Sukta 12
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (hymn-level attribution varies by anukramaṇī; commonly Atharvan/Angiras-type)
Devata: Śam/Śānti (personified well-being; pacificatory power rather than a single theonym)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; requires pada-count confirmation against a metrical padapāṭha edition)
Este hino de quatro versos, de cura e pacificação, visa a enfermidade difusa (especialmente yakṣma, o mal consumptivo), a dor de cabeça, a tosse e a dor dilacerante de membros e articulações, convocando uma força purificadora semelhante à tempestade e os poderes restauradores das plantas e das montanhas. Ele culmina numa fórmula abrangente de «śam» (bem-estar/paz), que distribui o bem pelas partes superiores e inferiores, pelos quatro membros e por todo o corpo. O poder do hino está em nomear com precisão as aflições, expulsá-las como agentes intrusos e selar o paciente com uma inteireza corporal totalizante.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
यक्ष्मनाशनम्। ज॒रा॒यु॒जः प्र॑थ॒म उ॒स्रियो॒ वृषा॒ वात॑भ्रजा स्त॒नय॑न्नेति वृ॒ष्ट्या। स नो॑ मृडाति त॒न्व ऋजु॒गो रु॒जन् य एक॒मोज॑स्त्रे॒धा वि॑चक्र॒मे
Destruidor do Yakṣma: nascido do invólucro do parto, o primeiro e mais eminente, o Touro ruivo—fulgurante de vento, trovejante—avança com a chuva. Que ele nos seja propício para o corpo: de marcha reta, esmagando o mal—ele que, com uma só força, avançou em tríplice passo.
Mantra 2
अङ्गे॑ अङ्गे शो॒चिषा॑ शिश्रिया॒णं न॑म॒स्यन्त॑स्त्वा ह॒विषा॑ विधेम । अ॒ङ्कान्त्स॑म॒ङ्कान् ह॒विषा॑ विधेम॒ यो अग्र॑भी॒त् पर्वा॑स्या॒ ग्रभी॑ता
Membro após membro, com a chama purificadora firmada em ti, nós, prestando reverência, queremos servir-te com a oblação. Os ganchos, as amarras bem cerradas—com oblação as desataremos: o Apreensor que apreendeu as juntas, o Agarrador.
Mantra 3
मु॒ञ्च शी॑र्ष॒क्त्या उ॒त का॒स ए॑नं॒ परु॑ष्परुरावि॒वेशा॒ यो अ॑स्य । यो अ॑भ्र॒जा वा॑त॒जा यश्च॒ शुष्मो॒ वन॒स्पती॑न्त्सचतां॒ पर्व॑तांश्च
Liberta-o da dor de cabeça, e também da tos—aquele em quem entrou e se apoderou a dor dilacerante dos membros. O que é nascido da nuvem, o que é nascido do vento, e qualquer ímpeto feroz da enfermidade—que os Senhores da floresta, as plantas, o acompanhem, e também as montanhas.
Mantra 4
शं मे॒ पर॑स्मै॒ गात्रा॑य॒ शम॒स्त्वव॑राय मे । शं मे॑ च॒तुर्भ्यो॒ अङ्गे॑भ्यः॒ शम॑स्तु त॒न्वे॒३मम॑
Bem-estar seja para mim no membro superior; bem-estar seja para mim no inferior. Bem-estar seja para mim nos quatro membros; bem-estar seja para este meu corpo.
Inside Sukta 12
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Begins by naming the remedy’s aim—yakṣma-destruction—then evokes a powerful, rain-thundering healer-force moving with storm energy.
- What it asks
Grant grace to the body by crushing illness; loosen the patient from headache, cough, and rending limb/joint pain; marshal plant- and mountain-powers as allies.
- Where its power lies
Illness is treated as an invasive seizure that can be forcibly dislodged; the healer-power’s single might and pervasive stride guarantee efficacy.
- How it closes
Ends with an all-body śam distribution: weal to upper and lower parts, to the four limbs, and to the whole body—completing expulsion with stabilization.
Famous verses
yakṣmanāśanam
śaṃ me
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Śānti (Pacification)
What it is for
Removal of wasting disease and acute symptoms (headache, cough, limb/joint pain) followed by a stabilized state of whole-body well-being.
Who it is for
Healer-priest (atharvavedin), household ritualist, or caregiver performing a curative recitation for a patient with diffuse or recurring illness.
Also used as
- Śāntika
- Rakṣoghna (protective/anti-intrusion)
The deity
Not a single fixed theonym but a personified pacificatory well-being (śam) activated through a rain-thundering, wind-flashing healer-power, assisted by plant-lords and mountain potency.
Powers of the deity
- Destroys yakṣma (wasting/consumptive illness)
- Loosens headache (śīrṣa-śakti) and cough (kāsa)
- Drives out rending limb/joint pain conceived as an intruder
- Purifies and revivifies through storm/rain imagery (vṛṣṭi, stanayitnu)
- Restores ojas (vital strength) and bodily integrity
- Establishes comprehensive peace across all body regions
Why the deity is called
To expel named afflictions and then stabilize the patient in total bodily well-being by sealing every limb and the whole person with śam/śānti.
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgirasa-type seer (hymn-level attribution varies by anukramaṇī)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya charms for expelling yakṣma and pain-demons; śānti formulas that “map” well-being onto the body part-by-part
Other hymns of this seer
- AVŚ 1.11
- AVŚ 1.13
- AVŚ 2.4
- AVŚ 6.90
Preparing for the rite
- Seat the patient facing east or toward open air (symbolically aligning with wind/rain purification).
- Prepare clean water for sipping/sprinkling (ācamanīya/prokṣaṇa) as a neutral śānti medium.
- Quiet the space; mark a small protective boundary (e.g., with water sprinkling) to frame the act as pacificatory.
The rite
- Recite the hymn once or thrice, audibly but steadily, directing verses 1–3 toward expulsion (udvāsana) of specific ailments.
- On verses invoking plants/mountains, touch the patient’s head/chest/limbs in sequence, as if “unbinding” the afflictions.
- Conclude with the śam formula (1.12.4) while placing the hand over upper limb, lower limb, then the four limbs, then the torso—mapping weal onto the body.
- Optionally sprinkle water at the end as a śānti seal.
What it needs
- Clean water (for sprinkling/sipping)
- Optional: a simple herb bundle (vanaspati) if available, used as a touch/wafting implement
When
At onset of symptoms; also suitable at dawn after a difficult night of cough/fever, or after rain/thunder as sympathetic reinforcement.
The main substance
Clean water (śānti/prokṣaṇa medium)
Herbs
- Vanaspati (generic medicinal plant-lords; local healing herbs may be substituted per tradition)
Amulets
- None required by the hymn; optional simple protective thread or herb-tied knot may be used in later practice traditions
How it is prepared
If using herbs, tie a small fresh bundle; sprinkle water over it and lightly touch/waft over head, chest, and limbs during the expulsion verses, then finish with the śam mapping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yakṣma is a wasting, draining illness category in Vedic medicine—often linked with chronic weakness and consumptive symptoms. The hymn treats it as something to be crushed and expelled, not merely endured.
Plants (vanaspati) are invoked as living medicines, and mountains symbolize the strong source-place of herbs and firm vitality. Together they represent concentrated natural healing power assisting the mantra’s expulsion of disease.
It functions as a closing seal: the reciter mentally or physically “assigns” well-being to upper parts, lower parts, the four limbs, and the whole body. This completes the rite by stabilizing health after the expulsion requests.
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