Atharva Veda 4.35.5: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 35, Mantra 5
Sukta 35
यः प्रा॑ण॒दः प्रा॑ण॒दवा॑न् ब॒भूव॒ यस्मै॑ लो॒का घृ॒तव॑न्तः॒ क्षर॑न्ति । ज्योति॑ष्मतीः प्र॒दिशो॒ यस्य॒ सर्वा॒स्तेनौ॑द॒नेनाति॑ तराणि मृ॒त्युम्
yáḥ prā́ṇa-dáḥ prā́ṇa-dávān babhū́va yásmai lokā́ ghṛtá-vantaḥ kṣáranti | jyótiṣmatīḥ pradíśo yásya sárvā́s ténáudanénáti tarāṇi mṛtyúm
He who became the Giver of breath, yea, breath-bestowing; for whom the worlds, rich in ghee, distil their streams; whose every quarter is luminous with light—by that Odana may I pass beyond Death.
On, który stał się Dawcą tchnienia, obdarzający tchnieniem; dla którego światy, bogate w ghee, sączą swoje strumienie; którego każda strona jest pełna światła - przez ten Odana niechaj przekroczę poza Śmierć.
The meaning
What it says
Invoking the Breath-Giver whose worlds stream with ghee and whose quarters are luminous, the speaker seeks to cross beyond Death by means of that consecrated odana (cooked offering/food).
The inner meaning
The stanza internalizes nourishment as immortality-symbol: when food is consecrated by brahman and taken with awareness, it becomes ‘breath-restoring’—a psychological and somatic pledge against collapse, despair, and fear of death.
The truth in it
Life is sustained by a triad—breath, nourishment, and luminous orientation (meaning/direction). When these are sacralized, mortality’s terror loosens.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apamrityu (Death-warding)
Its aim
To overcome (especially untimely) death by means of brahma-odana; to secure life-breath and total directional protection.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यः । प्राण-दः । प्राण-दवान् । बभूव । यस्मै । लोकाः । घृत-वन्तः । क्षरन्ति । ज्योतिष्मतीः । प्रदिशः । यस्य । सर्वाः । तेन । ओदनेन । अति । तराणि । मृत्युम् ।
- यः
- who (he who)who; the one who (relative pronoun introducing the praised power)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्राणदः
- giver of life-breathgiver of prāṇa; bestower of vital breath/life-force (life-restoring potency)Noun (agent) / Epithetपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot प्राण + द (√दा ‘देने’)
- प्राणदवान्
- possessing (the power of) giving life-breathpossessing the power of giving prāṇa; life-endowed/life-conferringAdjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot प्राणद + वत् (मतुप्/वतुप्-प्रत्ययः)
- बभूव
- became / has becomehas become; came to be (manifested as such)Verbलिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √भू (भवति)
- यस्मै
- to whomto whom; for whom (recipient of cosmic offerings)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- लोकाः
- worldsworlds/realms; ordered cosmic regions (supporting the sacrificer)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
- घृतवन्तः
- abounding in ghee / rich in clarified butterabounding in ghee; rich in unction (symbol of nourishment/immortality)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम् (लोकाः इति विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot घृत + वत् (वतुप्)
- क्षरन्ति
- flow / streamflow, drip forth (as a stream of sustenance/boon)Verbलट्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root √क्षर् (क्षरति)
- ज्योतिष्मतीः
- luminousluminous; filled with light (auspicious, life-protecting radiance)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम् (प्रदिशः इति विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot ज्योतिस् + मत् (मतुप्)
- प्रदिशः
- directions / quartersquarters/directions (ritually secured spatial domains)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot प्रदिश् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘direction/quarter’)
- यस्य
- whosePronounपुंलिङ्गः/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role SambandhaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सर्वाः
- allAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम् (प्रदिशः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेन
- by/with thatwith that; by means of that (instrumental: the consecrated substance/rite)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ओदनेन
- with the boiled rice (oblation/food)with the odana (cooked rice/gruel offering; here a brahmanic life-protecting oblation)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot ओदन (प्रातिपदिक)
- अति
- over, beyondover, beyond; across (crossing a boundary—death)Indeclinableअव्ययम्Root अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- तराणि
- may I crossmay I cross; may I pass over (optative/precative sense: ritual wish)Verbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् (प्रार्थना/इच्छा), उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root √तॄ (तरति)
- मृत्युम्
- deathNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः (Vedic sandhi resolved): यः | प्राणदः | प्राणदवान् | बभूव | यस्मै | लोकाः | घृतवन्तः | क्षरन्ति | ज्योतिष्मतीः | प्रदिशः | यस्य | सर्वाः | तेन | ओदनेन | अति | तराणि | मृत्युम् । मुख्य-सन्धयः:
- (1) प्राणदः प्राणदवान्—विसर्गः परे प्-कारे प्रायः स्थिरः (जिह्वामूलीय/उपध्मानीय-प्रवृत्तिः पाठभेदेषु)
- (2) सर्वाः तेन → सर्वास्तेन (आः + त- आरम्भे ‘स्’ आगमः)
- (3) तेन ओदनेन → तेनौदनेन (ए + ओ → औ)
- (4) ओदनेन अति → ओदनेनाति (अ-आदौ संधिः; ए + अ → एऽ/ए, संहितायां ‘एना’ इत्यादि रूपेण)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (Aṅgiras/Atharvan attribution typical for apamṛtyu material; exact r̥ṣi to be verified against Anukramaṇī for AV 4.35).
- Devata
- Brahman/Brāhmaṇaspati principle embodied in brahma-odana; life-breath (Prāṇa) and death-transcendence motif.
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh-like cadence (to be confirmed by metrical scan; Saunaka AV often mixes triṣṭubh/jagatī in such stanzas).
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa takes prāṇa-dá as ‘life-bestower’ (āyuḥ-prada) and reads the ‘ghee-flowing worlds’ as the cosmic support that accrues to the sacrificer through the brahma-odana. The ‘luminous directions’ signify complete spatial protection (dig-bandha) effected by the rite; the refrain ‘by that odana I cross death’ is construed as apamṛtyu-jaya (overcoming untimely death) through consecrated cooked oblation.
AVŚ 4.35.1-6 (odana/apamṛtyu complex; to be confirmed by hymn structure in Śaunaka)
Unknown (Anukramaṇī attribution to be verified for AVŚ 4.35)
Apamṛtyu-bhaisajya: death-warding through consecrated food (odana), breath theology (prāṇa), and brahmanic sacralization.
The seer treats cooked food as a vehicle of brahman: eating becomes a rite of re-entry into life, especially when threatened by ‘untimely death’ or wasting conditions.
Prāṇa/Brahman principle (often aligned with Brāhmaṇaspati) manifest in brahma-odana
Sustains life through breath and luminous order; makes the quarters protective by clarity (light) rather than confusion (dark).
Restores vitality, counters wasting/weakness; supports recovery by sacral nourishment and breath-strengthening intention.
Wards off mṛtyu, especially apamṛtyu (untimely death) by establishing fullness (ghṛta-flow) and directional protection.
4 pādas of ~11 syllables (Triṣṭubh-like), with Atharvanic resolution and occasional jagatī-like expansions.
AVŚ often permits uneven syllable counts in long meters; the refrain-like close ‘tena odanena…’ acts as rhythmic anchor.
Solemn, expansive, ‘hymnic’ rather than punchy; suited to life-and-death rites.
Induces steadiness and hope; frames eating/oblation as crossing a threshold beyond fear.
Prepare odana (cooked rice) with ritual purity; optionally enrich with ghṛta.
Consecrate the cooking and the vessel with recitation of the 4.35 mantras, treating the odana as a brahmanic life-protecting oblation.
Offer a portion into fire (where prescribed) and administer/consume the remainder as a protective, life-prolonging food.
Recite the refrain ‘tenaudanena ati tarāṇi mṛtyum’ while touching/holding the odana, intending ‘crossing beyond death’.
Kauśika Sūtra: brahmaudana/apamṛtyu-karman context.
Atharvan/Brahman officiant supervises purity, recitation, and consecration; he empowers the odana as a protective ‘brahman’ substance and directs its offering/consumption.
Prepare odana (often with ghṛta); recite over it; offer a portion (Agni/household deity), then feed the patient/householder for āyus.
Morning or at an auspicious tithi; also during convalescence or after ominous dreams/portents.
Purohita consecrates food; householders may perform in simplified form.
Likely connected to Kauśika apamṛtyu/āyus rites involving odana (exact sūtra number to be verified).
Mindful ‘healing meal’ ritual: simple cooked rice with a small amount of ghee; recitation and intention for breath and recovery.
Odana (cooked rice/gruel); Ghṛta (ghee, as unction/immortality-symbol)
Implicit: cooking transforms raw grain into odana; Agni as alchemical mediator.
Odana is ‘domesticated immortality’: raw grain becomes life-sustaining through fire and mantra; ghṛta is ojas/continuity—worlds ‘distil’ like clarified essence, mirroring the patient’s restoration.
Apamṛtyu (untimely death), severe weakness, wasting, convalescence states framed as life-breath depletion.
Prāṇa domain (respiration/chest) implicitly.
Consecrated nourishment (odana + ghṛta) + invocation of prāṇa-bestowing deity; reorientation through ‘luminous directions’ (protective field).
Ojas-building via ghṛta and nourishing anna; support of prāṇa-vāyu; strengthening agni through cooked, digestible food.
Nutritional rehabilitation with ritualized mindful eating; breath-focused calming to reduce death-anxiety in illness.
Mṛtyu (Death), especially untimely death; depletion states.
To avert death and restore life-breath by consuming/using brahma-odana as a ritually empowered medicine.
Sacralization of food (odana) as pharmakon; identification of cosmic abundance (ghee-streaming worlds) with the edible offering; crossing formula (ati-tara) as performative.
Sudden decline, ominous signs, wasting, fear of death.
Long life (āyus) as the highest ‘wealth’.
- प्राणद (prāṇa-da)
- restorer of vitality; the principle that reanimates when life-force is low
- घृत (ghṛta)
- unctuous essence/ojas; smooth flow of life; ‘immortal’ food of gods
- लोक (loka)
- levels of experience sustained by nourishment and meaning
- ज्योतिष्मतीः प्रदिशः (jyotiṣmatīḥ pradiśaḥ)
- orientation, clarity, protection from disorientation and dread
- ओदन (odana)
- transformed nourishment; domesticated fire’s gift; edible brahman
- अति तराणि मृत्युम् (ati tarāṇi mṛtyum)
- overcoming untimely death; crossing fear and depletion into continuity
Prāṇa as gift: receiving breath with gratitude; eating as prāṇa support.
anāhata (breath/heart)
Slow 1:2 breathing (inhale 4, exhale 8) after chanting; gentle, especially for the ill.
Four directions lit like lamps; ghee-like golden stream descending into the chest with each inhale; death as a river crossed by a boat of odana.
Receptive calm with luminous orientation.
Chant 9 times over warm odana; eat slowly, feeling breath deepen; rest in awareness of light in all quarters.
Solemn long-meter delivery; sustain vowels in prāṇa-daḥ / jyotiṣmatīḥ; keep refrain ‘tena odanena…’ steady and centered.
Mark the semantic peaks: prāṇa-daḥ, ghṛtavantah kṣaranti, jyotiṣmatīḥ pradiśaḥ, ati tarāṇi mṛtyum.
Warm, nourishing, inward-directed; suitable over food.
Food-mantras are typically spoken ‘into’ the vessel (over the steam) to seat vāc in anna; avoid spitting sounds, keep mouth moist/clean.
9 times
Convalescence, weakness, fear of sudden decline, rituals for longevity; supportive practice during recovery.
Before a nourishing meal prepared simply; during āyus prayers; after ominous signs or during seasonal vulnerability.
Calm, strengthened resolve; traditional death-warding and breath-restoration framing; supports mindful nourishment.
For serious illness, use alongside medical care; ghṛta may not suit all diets/conditions—adapt (small quantity or omit) as needed.
The operative substance is alimentary rather than botanical: odana, often strengthened with ghṛta. The mantra sacralizes food as a carrier of prāṇa; ghṛta indexes ‘immortality-nourishment’ and makes the worlds ‘flow’ beneficently toward the patient/sacrificer.
Power is mediated through brahmanic speech and a consecrated domestic offering. The efficacy is not merely dietary but depends on Atharvanic expertise—ritual knowledge that authorizes the transformation of common food into a death-warding instrument.
The diction is RV-like (relative clause + cosmic imagery), but the Atharvanic innovation is the explicit therapeutic/apotropaic application: ‘crossing death’ via a domestic cooked offering, a pragmatic redeployment of high-cosmic language.
Gopatha-style reasoning typically grounds efficacy in brahman (sacred speech) and in the identification of offering/food with life and immortality. This stanza’s prāṇa and ghṛta imagery aligns with that logic: speech-consecrated nourishment becomes a vehicle for apamṛtyu-jaya.
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