Atharva Veda 4.18.7: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 18, Mantra 7
Sukta 18
अ॒पा॒मा॒र्गोऽप॑ मार्ष्टु क्षेत्रि॒यं श॒पथ॑श्च॒ यः । अपाह॑ यातुधा॒नीरप॒ सर्वा॒ अरा॒य्यः
apāmā́rgo ’pá mārṣṭu kṣetríyaṃ śapáthāś ca yáḥ | ápā́ha yātudhānī́r ápa sárvā arā́yyaḥ ||
Let Apāmārga wipe away the settled ill, and every curse beside. He hath driven off the witching hags; away be all malignities.
अपामार्गः क्षेत्रियं शपथं च सर्वं अपमार्ष्टु। स यातुधानीर् अपाह नयतु; सर्वा अरा॒य्यः अप यान्तु।
The meaning
What it says
May Apāmārga wipe away kṣetriya (settled/chronic affliction) and every curse; he has driven off yātudhānīs (witching hags); away be all malignities (arāyyas).
The inner meaning
The herb becomes a sweeping intelligence that removes what has ‘taken up residence’ (kṣetriya) in body or place. The verse treats chronic suffering as an ‘occupancy’ that can be evicted through cleansing action plus authoritative speech.
The truth in it
Deeply embedded problems—illness, bad patterns, toxic environments—often require both practical cleansing and a decisive declaration that they do not belong.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (healing) + Rakṣoghna (expulsion) with Abhicarika counter-curse elements
Its aim
To cleanse chronic/embedded affliction and curse; to expel witches/demonic agents and generalized hostility from person and place.
Word by Word
Pada patha
अपामार्गः । अप । मार्ष्टु । क्षेत्रियम् । शपथः । च । यः । अप । आह । यातुधानीः । अप । सर्वाः । अराय्यः ।
- अपामार्गः
- the apāmārga plant (Achyranthes aspera)Apāmārga (the ‘wiper-away’ plant; ritual expeller)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot अपामार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- away, offIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अप (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- मार्ष्टु
- may (it) wipe away / cleanselet him wipe/cleanse away (ritual brushing-off)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनRoot मृज् (धातु) → मार्ज्/मृज् ‘to wipe, cleanse’
- क्षेत्रियम्
- the ‘kṣetriya’ affliction/disease (hereditary/field-born ailment)field-disease/settled ailment; also hereditary/territorial affliction (a ‘resident’ evil)Noun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot क्षेत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- शपथः
- (the) curse, imprecation, oath-bound cursecurse, imprecation, oath-bound maledictionNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot शपथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableअव्ययRoot च (अव्यय)
- यः
- who/whichwhich/whatever (any such evil)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- awayIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अप (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- आह
- said, has spokenhas driven/said away; has removed (performative expulsion)Verbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन (स्थिर-रूप ‘आह’)Root अह्/आह् (धातु: ‘to say’)
- यातुधानीः
- witches/sorceresses; demonesses (yātudhānīs)witches/demonesses (yātu-dhāna: makers/holders of sorcery)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot यातुधानी (प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- awayIndeclinableअव्ययRoot अप (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- सर्वाः
- allAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot सर्व (सर्वनाम/विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
- अराय्यः
- hostile ones/evils, enemieshostilities, malign powers, enemies (personified ill-will)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अरायि/अराय्य (प्रातिपदिक; ‘enemy, hostile being/evil’)
Sandhi Notes
- अपामार्गः | अप | मार्ष्टु | क्षेत्रियम् | शपथः | च | यः | अप | आह | यातुधानीः | अप | सर्वाः | अराय्यः ।
- 1) अपामार्गोऽप = अपामार्गः + अप (विसर्गः + अ → ‘ओऽ’)
- 2) यातुधानीरप = यातुधानीः + अप (विसर्ग-लोप/रुत्व-प्रयोगः; संहितायां ‘…नीरप’)
- 3) अप सर्वाः: ‘अप’ (अव्यय) पृथक्, अन्वयेन ‘अप’ पुनरुक्त्या ‘away’ अर्थे।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (not specified in excerpt)
- Devata
- Apāmārga as personified remover; secondarily anti-yātu power
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Vira
Sāyaṇa glosses kṣetriya as a ‘dwelling’ disease/evil that has taken up residence (kṣetre iva sthita), hence hard to dislodge; apāmārga is invoked as the proper remover. ‘Śapatha’ includes spoken maledictions and oath-curses. ‘Yātudhānī’ are female-coded sorcerous agents; ‘arāyyaḥ’ generalizes to all inimical forces.
Atharvanic tradition (anonymous)
Bhaisajya-rakṣā cleansing with apāmārga: removal of chronic affliction and expulsion of demonic/witch agents.
Shows the Atharvan synthesis: a plant-based cleansing (bhaisajya) expressed in demonological language (rakṣoghna), usable for both body and dwelling.
Apāmārga (remover as deity)
A purifier that restores the ‘field’—body, home, land—to rightful order by expelling occupants of harm.
Cleanses chronic affliction framed as endemic/settled; supports convalescence by removing ‘residue’.
Expels curses, witch-agents, and generalized hostility from person and place.
4×8 (probable)
Strong imperative/particle repetition (‘apa… apa…’) typical of AV expulsion charms.
Sweeping rhythm: ‘apa’ acts like repeated strokes of a broom.
Embodies the action in sound—each ‘apa’ performs removal.
Take apāmārga stalks and perform a sweeping motion over the afflicted person or around the dwelling/field boundary.
Recite the mantra during the sweeping, explicitly directing ‘ap’ (away) with each removal clause.
Dispose of the swept material outside the settlement boundary (waste-place), severing the ‘resident’ evil from its locus.
Optionally fumigate or sprinkle water after sweeping to seal the cleared space.
Kauśika Sūtra: apāmārga-sweeping rites for kṣetriya and śapatha removal (edition-dependent numbering)
Atharvan priest as purifier-exorcist; controls the ‘away’ vector (ap) and the disposal protocol to prevent reattachment of the kṣetriya.
Sweep patient and room/threshold with apāmārga; cast sweepings outward; recite while circling the space to ‘wipe away’ settled ill.
Morning after bathing; new moon/waning phase for removal rites; after moving into a new house if misfortune is felt.
Householder can perform; Atharvan priest for chronic/serious cases interpreted as abhicāra.
KauśS: apāmārga-based cleansing and kṣetriya/cursing removal rites (edition-dependent).
As a symbolic ‘reset’ cleaning: thorough cleaning + spoken intention to remove harmful patterns; dispose of waste outside the home.
Apāmārga (Achyranthes aspera) as sweeping herb; threshold/field-space implied by kṣetriya
The plant’s physical sweeping/abrasive character becomes metaphysical ‘erasure’ of embedded misfortune and hostile occupancy.
Kṣetriya (chronic/endemic affliction), curse-linked illness, and demonic/witch etiologies.
Expulsion and cleansing: ‘wipe away’ + ‘drive off’ agents; suitable for both patient and dwelling/field.
Apāmārga is later used in various cleansing contexts; conceptually aligns with śodhana (purificatory) logic and removal of āma-like residue (as an interpretive bridge).
Chronic illness burden plus environmental stressors; household mold/toxin ‘field’ issues metaphorically; psychosocial ‘toxic environment’ cleansing.
Affliction (kṣetriya), curses, yātudhānīs, arāyyas.
To cleanse chronic/embedded affliction and curses; to expel witch-agents and malignities from person/place.
Expulsion by naming + sweeping action (ritual broom/herb) + spatial clearing (threshold/field).
Curses, witchcraft agents, generalized hostility/misfortune.
- अपामार्ग (apāmārga)
- purging force; cleansing intelligence; removal of embedded negativity
- क्षेत्रिय (kṣetriya)
- chronic condition; entrenched pattern in body/household/land
- शपथ (śapatha)
- hostile speech binding; social malediction
- यातुधानी (yātudhānī)
- predatory influences; parasitic patterns; invasive ‘agents’ of harm
- अराय़्य (arāyya)
- generalized ill-will and misfortune currents
Letting-go practice: repeatedly releasing what is ‘stuck’ (kṣetriya) in mind/body.
Mūlādhāra (home/field stability)
Exhale-focused release: inhale 4, exhale 8 while mentally repeating ‘apa’.
A broom of light sweeping the body from head to feet; dark residues leaving and dissolving outside a protective circle.
Cleansed, grounded, spacious.
After recitation, sit quietly and sense the ‘field’ around you; end with a simple blessing for the cleared space to be filled with bhadra.
Keep ‘apa’ slightly emphasized each time; steady pitch; avoid dragging.
Make each ‘apa’ a distinct stroke: ‘apāmārgo’pa mārṣṭu… | apāha… | apa sarvāḥ…’.
Crisp and directive, like giving a clearing command.
Works best with matching action (sweeping/clearing). Close with a short śānti phrase or silent pause to ‘settle’ the cleared field.
21 times
Chronic ‘stuck’ problems in health/home, recurring misfortune, sense of oppressive atmosphere, moving into a space that feels heavy.
During deep cleaning; after illness; after conflict; at a household reset day.
Traditional removal of chronic affliction/curses; psychologically, a strong sense of reset and cleared space.
Do not neglect medical care for chronic illness; avoid attributing all problems to witchcraft—use the rite as supportive, not exclusive.
The plant-name is itself an instruction: apāmārga ‘wipes away’; the mantra’s repeated ‘ap’ enacts directional expulsion synchronized with the physical sweeping, making the herb a semantic-ritual tool.
It encodes social anxieties around cursing and witchcraft (often gendered as yātudhānī), requiring priestly mediation to diagnose and remove invisible aggression affecting household and agrarian productivity.
The operational imperative ‘mārṣṭu’ and the catalog of concrete evils (kṣetriya, śapatha, yātudhānī) reflect AV’s applied register; RV more often frames such forces within broader cosmic myth rather than domestic cleansing.
Gopatha emphasizes that Atharvanic mantras function through correct application (prayoga) and removal/transfer; the verse’s structure (naming evils + repeated ‘away’) matches that performative theory.
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