Atharva Veda 2.14.5: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 14, Mantra 5
Sukta 14
यदि॒ स्थ क्षे॑त्रि॒याणां॒ यदि॑ वा॒ पुरु॑षेषिताः । यदि॒ स्थ दस्यु॑भ्यो जा॒ता नश्य॑ते॒तः स॒दान्वाः॑
yádi stha kṣetríyāṇā́m yádi vā púruṣeṣitā́ḥ | yádi stha dásyubhyo jātā́ náśyatétaḥ sadā́nvāḥ ||
If ye be of the Kṣetriya brood, or if ye be impelled by man; if ye be born from the Dasyu—perish ye hence, O Sadānvas!
Jeśli jesteście z rodu Kszatrijów, albo jeśli jesteście przez człowieka popychani; jeśli z Dasyu się narodziliście, zgińcie stąd, o Sadanwy!
The meaning
What it says
The speaker addresses afflicting beings (Sadānvas) and declares: whatever your origin—kṣetriya-brood, human-instigated, or Dasyu-born—perish/vanish from here.
The inner meaning
Cuts obsessive causality: the mind stops ruminating over ‘why this happened’ and instead chooses a single therapeutic directive—expulsion—regardless of source.
The truth in it
Suffering can be multi-causal; healing begins when one refuses to negotiate with the affliction and establishes a clear non-consent boundary.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (Disease-expulsion)
Its aim
To expel the kṣetriya-affliction (a persistent/hereditary disease) and any allied hostile agencies regardless of whether their cause is hereditary, human-sent sorcery, or enemy-origin.
Word by Word
Pada patha
yádi stha kṣetríyāṇām | yádi vā púruṣa-iṣitāḥ | yádi stha dásyubhyaḥ jātā́ḥ | náśyate itaḥ sadā́nvāḥ
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableसमुच्चय/शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional ‘if’)Root यदि (avyaya)
- स्थ
- you (pl.) are / you standVerbलट् (वेदिक-प्रयोगः), मध्यमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; ‘you (pl.) are/stand’Root √अस् (भू/अस्) (to be)
- क्षेत्रियाणाम्
- of the kṣetriya-diseases (a named ailment)Nounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (रोगनाम), षष्ठी, बहुवचनम्Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root क्षेत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableशर्तार्थक अव्ययRoot यदि (avyaya)
- वा
- orIndeclinableविकल्पार्थक अव्यय (‘or’)Root वा (avyaya)
- पुरुषेषिताः
- impelled/sent by a manAdjective (participial)बहुव्रीहि/कर्मधारय-समासान्त; ‘पुरुषेण इषित’ = प्रेरित/प्रेषित; प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्, पुंलिङ्ग (सम्बोधन-प्रायः ‘you’)Role कर्तृ-विशेषण (agent-qualifier of ‘you’)Root पुरुष-इषित (कृदन्त/विशेषण)
- यदि
- ifIndeclinableशर्तार्थक अव्ययRoot यदि (avyaya)
- स्थ
- you (pl.) areVerbलट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root √अस् (भू/अस्)
- दस्युभ्यः
- from the DasyusNounपुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, बहुवचनम्Role अपादान (source/origin)Root दस्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
- जाताः
- bornAdjective/Participleक्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृ-विशेषण (describing the addressed beings)Root √जन् (to be born) → जात (क्त)
- नश्यतेतः
- may it perish away / let it vanishVerb + indeclinable suffix (Vedic)नश्यत (लट्/वेदिक-प्रयोगः, 3rd sg. ‘perishes’) + -तः (वेदिक ‘thence/away’ intensifying/ablatival adverbial)Root √नश् (to perish) + तः (abl./adv. suffix)
- सदान्वाः
- (you) abiding ones / constant dwellersNoun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम् (सम्बोधन-प्रायः) अथवा विशेषणरूपेणRole कर्तृ/सम्बोधन (addressed beings as ‘abiders’)Root सदान्व (प्रातिपदिक; सदन्/सदस् + व/वा-प्रत्यय; ‘dwelling/abiding’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (resolved): यदि | स्थ | क्षेत्रियाणाम् | यदि | वा | पुरुषेषिताः | यदि | स्थ | दस्युभ्यः | जाताः | नश्यतेतः | सदान्वाः ।
- 1) ‘स्थ’ is Vedic 2nd pl. of √अस् ‘to be/stand’
- 2) ‘पुरुषेषिताः’ = पुरुषेण इषिताः (instrumental understood; sandhi: पुरुषेण + इषिताः → पुरुषेषिताः)
- नश्यत + -तः (adverbial/ablatival particle ‘away, thence’), used for expulsion in charms
- 4) ‘सदान्वाः’ is treated as a nominative plural (often vocative-like in mantra address)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages for kṣetriya-removal hymns; specific r̥ṣi attribution depends on the Anukramaṇī).
- Devata
- Apotropaic address to the afflicting beings (kṣetriya; Sadānva-s) rather than a single high deity.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable; common for Atharvanic healing/banishing verses)
- Rasa
- Vira and Raudra
Sāyaṇa treats the addressed entities as the kṣetriya-affliction and allied malevolent agencies. The verse enumerates suspected origins—hereditary/‘field-settled’ (kṣetriya), human-sent (púruṣeṣita), or arising from hostile outsiders (dasyu)—so that no hidden provenance escapes the banishing formula. ‘Sadānvāḥ’ is taken as a designation of the particular class of tormentors to be expelled; ‘náśyate’ functions as a forceful dismissal (vināśa/apanayana) ‘from here’ (itaḥ) from the patient and dwelling.
Unknown (AVŚ 2.14 anukramaṇī-dependent); Atharvanic healing-expulsion lineage
Bhaiṣajya by apotropaic logic: diagnosing affliction by typology (hereditary/human/enemy) and expelling it with a single formula.
Shows Atharvan pragmatism: the mantra does not debate etiology; it asserts sovereignty over the patient’s space/body.
Kṣetriya-affliction/Sadānvas addressed as banishable agencies; rakṣoghna vāc as operative power
Represents disorder that violates the proper placement of beings; the mantra reassigns it ‘away from here’.
Yes: removal of persistent disease/affliction conceived as an entity.
Yes: protects household/patient by denying any origin-based legitimacy to remain.
4 × ~8; conditional clauses in first three pādas, expulsion in the last
Clause-stacking is typical; last pāda carries the performative punch (naśyata itaḥ).
Interrogative/diagnostic build-up → decisive release.
Creates cognitive closure: multiple possibilities collapse into one command of removal.
The Atharvan priest identifies the patient as afflicted by kṣetriya (persistent/lineage-linked disorder) and prepares an apotropaic performance.
The mantra is recited as an ‘enumerative diagnosis’: the priest verbally covers multiple etiologies (hereditary, human-sent, enemy-origin) while facing the patient.
At the command ‘náśyatétaḥ’ the priest performs a physical expulsion gesture (apanayana): brushing/sweeping away from the patient’s body toward an exit or toward the ground outside.
The rite concludes by directing the evil to depart ‘from here’ (itaḥ), typically toward a liminal boundary (doorway, crossroads, or outside the settlement), consistent with Atharvanic removal-logic.
Kauśika Sūtra: kṣetriya-nāśana/apanayana context (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition; commonly placed among the kṣetriya- and takman-removal rites).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as exorcist-healer: diagnoses by mantra, commands departure, and performs the expulsion gesture synchronized with the injunctive.
Recite over the patient, then gesture outward (spitting symbolically, snapping fingers, or casting away dust) to enact ‘itaḥ’ (from here).
At onset of recurring symptoms; at liminal times (dawn/dusk) typical for rakṣā rites.
Atharvan specialist or competent householder; the authority of the speaker is part of efficacy.
Used within Kauśika-style kṣetriya-removal procedures (exact sūtra citation requires edition collation).
As a supportive chant alongside treatment for chronic conditions, emphasizing resilience and non-identification with disease.
No material pharmaka named; the pharmakon is vāc itself—classification and command acting as therapeutic instrument.
Kṣetriya (AV disease-category; often chronic/recurring, sometimes hereditary) and allied intrusive harms
Verbal exorcism/expulsion; etiological universality (‘whatever the cause’) prevents loopholes for the affliction to ‘claim’ residence.
Āgantuka/krimi/bhūta models; also dīrgharoga (chronicity) framed as an externalized entity.
Chronic illness coping: reducing blame/rumination; focusing on actionable care; psychosomatic relief via authoritative suggestion.
Sadānvas / kṣetriya-affliction
Drive out kṣetriya-affliction and Sadānva agencies irrespective of origin.
Triadic etiology-net (hereditary–human–enemy) + expulsion imperative; ‘closing’ explanatory gaps.
Chronic recurring disease, bewitchment, enemy-caused harm
- क्षेत्रिय (kṣetriya)
- deep-seated, entrenched, ‘rooted’ disorder—often hereditary/recurring or dwelling in the body like a tenant
- पुरुषेषित (puruṣeṣita)
- human-caused harm: sorcery, malice, social toxicity, intentional injury
- दस्युभ्यः (dasyubhyaḥ)
- enemy-origin threat; the ‘other’ as source of danger (war, raid, hostility)
- नश्यत इतः (naśyata itaḥ)
- therapeutic banishment; removal of the ‘intruder’ from one’s sphere
- सदान्वाः (sadānvāḥ)
- restless, persistent afflictions that keep returning/migrating
Non-identification with illness; ‘I am not the disease; it must leave’.
Maṇipūra (will/agency)
Even inhalation; on exhale, mentally place ‘naśyata itaḥ’ as a releasing command.
Visualize the affliction as a weed pulled from soil and carried away by wind beyond the boundary.
Steady, decisive, unshaken.
Repeat with calm firmness; avoid anger—aim for clean authority; conclude with a few slow breaths to stabilize.
Plain recitation; emphasize conditional ‘yadi’ openings lightly, reserve strongest stress for ‘naśyata itaḥ’.
Keep pāda breaks clear; last pāda should land firmly on ‘sadānvāḥ’.
Controlled, authoritative; not shouted.
Often paired with a physical ‘casting away’ action to prevent the mantra from remaining purely verbal.
7 times
Recurring illness in a person/household; suspicion of envy/ill-wishing; unexplained chronic symptoms.
At the start of daily care routines; before medicine administration; during flare-ups to reduce fear.
Psychological steadiness; traditional aim: loosening the ‘hold’ of chronic affliction and preventing recurrence.
Do not foster paranoia about enemies; keep focus on care and community support.
No plant or amulet is named in this verse; efficacy is achieved through exhaustive etiological naming and direct expulsion-command. In many Atharvanic kṣetriya rites, substances (water, sweeping material, or an amulet) may accompany the recitation, but here the operative technology is verbal: identifying every possible origin so the banishment cannot be evaded by ‘misdiagnosis’.
The etiologies encode social geography: ‘púruṣeṣita’ presumes interpersonal hostility and commissioned harm (a social world of rivals), while ‘dásyubhyaḥ jātāḥ’ projects danger onto outsiders marked as Dasyu. Disease is thus mapped onto both lineage (kṣetriya as hereditary/settled) and social antagonism (human-sent, outsider-origin), reflecting a community that reads misfortune through kinship and boundary-making.
The Atharvanic style favors pragmatic, juridical-sounding conditionals (‘yádi… yádi…’) and direct second-person confrontation of the evil, a register less prominent in the RV’s praise-hymn norm. The compound púruṣeṣitāḥ (‘man-impelled’) is characteristic of Atharvanic causal language for sorcery. The injunctive/imperatival use of náśyate is also typical of Atharvanic expulsion diction.
The Gopatha Brāhmaṇa generally frames Atharvanic mantras as operative speech-acts whose correctness and comprehensiveness secure results. This verse exemplifies that logic: by enumerating origins (hereditary, human-sent, outsider-born) the mantra ‘binds’ the evil within a total causal net, enabling the priest’s command of departure to take effect without loophole.
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