Atharva Veda 8.2.5: Kanda 8, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 5
Sukta 2
अ॒यं जी॑वतु॒ मा मृ॑ते॒मं समी॑रयामसि । कृ॒णोम्य॑स्मै भेष॒जं मृत्यो॒ मा पुरु॑षं वधीः
ayáṃ jī́vatu mā́ mṛtémám sam īrayāmasi | kṛṇómy asmai bheṣajáṃ mṛ́tyo mā́ púruṣaṃ vadhīḥ
Let this man live; let him not die: this one we raise up wholly. For him I fashion a remedy. O Death, do not smite the person down.
अयं जीवतु मा मृतेमं समीरयामसि। कृणोम्यस्मै भेषजं मृत्यो मा पुरुषं वधीः।
The meaning
What it says
The speaker commands: let this man live, not die; we raise him up. A remedy is made for him. Death is directly adjured not to strike.
The inner meaning
A juridical/protective utterance: the patient is claimed for life through communal will (“we raise”), and a concrete intervention (“I make a remedy”) is paired with direct boundary-setting against the death-force.
The truth in it
Healing joins resolve with remedy: intention, community support, and practical medicine together resist dissolution. Naming the threat (death) and refusing it is itself a stabilizing act.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic against Death
Its aim
Prevent death; raise the patient back to full functioning; empower a remedy (material or ritual) against Mṛtyu.
Word by Word
Pada patha
अयम् । जीवतु । मा । मृते । इमम् । सम् । ईरयामसि । कृणोमि । अस्मै । भेषजम् । मृत्यो । मा । पुरुषम् । वधीः
- अयम्
- this (man)this one (the patient, present here)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जीवतु
- let (him) livelet him live (optative of survival; core healing performative)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ/आशीर्लिङ्ग-प्रायः), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √जीव् (जीवँ प्राणधारणे)
- मा
- do notnot (prohibitive)Indeclinableनिषेधः (prohibitive particle)Role निषेधकRoot मा (निषेध-अव्यय)
- मृतैः
- by/with the dead (ones)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √मृ ‘to die’ से)
- इमम्
- this (man)this (same patient/this case)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सम्
- together, fullyIndeclinableउपसर्गः (prefix) — ‘together/fully’Role उपसर्गRoot सम् (उपसर्ग)
- ईरयामसि
- we rouse/raisewe raise up, we set in motion (collective officiants/kin assisting revival)Verbलट्, उत्तमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role Kartā (वयं) / क्रियाRoot √ईर्/√ईरय् (ईरयति ‘to set in motion, raise, rouse’)
- कृणोमि
- I make/prepareI make, I prepare (manufacture of remedy/rite)Verbलट्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role KartāRoot √कृ (डुकृञ् करणे)
- अस्मै
- for himPronounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- भेषजम्
- medicine, remedyremedy, healing medicine (could be herb, amulet, or rite itself)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot भेषज (प्रातिपदिक)
- मृत्यो
- O DeathNounपुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्Role सम्बोधनRoot मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेधः (prohibitive particle)Role निषेधकRoot मा (निषेध-अव्यय)
- पुरुषम्
- the man, personthe man/person (the patient as social subject)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
- वधीः
- kill (him)strike down, slay (Death’s act to be prevented)Verbलोट् (निषेध ‘मा’ के साथ), मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot √वध् (वधँ हिंसायाम्)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) ‘मा मृतेमं’ → ‘मा मृतैः इमम्’ (मृतैः + इमम् = मृतेमम्; ‘मा’ के बाद निषेध-वाक्य)
- (2) ‘समीयरयामसि’ → ‘सम् ईरयामसि’ (सम् + ईरयामसि = समी…; उपसर्ग-समास)
- (3) ‘कृणोम्यस्मै’ → ‘कृणोमि अस्मै’ (इ + अ = य्-सन्धि)
- (4) ‘मृत्यो मा’ में ‘मृत्यो’ = ‘मृत्योः’ नहीं, बल्कि ‘मृत्यु’ का सम्बोधन एकवचन (हे मृत्यो)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (anukramaṇī-dependent)
- Devata
- Bheṣaja/Prāṇa implicitly; explicit antagonist: Mṛtyu
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
Sāyaṇa emphasizes the direct apotropaic address: the mantra is a command against Mṛtyu’s violence (‘vadhīḥ’). ‘Bheṣaja’ is not merely a drug but the efficacious complex of rite-plus-substance; ‘kṛṇomi’ marks the priest’s preparation/activation. The plural ‘īrayāmasi’ can include assistants/kinsmen, indicating communal participation in revival.
Atharvanic (Anukramaṇī-dependent)
Apotropaic life-protection and emergency healing: direct adjuration of Mṛtyu plus preparation/empowerment of bheṣaja.
A compact Atharvanic ‘life-claim’ formula: speech asserts sovereignty of āyuḥ over mṛtyu while legitimizing practical medicine.
Bheṣaja (healing power) with Prāṇa implicit; Mṛtyu as antagonist addressed
Bheṣaja is the restorative counter-principle; Prāṇa/Āyuḥ sustain continuity; Mṛtyu represents the terminal boundary that must be repelled in crisis.
Strengthens survival, supports recovery, empowers medicine/rite.
Directly wards off the death-force and prevents ‘smite-down’ (vadh).
4 pādas of roughly 8 syllables; crisp imperatives and prohibitions suit anuṣṭubh’s compact force.
Minor irregularities possible in oral transmission; overall strongly ‘mantric’ and punchy.
Staccato life-affirmation; the final prohibition to Mṛtyu lands as a decisive seal.
Highly directive and stabilizing; suitable for repeated, steady recitation during preparation/administering of medicine.
While reciting, physically assist the patient to sit or stand (‘sam īrayāmasi’), enacting ‘raising up’.
Administer or tie on the prepared ‘bheṣaja’ (herb, salve, amulet, or consecrated water) on ‘kṛṇomi … bheṣajam’.
Address Mṛtyu with a firm outward gesture of prohibition on ‘mṛtyo mā … vadhīḥ’.
Kauśika Sūtra: bheṣaja-karman and mṛtyu-pratiṣedha (death-averting) usage in healing sequences (general application; exact sūtra number varies by edition)
Atharvan as healer-exorcist: prepares the bheṣaja, coordinates helpers, and issues the formal prohibition to Death.
Recite while preparing/administering medicine, tying a protective thread, or touching the patient’s head/chest with the charged remedy.
At the critical turning point (fever crisis, collapse, severe weakness) and during medicine administration.
Householder-healer or Atharvan priest; family may join on ‘we raise him’ line to emphasize communal support.
Kauśika: AVŚ 8.2 used for saṃjīvana; bheṣaja-making may include tying an herb/amulet while reciting (edition-dependent).
Supportive prayer during hospitalization or home care, paired with prescribed treatment.
bheṣaja (medicine/remedy: herb/amulet/rite); personified Mṛtyu (hostile agent)
Implicitly possible: bheṣaja may be an herb-bundle/maṇi depending on rite.
The mantra explicitly bridges word and matter: ‘I make a remedy’ authorizes hands-on treatment as sacred craft, not merely physical intervention.
Any life-threatening condition; acute crisis where death is feared imminent.
Life-affirmation + rousing command + consecration of remedy; apotropaic address to Mṛtyu as causal agent.
Bheṣaja as dravya + mantra-siddhi; supports prāṇa and ojas in crisis; aligns with rasāyana intention (life-preserving).
Crisis bedside encouragement + concurrent treatment; ‘do not die’ functions as motivational/psychological support while medicine is administered.
A specific patient (“this man”).
Prevent death; raise the patient; empower and apply a remedy; repel Mṛtyu’s strike.
Declarative injunction (jīvatu) + collective rousing (samīrayāmasi) + fabrication/charging of bheṣaja + direct adjuration of Death.
Mṛtyu; fatal turn of disease.
- जीवतु (jīvatu)
- affirmation of life-trajectory; reversal of downward pull
- समीरयामसि (samīrayāmasi)
- collective reanimation; restoring verticality and agency
- भेषज (bheṣaja)
- material support + ritual technology; the ‘made’ counterforce
- मृत्यु (mṛtyu)
- all forces of cessation—disease crisis, despair, collapse
Strengthening will-to-live and ojas through steady breath and affirmative resolve.
Anāhata (life-force steadiness) and Maṇipūra (survival fire)
Slow inhalation with silent ‘jīvatu’; exhale with ‘mā mṛte’; keep breath unforced.
A protective sheath forms around the patient; a bright core in the chest expands; the shadow of Mṛtyu is pushed beyond the boundary.
From भय (fear) toward steadiness and inner courage.
Repeat in sets while holding a remedy (herb/water/medicine) with focused intention; end with a moment of quiet presence.
Plain Atharvanic; keep a steady beat; allow the prohibitions (mā…) to be clear and unhurried.
Slightly stress jīvatu and samīrayāmasi; final pāda addressed to mṛtyo should be firm, not angry.
Firm, protective, steady; suitable for group recitation.
Often effective as a ‘working mantra’ while physically preparing/applying the bheṣaja; synchronize actions with the lines.
9 times
Critical illness, severe weakness, or when a patient is losing hope; family seeks a protective healing utterance.
During medication administration, while tying a protective thread, or when the patient is being helped to sit/stand again.
Psychological strengthening, communal resolve, and a sense of protection; supports adherence to treatment and recovery orientation.
Avoid substituting mantra for urgent care; ensure medicines used are safe and prescribed/appropriate.
‘Bheṣaja’ is deliberately broad: it can be an herb, an amulet, or the rite itself. The mantra’s ‘kṛṇomi’ makes the remedy by speech-act, suggesting that material pharmacology is subordinated to, or completed by, verbal consecration.
The priest claims technical capacity to ‘make’ medicine, while the plural ‘we raise up’ implies household participation under priestly direction—an organized therapeutic hierarchy with communal labor and specialist authorization.
The blunt second-person address to Mṛtyu with prohibitives (‘mā … vadhīḥ’) is more characteristic of AV’s coercive/apotropaic register than RV’s praise-centered idiom. ‘Bheṣaja’ as a key technical term is also more central in AV.
Gopatha tends to validate Atharvanic healing as a legitimate extension of brahman (sacral speech) into domestic crisis. This verse exemplifies that: speech directly restrains Mṛtyu and ‘manufactures’ bheṣaja as empowered efficacy.
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