उद् वेपय: उद् + वेपय (द् + व् संयोग; लेखे ‘उद्’ पृथक्)।
- (3) प्र क्षिणीहि: प्र + क्षिणीहि (उपसर्ग-योग)।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (hymn complex associated with Brahman-protection; specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
- Devata
- Agni; Rohita (solar/royal punitive power); the ‘kruddha deva’ backing brahmanical sanctity
- Chandas
- Mixed/irregular (predominantly triṣṭubh-jagatī cadence in extended pādas; refrain-like abhicaric close)
- Rasa
- Raudra and Bhayankara
Sāyaṇa takes the repeated triads (night/dawn/regions; Agni’s three births; gods’ three manifestations) as ‘vidyā’ whose possession authorizes the mantra’s punitive force. ‘Rohita’ is glossed as a fierce solar/royal form (āditya/tejas) deputed to shake and consume the brahma-violator. ‘Pāśa’ are the binding fetters of divine punishment; ‘prati muñca’ marks reversal—turning the bonds back upon the offender rather than the innocent.
Anukramaṇī uncertain (Brahman-protection complex)
Abhicāra/counter-violence charms and juridical-sacral protection of brahmanical persons; deploying cosmic knowledge as coercive authority.
Represents the Angiras strand: fierce safeguarding of sacred speech and its carriers, turning cosmic order into a weapon against violators.
Agni; Rohita; ‘kruddha deva’ (wrathful divine sanction)
Agni is the multi-located ritual fire linking realms; Rohita functions as solar/royal executioner of punishment; the ‘wrathful god’ is the transcendent guarantor of brahmanical inviolability.
Strong protective retribution: deters violence against learned persons; redirects bonds/nooses onto the offender.
Mixed/irregular (triṣṭubh-jagatī tendency with refrain)
Extended pādas with enumerative opening; then a curse-refrain segment repeated across adjacent verses.
Characteristic Atharvanic ‘knowledge-prologue + punitive refrain’; metrical looseness tolerated for incantatory force.
Incantatory escalation: cosmic enumeration (measured) → juridical accusation (sharp) → imperative curse (driving).
Builds authority through ‘we know’ statements, then releases coercive energy via imperatives (ud vepaya, pra kṣiṇīhi, prati muñca).
Identify the case as brahmajya (injury to a Brahman/holy power) and the afflicted party (victim or community).
Prepare a symbolic ‘bond’ (cord/noose) representing pāśa; place it near the fire or on the offender’s effigy/name-token.
Recite the mantra while tightening the cord (for ‘ud vepaya… pra kṣiṇīhi’), then perform a reversal gesture at ‘prati’ (turning the cord away from the victim).
At ‘muñca pāśān’, cast/transfer the cord onto the offender’s token or into a designated impure place, signifying the bonds’ reattachment to the guilty.
Conclude with a protective recitation for the Brahman and a pacificatory offering to Agni/Āditya to stabilize the rite.
Kauśika Sūtra: brahmajya-prāyaścitta / brahma-violator binding-and-release rite.
Atharvan/Brahman priest as juridical-ritual technician: he diagnoses brahmajya, performs pāśa-symbolism, and enforces ‘prati’ (ritual reversal) through mantra and gesture.
Used when a household/community fears aggression against its priest/teacher; recited as a juridical curse to deter and retaliate.
In response to injury/threat; potentially at liminal times (night/dawn) matching the ‘darkenings/dawns’ imagery.
Atharvan priest as ritual jurist; requires controlled intent and ritual purity due to abhicāric charge.
KauśS: protective/abhicāra applications for brahman-protection hymns (exact numbering varies by edition).
Ethically reframed as a boundary/protection prayer—avoid literal harm-intent in contemporary use.
pāśa (noose/bond as punitive constraint); Rohita (solar/royal red power as agent of wasting and trembling)
Agni (ritual fire) implicit as cosmic/ritual substrate; not a domestic hearth instruction here but a divine-ritual principle.
Fire and red solar heat act as desiccating punitive energies; the noose is a quasi-material constraint—binding the offender in consequence and social-divine sanction.
Protective-legal function akin to deterrence against assault on professionals/teachers; psychologically, a boundary-setting invocation for threatened communities.
Brahma-hurter/offender
To punish and incapacitate one who harms a learned Brahman; to redirect divine nooses/bonds onto the offender as retribution.
Cosmic legitimation (triple-world knowledge) + naming the offense (āgaḥ) + imperative coercion + bond-transfer (pāśa release onto target)
Violence, intimidation, sacrilege against knowledge-bearers
- तिस्रः (tisraḥ)
- Cosmic structuring principle; completeness across realms/times
- निम्रुचः (nimrucaḥ)
- Descent into obscurity/ignorance; the shadow side of time
- व्युषः (vyuṣaḥ)
- Renewal, revelation, restoration of order
- रजांसि (rajāṃsi)
- Cosmic layers; fields where law/ṛta operates
- त्रेधा जनित्रम् (tredhā janitram)
- Agni’s triple manifestation (earth/atmosphere/heaven; or gārhapatya/dakṣiṇāgni/āhavanīya) as total ritual reach
- विद्म (vidma)
- Initiated knowledge as protective armor; ‘knowing’ activates sanction
- क्रुद्ध (kruddha)
- The punitive face of divinity when sacred order is violated
- ब्राह्मण (brāhmaṇa)
- Embodiment of brahman (sacred speech/knowledge), social-ritual pillar
- ब्रह्मज्य (brahmajya)
- One who attacks sanctity/knowledge; archetype of sacrilege
- रोहित (rohita)
- Solar/royal punitive radiance; heat that dries, wastes, and exposes
- पाश (pāśa)
- Constraint of retribution; karmic/legal binding; Varuṇic-style fetter redirected to offender
Protection of sacred learning and ethical speech; cultivating fierce boundaries without personal hatred.
Maṇipūra (protective fire) and Viśuddha (sanctity of speech/knowledge).
Brisk exhale-focused breathing (kapālabhāti-light) only if appropriate and calm; otherwise steady breath while holding a protective visualization.
Visualize three flames around the protected teacher/community; visualize nooses dissolving from the innocent and re-binding as accountability around harmful intent (symbolic justice).
Alert, firm, boundary-centered.
Use as a vow to protect learning and non-violence; in modern practice, direct the ‘wasting’ toward the offender’s harmful impulse, not their person.
Abhicāric delivery: clear udātta where marked; sharpen imperatives ‘ud vepaya… pra kṣiṇīhi… prati muñca…’.
Maintain a measured tempo in the cosmology lines; then increase force at the accusation and strongest emphasis at the three imperatives.
Firm, cutting, controlled (avoid uncontrolled anger).
Because it is abhicāric, traditional practice would restrict use to qualified ritual contexts; modern recitation should be ethically redirected toward protection/justice.
1 times
Threats to teachers, priests, scholars, or ethical leaders; community intimidation; safeguarding study and sacred spaces.
After an incident of harm/threat, or before entering a contentious protective situation (symbolically).
Psychological fortitude, communal boundary-setting, deterrent framing of accountability.
Avoid literal cursing with intent to harm; do not use to escalate personal vendettas; seek legal/medical help in real threats.
No explicit herb appears; the operative ‘substance’ is juridical-symbolic: pāśa (bond) and Rohita (red solar force). The mantra functions as a technology of constraint and wasting rather than pharmacology.
It presumes the Brahman’s inviolability: harming a ‘vidvāṃs brāhmaṇa’ triggers divine wrath and legitimates retaliatory ritual violence. Knowledge (vidyā) is itself a weapon monopolized by the learned class.
The triadic cosmology and Agni’s ‘three births’ are RV-familiar, but the Atharvanic legal-punitive framing (‘etad āgo… brāhmaṇaṃ jināti’) and the imperative curse-sequence (‘ud vepaya… pra kṣiṇīhi… prati muñca’) are characteristically Atharvanic in tone.
Gopatha repeatedly grounds Atharvanic efficacy in brahman (sacral speech) and in prāyaścitta logic: offences against brahmanical order activate binding (pāśa) and consuming forces. This verse’s ‘vidma’ clauses align with that theory: correct knowledge authorizes coercive speech.
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