Atharva Veda 19.39.2: Kanda 19, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 39, Mantra 2
Sukta 39
त्रीणि॑ ते कुष्ठ॒ नामा॑नि नद्यमा॒रो न॒द्यारि॑षः । नद्या॒यं पुरु॑षो रिषत्। यस्मै॑ परि॒ब्रवी॑मि त्वा सा॒यंप्रा॑त॒रथो॒ दिवा॑
trī́ṇi te kúṣṭha nā́māni nadyamāŕo nadyā́riṣaḥ | nadyā́yāṃ púruṣo riṣat | yásmai paribrávīmi tvā sāyáṃprā́tar átho dívā ||
Three are thy names, O Kuṣṭha: River-slayer, River-unharmed. At the river a man is injured; for whom I speak thee round about—at eve, at morn, and also by day.
హే కుష్ఠా! నీకు మూడు నామాలు—నద్యమార (నది-హంత), నద్యారిష (నదిలో అనాహతుడు). నదివద్ద మనిషికి పీడ కలుగుతుంది; అతనికోసం నేను నిన్ను చుట్టూ ఉచ్చరిస్తాను—సాయంకాలం, ప్రాతఃకాలం, పగలూ కూడా.
The meaning
What it says
Three operative names of Kuṣṭha are declared—‘River-slayer’ and ‘River-unharmed’ among them. A man is harmed at the river; the speaker ‘speaks thee around’ for someone continuously—at evening, morning, and by day.
The inner meaning
Rivers are liminal zones: crossing, travel, exposure, and contagion risk. Naming the herb in multiple aspects creates cognitive mastery over uncertainty; continuous recitation builds a stable protective rhythm across time cycles.
The truth in it
Names organize experience: by giving precise, repeated language to protection, communities reduce risk and fear at dangerous thresholds (water, travel, transition).
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic prophylaxis
Its aim
To secure continuous protection for a person exposed to river-associated harm (injury/illness), by deploying the operative names of Kuṣṭha and encircling recitation.
Word by Word
Pada patha
त्रीणि । ते । कुष्ठ । नामानि । नद्य-मारः । नद्य-अरिषः । नद्यायम् । पुरुषः । रिषत् । यस्मै । परि-ब्रवीमि । त्वा । सायम्-प्रातर् । अथो । दिवा
- त्रीणि
- threethree; a ritual-theological number marking completeness and multi-aspect powerAdjective (numeral)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole Karma (नामानि इति विशेषणम्)Root त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you/yourthy/for thee; addressing Kuṣṭha as a personified agentPronounषष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (possessor)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- कुष्ठ
- O Kuṣṭha (medicinal herb)O Kuṣṭha; vocative, directly activating the herb-deityNoun (herb name)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot कुष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
- नामानि
- namesnames; secret/operative designations that confer control and efficacyNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole Kartā (अस्ति/भवन्ति इति अध्याहृतम्)Root नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नद्य
- Nadya (river-born/river-related; a name)Noun/Adjective (name/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root नद्य (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-सम्बद्ध)
- मायारः
- Māyāra (the wondrous/magical one; a name)Noun/Adjective (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root मायार (प्रातिपदिक; माया+अर)
- नद्य
- Nadya (a name)Noun/Adjective (name/epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root नद्य (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-सम्बद्ध)
- रिषः
- Riṣa (harm/disease; a name)Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (नाम-रूपेण)Root रिष (प्रातिपदिक; ‘हानि/क्षति’ अथवा ‘रोग’)
- नद्यायाम्
- in the riverNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरुषः
- a man/persona man/person; the patient or any human subjectNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
- रिषत्
- is harmed/suffers injuryis harmed, is injured; the feared outcome to be preventedVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (परस्मैपद)Role क्रियाRoot रिष् (धातु; हिंसायाम्/क्षतौ)
- यस्मै
- to whomfor whom/to whom; the beneficiary of the recitationPronounचतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around; forth (as preverb)Indeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गRole क्रियाविशेषणम्Root परि
- ब्रवीमि
- I speak/tellVerbलट्, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन (परस्मैपद)Role क्रियाRoot ब्रू (धातु; वचने)
- त्वा
- youthee; the herb addressed/installed through speechPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सायम्
- in the eveningIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root सायम्
- प्रातर्
- in the morningIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root प्रातर्
- अथ
- and then/alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चय/अनन्तर्य-अव्ययRole सम्बन्धसूचकRoot अथ
- दिवा
- by day/in the daytimeby day; completing the full diurnal cycleIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root दिवा
Sandhi Notes
- त्रीणि ते कुष्ठ नामानि | नद्य मायारः नद्य रिषः | नद्यायाम् पुरुषः रिषत् | यस्मै परि ब्रवीमि त्वा सायम् प्रातर् अथ दिवा ||
- 1) नद्यमा॒रो → नद्य + मायारः (अ/आ-सन्धि; पदपाठे पृथक्)
- 2) न॒द्यारि॑षः → नद्य + रिषः (य्-आगम/सन्धि-लेखन)
- 3) नद्या॒यं → नद्यायाम् (सप्तमी-एकवचन; वैदिक-लोप/संक्षेप)
- 4) सा॒यंप्रा॑त॒रथो॒ → सायम् + प्रातर् + अथ (समासवत् संधि-लेखन)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic transmission (specific anukramaṇī attribution to be confirmed).
- Devata
- Kuṣṭha (oṣadhi-devatā).
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (to be verified).
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa emphasizes nāma as a locus of power: knowing/uttering the ‘three names’ stabilizes the herb’s efficacy. The ‘river’ is read as a site of peril (exposure, contagion, liminality), hence the need for paribrū (protective over-recitation). The temporal triad (evening–morning–day) signals uninterrupted guarding, matching the charm’s prophylactic intent.
Atharvanic tradition (oṣadhi transmission; specific r̥ṣi per anukramaṇī not provided here)
Name-magic (nāma-śakti) for oṣadhi, prophylaxis at liminal sites (water crossings), continuous-time protective recitation.
The mantra displays Atharvanic onomastics: the herb’s ‘names’ are treated as deployable powers; speech encircles and guards across the whole day-cycle.
Kuṣṭha (oṣadhi-devatā)
A guardian of crossings and watery thresholds; an herb-power that neutralizes river dangers and grants safe passage/health continuity.
Protects against injuries/illness associated with rivers (accident, exposure, water-borne affliction) through prophylactic empowerment.
Temporal-total protection (evening–morning–day) and spatial enclosure (pari-).
4 × ~8; longer compounds may slightly stretch pādas.
Name lists and deictics often create metrical unevenness; AV recitation prioritizes intelligibility of names.
Enumerative and cyclical; the time-terms (evening/morning/day) create a daily rhythm.
Supports habitual prophylaxis; works well as a repeated daily charm before travel or water contact.
The priest prepares Kuṣṭha (held, worn, or placed in water/near river depending on local practice).
He recites the mantra while making a circling gesture around the patient (or around the amulet), matching ‘paribrávīmi’.
The charm is repeated at daily transition times (evening, morning, daytime) to maintain a continuous protective field, especially when the patient frequents the river.
Kauśika Sūtra: protective pary-ukti (paribrū) and oṣadhi-binding usages in bhaiṣajya contexts.
Atharvan as guardian-reciter: he ‘encloses’ the patient with speech and installs the herb’s named potency as a standing protection.
Before going to the river (washing, fetching water, travel), recite while touching the herb bundle/amulet; optionally circle it around the person three times (echoing ‘three names’) and again at dusk and dawn for continuity.
Before river contact; repeated sāyam and prātar; optionally at midday for ‘divā’ completeness.
Householder practice; a community healer may prepare the herb bundle.
Combine with practical water safety (supervision, life jacket, hygiene) and use the mantra as a focusing routine for cautious behavior.
Kuṣṭha (as named power); River (nadyā: liminal/contagion-prone space)
Implied possibility: carry Kuṣṭha as a sachet/amulet when going to the river.
Explicit: नदी (nadyā) river as liminal and hazardous domain.
Water is both life-giver and risk; the herb’s three names domesticate that ambiguity—one name conquers, one remains unharmed, and the third (implicit) completes the triad, sealing protection.
River-associated harm: injury, exposure, and implicitly water-borne/liminal afflictions; also general vulnerability at crossings.
Nāma-śakti + continuous recitation: the herb’s names are invoked as functional powers; ‘paribravīmi’ encircles the beneficiary in protective speech.
Prophylaxis (rakṣā) around āpas exposure; conceptually linked to avoiding nidāna (risk factors) and adding protective rasāyana-like support.
Risk mitigation at water sites (safety practices, hygiene) plus anxiety reduction through routine protective ritual.
A specific person (yasmai) traveling/working near a river.
Provide continuous, all-times protection for someone exposed to river dangers by deploying Kuṣṭha’s operative names and encircling speech.
Name enumeration (threefold) + verbal circumambulation (pari-) + temporal totalization (evening/morning/day).
Accidents, injuries, water-borne harms, liminal ‘spirit’ dangers.
- त्रीणि… नामानि (trīṇi… nāmāni)
- tripartite sealing; completeness across times/directions/aspects
- नद्य-मारः (nadya-māraḥ)
- conquers river-borne dangers (currents, pathogens, spirits)
- नद्य-अरिषः (nadya-ariṣaḥ)
- invulnerability at thresholds; immunity/resilience
- नद्यायम् (nadyāyam)
- liminal exposure point; site of accidents/contagion
- परिब्रवीमि (paribravīmi)
- verbal circumambulation; protective enclosure via vāc
- सायंप्रातर्… दिवा (sāyaṃprātar… divā)
- continuous coverage; temporal totality of protection
Threshold mindfulness: before crossing/approaching water, pause and recite to stabilize attention and reduce impulsivity.
Mūlādhāra (safety)
Three slow breaths aligned with the ‘three names’; exhale gently on each name.
A three-banded protective ring around the body; river water appears clear and non-threatening; the traveler crosses safely.
Alert calm (sattvic vigilance).
Use as a pre-action ritual: recite, then consciously review one practical safety step (footing, weather, sanitation).
Gentle, even; treat the name-list as the mantra’s ‘operative core.’
Pause slightly after each name; keep ‘paribravīmi’ smooth to suggest encircling continuity; articulate time-terms distinctly.
Protective, calm, conversational-sacral.
Recite in sets of three (echoing trīṇi nāmāni), optionally at three times of day to literalize the temporal formula.
3 times
Work/travel near rivers; bathing/water collection; anxiety about accidents or water-borne illness.
Immediately before river contact; repeat at dusk and dawn during travel periods.
Traditional prophylactic confidence; improved mindful caution and steadiness at risky thresholds.
Maintain real-world water safety and hygiene; do not rely on mantra alone for hazardous crossings or contaminated water.
The plant’s efficacy is mediated through its ‘names’: the mantra treats nomenclature as a technology of activation. The botanical is thus doubled as a semiotic object—its epithets are themselves curative instruments.
Protection is not merely a matter of carrying an herb; it requires authorized knowledge of its ‘three names’ and the correct temporal regimen of recitation—specialist expertise that consolidates priestly authority.
The explicit focus on secret/operative names and the paribrū ‘speak around’ idiom reflects Atharvanic charm-style pragmatics. The river as a locus of harm is a more domestic-ritual framing than typical RV praise-poetry.
Gopatha’s emphasis on brahman as enclosing protection aligns with ‘paribrávīmi’: speech forms a boundary. The repeated temporal performance (morning/evening/day) matches the Brahmana logic of maintaining ritual continuity to sustain effects.
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