Atharva Veda 2.8.5: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 8, Mantra 5

Sukta 8

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

नमः॑ सनिस्रसा॒क्षेभ्यो॒ नमः॑ संदे॒श्येऽभ्यः । नमः॒ क्षेत्र॑स्य॒ पत॑ये वी॒रुत् क्षे॑त्रिय॒नाश॒न्यप॑ क्षेत्रि॒यमु॑छतु

Recitation with translationAtharva Veda 2.8.5

IAST Transliteration

námaḥ sanisrasākṣébhyo námaḥ saṃdeśyé’bhyaḥ | námaḥ kṣétrasya pátaye vīrú t kṣetriyanāśány ápa kṣétriyam uchatu ||

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

Homage to the bleared and oozing-eyed ones; homage to the powers that haunt the neighborhood. Homage to the Lord of the Field. Let the Virút-plant, the destroyer of field-plague, drive the kṣetriya affliction away.

Translation

सनिस्रसाक्षेभ्यः नमः; संदेश्येभ्यः नमः। क्षेत्रस्य पतये नमः। वीरुत् क्षेत्रियनाशनी क्षेत्रियम् अप उच्छतु।

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Word by Word

• नमः: obeisance, salutation
• नमः: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• सनिस्रसाक्षेभ्यः: to/for those called ‘sanisrasākṣa-’ (a class of beings/agents)
• सनिस्रसाक्षेभ्यः: Sampradāna
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: सनिस्रसाक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष-समास)

• नमः: obeisance
• नमः: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• संदेश्येभ्यः: to/for the ‘sandeśya-’ ones (those to be addressed/commissioned)
• संदेश्येभ्यः: Sampradāna
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: संदेश्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘संदिश्’ धातोः -य प्रत्ययान्त, ‘संदेश’/‘संदेश्य’ = संदेश-योग्य/संदिष्ट)

• नमः: obeisance
• नमः: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)

• क्षेत्रस्य: of the field
• क्षेत्रस्य: Sambandha (genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• पतये: to the lord/master
• पतये: Sampradāna
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)

• वीरुत्: the herb/creeper (as agent)
• वीरुत्: Kartā
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीरुध्/वीरुत् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘creeper, herb’)

• क्षेत्रियनाशनी: field-disease-destroying
• क्षेत्रियनाशनी: Kartā (as qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective (f.)
• Root: क्षेत्रियनाशनी (प्रातिपदिक; ‘क्षेत्रिय’ + ‘नाशनी’ < √नश् ‘to destroy’ + -नी)

• अप: away, off
• अप: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अप (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)

• क्षेत्रियम्: the kṣetriya-disease (field-disease)
• क्षेत्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)

• उछतु: let (it) drive away / expel
• उछतु: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: √उछ्/√वछ् (धातु; वैदिक प्रयोग ‘to drive away/expel’)

Attribution

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (field-protection and disease-expulsion corpus; specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī).

Devata: Kṣetrasya Pati (Lord of the Field); Virút (healing plant) as operative power; also implicitly local deśya/kṣetra beings addressed by namas.

Chandas: Predominantly Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (Atharvanic mixed/irregular anuṣṭubh common in such charms).

Mantra Rasa

Primary: shanta

Secondary: vira