Atharva Veda 7.76.2: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 8, Sukta 76, Mantra 2
Sukta 76
या ग्रैव्या॑ अप॒चितोऽथो॒ या उ॑पप॒क्ष्याः । वि॒जाम्नि॒ या अ॑प॒चितः॑ स्वयं॒स्रसः॑
yā́ graivyā́ apacító ’tho yā́ upapakṣyā́ḥ | vijā́mni yā́ apacítaḥ svayáṁ-srasaḥ
Whether the swellings be of the neck, or whether they be at the side, whether at the shoulder-joint—what swellings there are, let them be self-loosening, falling away of themselves.
Czy to obrzęki szyi, czy też po bokach, czy w stawie barkowym, jakiekolwiek są te obrzęki, niech same się rozluźnią, same odpadną.
The meaning
What it says
Targets swellings located at the neck, side, or shoulder-joint, commanding all such apaciti swellings to become self-loosening and fall away by themselves.
The inner meaning
A cognitive release formula: wherever tension is lodged (neck/side/shoulder = burdens carried), it is invited to ‘let go’ without struggle—resolution through spontaneous unbinding rather than force.
The truth in it
When causes are removed, many afflictions subside naturally; the body-mind has an innate capacity for self-correction when obstruction is not reinforced.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaiṣajya (Healing)
Its aim
Targeting swellings across specified body regions; inducing spontaneous loosening/resolution
Word by Word
Pada patha
या । ग्रैव्याः । अपचितः । अथो इति । या । उपपक्ष्याः । विजाम्नि । या । अपचितः । स्वयम्-स्रसः
- या
- which (female/that)which; relative pronoun introducing classes of swellingsPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (सम्बन्ध) / कर्तृ-पद-सम्बन्धीRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → या-
- ग्रैव्याḥ
- (those) of the neck / cervical (ones)Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्धित) / विषयRoot ग्रैव्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘ग्रीवा’सम्बद्ध) → ग्रैव्य-
- अपचितः
- wasting away; consumptiveswellings/degenerative growths; ‘apaciti’ as wasting disease or morbid enlargement (contextual)Adjective (Kṛdanta)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्धित) / विषयRoot अपचित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; अप + √चि ‘to gather/accumulate’ → ‘wasting/consumption’) → अपचित-
- अथो
- and alsoIndeclinableअव्ययRole समुच्चय/अन्वय-सम्बन्धRoot अथो (निपात; अथ + उ) → अथो
- या
- which (ones)which; continuing enumerationPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषण (सम्बन्ध) / कर्तृ-पद-सम्बन्धीRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → या-
- उपपक्ष्याः
- (those) at the sides/flanksnear the ribs/flanks/axilla; swellings at the side-region (under-arm/near shoulder)Adjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्धित) / विषयRoot उपपक्ष्य (प्रातिपदिक; उप + पक्ष ‘side/wing’; ‘at the side/flank’) → उपपक्ष्य-
- विजाम्नि
- in the joints / at the articulationsat the collar-bone/shoulder-joint region (obscure anatomical term; taken as a bodily locus)Noun (locative of place)नपुंसकलिङ्ग/अव्ययीभाववत् स्थान-शब्दः, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot विजाम्नि (प्रातिपदिक; स्थानवाचक) → विजाम्नि-
- या
- which (ones)which; again enumerativePronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole विशेषण (सम्बन्ध) / कर्तृ-पद-सम्बन्धीRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → या-
- अपचितः
- wasting away; consumptiveswellings; morbid nodes (repeated for multiple sites)Adjective (Kṛdanta)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्धित) / विषयRoot अपचित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; अप + √चि) → अपचित-
- स्वयं
- of itself; spontaneouslyIndeclinableअव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषण (रीति/स्वभाव)Root स्वयम् (अव्यय) → स्वयं
- स्रसः
- loose; fallen/relaxedAdjective (used substantively)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्धित) / विषयRoot स्रस (प्रातिपदिक; √स्रंस्/स्रस् ‘to fall/loosen’) → स्रस-
Sandhi Notes
- (1) ग्रैव्या॑ अप॒चितोऽथो॒ → ग्रैव्याः अपचिताः अथो (अः + अ → आ; अपचितः here stands for अपचिताः in feminine plural per Vedic usage/orthography)
- (2) या उ॑पप॒क्ष्याः → या उपपक्ष्याः (आ + उ hiatus; no coalescence in pada)
- (3) विजाम्नि॒ या → विजाम्नि या (no sandhi)
- (4) स्वयं॒स्रसः → स्वयं स्रसः (morpheme boundary; written as one in saṃhitā)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Apaciti (disease/swellings) as adversary
- Rasa
- Shanta
Sayana treats the verse as anatomical cataloguing: swellings in neck and adjacent regions are named so the charm may ‘find’ them. The key is ‘svayaṁsrasaḥ’—the desired mode of cure is spontaneous loosening and dropping off, i.e., resolution without suppuration or recurrence.
Atharvanic healer-seers
Localization charms: mapping disease across body regions and commanding spontaneous resolution.
Exemplifies Atharvanic diagnostic-poetic listing: naming sites of affliction to ‘corner’ it, then granting the body permission to release it.
Apaciti (personified swelling)
Embodied mis-growth that can be compelled to detach from bodily locations.
Promotes detachment and reduction of localized swellings through verbal unbinding.
Protects by preventing the swelling from ‘taking station’ in joints and connective sites.
Appears as a compact listing + concluding imperative/result phrase; may approximate 4 pādas in performance.
Catalog style (yā… yā… yā…) common in charms; rhythmic enumeration functions as ritual ‘survey.’
Measured and enumerative, ending in a release-word (svayaṃ-srasaḥ).
Induces a scanning awareness over the body, then a felt ‘letting go’ at the cadence end.
Identify the loci of swelling (neck, flank/axilla, shoulder region).
Recite the mantra while pointing to or lightly touching each named region in sequence.
If combined with the prior verse’s salt-application, synchronize touch with application at each locus.
Conclude with a gesture of ‘letting fall’ (downward sweep of the hand) to enact ‘svayaṁ-srasaḥ’.
Kauśika-sūtra: gaṇḍamālā/apaciti healing sequence; recited while indicating affected sites (exact sūtra number varies by edition).
Atharvan healer-priest as diagnostician: maps the disease onto named body-topography so the mantra’s coercion is not diffuse but site-specific.
Recite while gently touching the three sites (neck, side, shoulder) in sequence; finish with a downward ‘brushing off’ gesture.
Morning body-scan or before sleep; repeated daily for a short course.
Householder reciter; can be guided by Atharvan specialist if swelling is feared as ominous.
KauśS: apaciti/gaṇḍamālā contexts likely adjacent to AVŚ 7.76 applications (exact sūtra number not supplied).
Use as relaxation + devotional support; seek medical evaluation for persistent/enlarging masses.
No substance is named: the charm foregrounds the autonomy of healing—speech alone as the releasing solvent.
Apaciti swellings across neck/side/shoulder-joint regions
Neck, flank/side, shoulder-joint
Verbal localization + command for spontaneous loosening; supports the notion of natural resolution once named and dislodged.
Conceptual parallel to granthi/śotha management and clearing of kapha-stasis around joints (general parallel only).
Ritual support for benign swellings/lymph node concerns or soft-tissue lumps; encourages relaxation of neck/shoulder tension (psychosomatic parallel).
Swellings at specified anatomical sites
Make swellings detach and subside on their own.
Enumerative binding of the target (naming all locations) + ‘self-release’ suggestion (svayaṃ-srasa).
Spread or fixation of nodules in joints/neck
- ग्रैव्य (graivya)
- the ‘yoke-place’—where duty, speech, and stress accumulate
- उपपक्ष्य (upapakṣya)
- peripheral burdens; what grows unnoticed at the margins
- विजाम्नि (vijāmni)
- the load-bearing hinge—responsibility and carried weight
- स्वयं-स्रस (svayaṃ-srasa)
- organic release; healing as effortless unbinding
Somatic scanning and unbinding—inviting tightness to ‘fall away.’
viśuddha (neck) and anāhata (shoulder-girdle/upper chest)
Slow nasal breathing with longer exhale; on exhale, imagine the swelling loosening.
Each named site emits a small dark seed that drops away and dissolves into earth.
Non-striving attentiveness (sākṣitva) with gentle resolve.
Touch each site lightly; recite once per touch; end with three slow exhales and a sense of open space around the collarbones.
Keep the repeated yā… yā… yā… evenly paced; let the final svayaṃ-srasaḥ land with a slight cadence drop.
Do not rush the enumerations; clarity of body-site terms is the ritual ‘mapping.’
Soothing but precise; avoid aggressive tone.
This verse works well as a ‘body-locating’ prelude before stronger dissolution charms (e.g., 7.76.1).
9 times
Worry about lumps around neck/shoulder or sense of ‘carrying’ tension there.
During self-check or relaxation practice; after bathing; before sleep.
Calm, reduced fixation, and a traditional suggestion of spontaneous resolution.
If swelling is painful, hard, fixed, or accompanied by fever/weight loss, seek medical care promptly.
No plant/mineral is named here; the verse functions as a ‘targeting’ module within a therapeutic sequence, enabling any applied substance (e.g., salt from 7.76.1) to be directed to multiple loci.
The healer’s authority includes bodily knowledge (regional anatomy) and the power to name and thereby control affliction. Naming becomes a technology of governance over illness within household/community settings.
The enumerative medical topography and the technical anatomical lexemes (e.g., upapakṣyāḥ, vijāmni) are more typical of AV’s applied corpora than RV’s sacrificial-poetic focus.
Gopatha’s emphasis on correct ‘designation’ (nāmadheya) as a means of control aligns with this verse: by specifying loci, the charm becomes precise, and precision is part of efficacy.
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