Atharva Veda 20.128.2: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 128, Mantra 2

Sukta 128

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

यो जा॒म्या अप्र॑थय॒स्तद् यत् सखा॑यं॒ दुधू॑र्षति । ज्येष्ठो॒ यद॑प्रचेता॒स्तदा॑हु॒रध॑रा॒गिति॑

Recitation with translationAtharva Veda 20.128.2

IAST Transliteration

yó jāḿyā áprathayas tád yát sakhā́yaṁ dudhū́rṣati | jyéṣṭho yád apracetā́s tád āhur ádharā́ íti ||

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Whoso among his own folk furthereth not their weal—inasmuch as he would fain assail a comrade—when the elder is void of counsel, that, men say, is ‘the lower sort.’

Translation

Kto wśród swoich bliskich nie krzewi ich dobra - skoro chciałby napaść na towarzysza - gdy starszy jest pozbawiony rozwagi, to, mówią ludzie, jest 'rodzaj niższy.'

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Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Kartā
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• जाम्याः: (his) own/related women; kinswomen
• जाम्याः: Karma
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: जामि (प्रातिपदिक)

• अप्रथयः: he spread out / made known
• अप्रथयः: (verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रथय् (धातु; प्रथ्/प्रथय् = विस्तारयति/प्रख्यापयति)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• यत्: which/that (fact)
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• सखायम्: a friend
• सखायम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखि (प्रातिपदिक)

• दुधूर्षति: he desires to milk / wishes to exploit
• दुधूर्षति: (verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दुह् (धातु; desiderative stem: दुधूर्ष-)

• ज्येष्ठः: the eldest / senior
• ज्येष्ठः: Kartā
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: ज्येष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)

• यत्: which/that (fact)
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• अप्रचेताः: unwise, lacking discernment
• अप्रचेताः: Kartā
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: अ-प्रचेतस् (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समासः)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• आहुः: they have said / they call
• आहुः: (verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह् (धातु; ब्रू/अह् = वदति)

• अधराः: the lower/younger (ones)
• अधराः: Kartā
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: अधर (प्रातिपदिक)

• इति: thus (so)
• इति: (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

Attribution

Rishi: Traditionally Ṛgvedic provenance (Book 20 supplement); specific ṛṣi attribution for 20.128 is not uniform across ancillary lists.

Devata: Implicit: social order/dharma; no single devatā explicitly invoked in this mantra.

Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (approx.; AV 20 often preserves RV-style meters)

Mantra Rasa

Primary: raudra

Secondary: shanta