Atharva Veda 4.9.2: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 9, Mantra 2
Sukta 9
प॒रि॒पाणं॒ पुरु॑षाणां परि॒पाणं॒ गवा॑मसि । अश्वा॑ना॒मर्व॑तां परि॒पाणा॑य तस्थिषे
paripā́ṇaṃ púruṣāṇāṃ paripā́ṇaṃ gávām asi | áśvānām árvatāṃ paripā́ṇāya tasthíṣe
A guarding hand for men art thou, a guarding hand for cattle; for horses, for swift steeds, thou standest established as protection.
Chroniąca ręka dla ludzi jesteś, chroniąca ręka dla bydła; dla koni, dla szybkich wierzchowców, stoisz ustanowiona jako ochrona.
The meaning
What it says
You are a guarding hand for men, a guarding hand for cattle; for horses, for swift steeds, you stand established for protection.
The inner meaning
Protection is imagined as a ‘hand’ that covers and steadies what sustains life: persons and livelihood-animals. The remedy (āñjana by context) becomes a standing guardian—continuous, not momentary—over the household’s vulnerable assets.
The truth in it
Well-being depends on protective structures around both body and livelihood; security is a ritual-ethical ‘covering’ that allows life to flourish.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Rakṣā (Protection) / Paustika (Household prosperity)
Its aim
To establish the applied protective agent (here, añjana by context) as a standing safeguard for persons and key domestic wealth (cattle and horses).
Word by Word
Pada patha
परि-पाणम् । पुरुषाणाम् । परि-पाणम् । गवाम् । असि । अश्वानाम् । अर्वताम् । परि-पाणाय । तस्थिषे ।
- परिपाणम्
- protection; safeguarding (as the object sought)protecting-hand/guarding cover; a surrounding safeguard (lit. ‘encompassing hand’)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन (कर्मपद/विधेय-रूपेण)Role KarmaRoot परि-पाण (प्रातिपदिक; ‘चारों ओर रक्षा/संरक्षण’, ‘परिरक्षक/परिपालन’)
- पुरुषाणाम्
- of men; of personsof men/persons; human communityNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive) / Adhikaraṇa (sense: ‘for/of’)Root पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
- परिपाणम्
- protectionprotective cover; repeated for emphasis and extensionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचनRole KarmaRoot परि-पाण (प्रातिपदिक)
- गवाम्
- of cows; of cattleof cattle; wealth and livelihoodNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग (गो-शब्दः), षष्ठी बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive)Root गो (प्रातिपदिक)
- असि
- you are / it is (serves as ‘is’)thou art; identification of the remedy with protectionVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यम? (न), उत्तम? (न) → प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole (क्रिया) विधेयRoot अस् (धातु)
- अश्वानाम्
- of horsesof horses; prestige animals, mobility/warfareNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive)Root अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- अर्वताम्
- of steeds; of swift horsesof steeds/runners; swift horses (poetic synonym)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive)Root अर्वत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अश्व/रथवाह’ ‘steed’)
- परिपाणाय
- for protection; for safeguardingfor protection/for the guarding-hand; dative of purposeNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot परि-पाण (प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्थिषे
- you have stood; you stand (firm)thou standest/abidest; thou art established (as a standing guard)Verbलिट् (परफेक्ट), मध्यमपुरुष एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole Kartā (implicit ‘त्वम्’) / (क्रिया)Root स्था (धातु) → तस्थि- (परिपूर्ण/रेडुप्लिकेट परफेक्ट-स्टेम)
Sandhi Notes
- परिपाणम् | पुरुषाणाम् | परिपाणम् | गवाम् | असि | अश्वानाम् | अर्वताम् | परिपाणाय | तस्थिषे । Sandhi: ‘गवामसि’ = ‘गवाम् असि’ (म् + अ → म् अ; writing shows close junction). No other mandatory sandhi changes beyond pada-division
- Vedic accent marks retained in the source
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (uncertain)
- Devata
- Āñjana / Rakṣā (protective power) as functional deity
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta
Sayana glosses paripāṇa as a comprehensive protection that ‘covers on all sides’ (sarvato rakṣaṇam). In context of the añjana hymn, the collyrium is not only ocular medicine but a general safeguard extending to household dependents and wealth (cattle, horses). ‘Tasthīṣe’ marks stable, enduring protection—like a stationed sentinel.
Unknown (Atharvanic tradition; within āñjana hymn)
Rakṣā charms extending a medicinal substance’s protection from the body to the entire domestic economy (people, cattle, horses).
Shows Atharvanic expansion: a remedy is not only curative but becomes a household guardian, linking health with prosperity and security.
Āñjana/Rakṣā as Paripāṇa (protective hand)
Protective agency that ‘covers’ beings and wealth, maintaining order in the domestic sphere against loss, disease, and misfortune.
Secondary: by protecting livestock and mobility, it prevents cascading household stress and illness; supports overall vitality indirectly.
Direct: wards persons and animals, especially key wealth-forms in Vedic household life.
4×8 (regular or near-regular)
Minimal; repetitive paripāṇam creates formulaic charm cadence typical of rakṣā verses.
Even, incantatory, list-like; suitable for enumerating protected domains.
Builds a sense of comprehensive coverage through repetition and parallelism.
After applying añjana to the patient, recite this mantra to generalize protection beyond the individual.
Touch the patient’s right shoulder and then gesture outward toward the byre/stable direction, symbolically extending the ‘paripāṇa’ to cattle and horses.
Optionally mark a small amount of añjana on a doorpost, stall-post, or tethering rope as a boundary-sign (paridhi/paripāṇa).
Kauśika Sūtra: protective applications extending from patient to household/stock (rakṣā for paśu) in añjana context (edition-dependent).
Atharvan priest expands the remedy’s scope from clinical eye-treatment to household protection, integrating medicine with property-security rites.
After consecrating āñjana, touch/mark the beneficiary; optionally symbolically ‘cover’ cattle/horses by gesture (hand wave) or by touching the stable-post/threshold while reciting.
Morning rounds of the household; before moving cattle/horses; before travel or market.
Householder performs; Atharvan specialist may formalize with protective circumambulation.
KauśS: rakṣā applications and protective markings; āñjana context likely linked with the preceding verse’s application rite (edition-dependent).
Use as a spoken ‘protective intention’ over family and livelihood; pair with practical safety measures (animal care, hygiene).
āñjana (by hymn context); paripāṇa (protective ‘hand’/cover)
Implicit: the applied mark functions like a protective sign; could be extended to marking thresholds/animals in later practice.
Paripāṇa transforms medicine into guardianship: protection is tactile, covering, and continuous—like a hand over what is precious.
Broad protective prophylaxis: prevents ailments and misfortune affecting people and domestic animals.
Establishes a standing protective ‘cover’ (paripāṇa) through consecrated substance/word; prophylactic boundary logic.
Preventive rasāyana mindset: protection of prāṇa and household stability; not a specific doṣa treatment.
Public/household health framing: prevention, biosecurity for livestock, and protective routines that reduce disease risk.
Household unit (gr̥ha) and its living assets.
Extend protection from the individual to household dependents and wealth—people, cattle, horses.
Enumerative coverage (naming domains) + stabilization formula (tasthiṣe) to ‘fix’ the protection in place.
Disease, predators/thieves, misfortune, ‘evil eye’ on wealth.
Cattle, horses, human security—core paustika assets.
- परिपाणम् (paripāṇam)
- active guardianship; boundary at the point of contact
- पुरुषाणाम् (puruṣāṇām)
- protection of the human community
- गवाम् (gavām)
- household prosperity, nourishment, continuity
- अश्वानाम् अर्वताम् (aśvānām arvatām)
- mobility, status, capacity to act/prevail
- तस्थिषे (tasthiṣe)
- durable ward; a fixed protective presence
Establish a protective ‘field’ around self and dependents; cultivate steadiness of care.
Anāhata (protective care) with grounding in Mūlādhāra (security).
Slow nasal breathing with palms awareness (hasta-smṛti) to embody ‘paripāṇa’.
A luminous hand-shaped aura covers the household, herd, and paths; it remains ‘standing’ like a pillar.
Calm vigilance (rakṣā-jāgrat).
Recite once for self, once for family, once for livelihood; end with a practical act of care (feeding, cleaning) to anchor the charm.
Even, level recitation; let paripāṇam repeat with identical contour to ‘fix’ the charm.
Stress paripāṇam each time; keep tasthiṣe as firm closure.
Steady, quiet authority—protective rather than aggressive.
After recitation, perform a simple protective gesture: place palm briefly on the head/heart, then extend palm outward as ‘covering’.
9 times
Household protection—family safety, livestock health, travel security, safeguarding livelihood.
At daybreak; before leaving home; during illness outbreaks among animals; when anxiety about security rises.
A sense of guardedness and order; traditional framing for comprehensive protection.
Do not substitute mantra for veterinary/medical care or safety planning.
The mantra treats the remedy as a transferable protective field (‘paripāṇa’). Even if the substance is applied to eyes, its efficacy is conceptualized as radiating to dependents and livestock—showing Atharvanic medicine as household systems-protection.
Cattle and horses index wealth and rank; protecting them is a central concern of householders and elites. The priestly rite safeguards economic foundations, reinforcing the Atharvan’s role in managing risk to property and status.
The abstract protective compound paripāṇa is more ‘technical’ and Atharvanic in feel, functioning like a ritual category. The enumerative extension (men–cattle–horses) is typical of Atharvanic domestic totalization.
Gopatha’s domestic orientation supports reading this as a rakṣā-extension: the same brahman that protects the body can be stationed as a guard over wealth. The mantra’s ‘tasthīṣe’ aligns with the idea of protection as a fixed, installed presence.
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