Atharva Veda 3.11.7: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 11, Mantra 7
Sukta 11
ज॒रायै॑ त्वा॒ परि॑ ददामि ज॒रायै॒ नि धु॑वामि त्वा । ज॒रा त्वा॑ भ॒द्रा ने॑ष्ट॒ व्य॑१न्ये य॑न्तु मृ॒त्यवो॒ याना॒हुरित॑रान् छ॒तम्
jarā́yai tvā pári dadāmi jarā́yai ní dhuvāmi tvā | jarā́ tvā bhadrā́ néṣṭa ví anyé yántu mṛtyávo yā́n āhúr itarā́n śatám ||
Unto old age I give thee over; unto old age I firmly set thee. May kindly Old Age lead thee on; away let the other Deaths depart—those which men name, the rest, a hundred more.
జరా కొరకు నిన్ను నేను అప్పగిస్తున్నాను; జరా కొరకే నిన్ను నేను దృఢంగా స్థాపిస్తున్నాను. భద్రమైన జరా నిన్ను ముందుకు నడిపించుగాక; మనుషులు పేరుపెట్టి చెప్పే ఇతర మరణాలూ, మిగిలిన ఇంకొక వంద కూడా—అన్నీ దూరంగా తొలగిపోవుగాక.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker ‘hands over’ the person to Old Age, sets them firmly in Old Age, asks auspicious Old Age to lead them, and dismisses all other forms of Death—named and unnamed, even a hundred more.
The inner meaning
Reframes aging from threat to guardian: acceptance of time reduces fear-driven collapse. The dismissal of “many deaths” works psychologically as de-catastrophizing—expelling obsessive scenarios and restoring a single, benevolent narrative arc.
The truth in it
When life is entrusted to a wholesome telos (maturation), destructive endings lose their claim. Naming and dismissing fears drains their power.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Āyuṣya (Longevity), apotropaic
Its aim
To ‘hand over’ the patient to auspicious old age and expel all competing death-agencies.
Word by Word
Pada patha
जरायै । त्वा । परि । ददामि । जरायै । नि । धुवामि । त्वा । जरा । त्वा । भद्रा । नेष्ट । वि । अन्ये । यन्तु । मृत्यवः । यान । आहुः । इतरान् । शतम् ।
- जरायै
- to/for the afterbirth (placenta)unto old age; as a protective destination (āyuṣaḥ paryavasāna)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot जरायु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- you (thee)thee; the beneficiaryPronounद्वितीया-एकवचन (एनक्लिटिक रूप)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- परि
- around; whollyaround; encircling protection, ritual ‘envelopment’Indeclinableअव्ययRoot परि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ददामि
- I giveI give/commit; I consign thee (performative transfer)Verbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot दा (दाने)
- जरायै
- to/for the afterbirthunto old age; repeated to fix the telosNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी-एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot जरायु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- नि
- down; awaydown, firmly; marker of fixing/settlingIndeclinableअव्ययRoot नि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- धुवामि
- I shake off / cleanseI set/establish; I make firm (as one fixes a post; ritual stabilization)Verbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तमपुरुष; एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot धू (धुनाने/धावने; ‘to shake off, cleanse’)
- त्वा
- youthee; object of establishmentPronounद्वितीया-एकवचन (एनक्लिटिक)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- जरा
- old age; decayold age; personified as a benign power when ‘good’Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot जरा- (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- youthee; again the beneficiaryPronounद्वितीया-एकवचन (एनक्लिटिक)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद्-
- भद्रा
- auspicious; kindlyauspicious, kindly; old age as blessing, not wasting diseaseAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (जरा-विशेषण)Role कर्तृ (विशेषण-रूपेण)Root भद्र- (प्रातिपदिक)
- नेष्ट
- not harming; not destroyingmay it lead; guide/conduct (from √nī, optative/jussive sense)Adjective (participial)पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (विधिलिङ्गार्थे ‘न नष्टु’ इति भावः)Root नश्/नश् (नाशने) → नष्ट (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त)
- वि
- apart; awayaway, apart; expulsionIndeclinableअव्ययRoot वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- अन्ये
- othersother; alien death-forcesAdjective/Substantiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अन्य- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यन्तु
- let (them) golet them go; dismissalVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); तृतीयपुरुष; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot या (गतौ)
- मृत्यवः
- deaths; death-demonsdeaths; fatal agencies/diseasesNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot मृत्यु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- यान्
- whom/whichPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot यद्- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आहुः
- they say/callthey call; are namedVerbलिट्/परस्मैपद-परिपाट्या वर्तमानार्थे; तृतीयपुरुष; बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अह्/ब्रू (वक्तव्ये; ‘to say’)
- इतरान्
- the othersthe others; the remainderAdjective/Substantiveपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot इतर- (प्रातिपदिक)
- शतम्
- a hundreda hundred; exhaustive totality of death-formsNumeral (noun-like)नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (परिमाण/संख्या)Role विशेषण (संख्यावाचक)Root शत- (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- जरायै त्वा परि ददामि | जरायै नि धुवामि त्वा || जरा त्वा भद्रा नेष्टु | वि अन्ये यन्तु मृत्यवः | यान् आहुः इतरान् शतम् ||
- 1) ‘व्य॑१न्ये’ = ‘वि अन्ये’ (उपसर्ग ‘वि’ + ‘अन्ये’).
- 2) ‘याना॒हुरित॑रान्’ = ‘यान् आहुः इतरान्’ (न् + आ → न् आ; पदसंयोगे संधि-लोप/पदविभाग).
- 3) ‘ने॑ष्ट’ को ‘नेष्टु’ (आशीर्लिङ्/विध्यर्थ ‘न नष्टु’) के रूप में भी पाठ/अर्थ-समर्थन मिलता है
- यहाँ ‘नष्ट’ (कृदन्त) रूप से विश्लेषित, अर्थ ‘अहिंसक/अनपकारक’
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Jarā (Auspicious Old Age) opposed to Mṛtyu
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (with extended cadence due to appended dismissal formula)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa emphasizes jarā as a desired completion of life (not a pathology). ‘Pari dadāmi’ is read as protective consigning, ‘ni dhuvāmi’ as fixing fast against removal by mṛtyu. The second hemistich repeats the standard Atharvanic dismissal of plural ‘deaths’.
Atharvanic tradition (anonymous/collective seer)
Āyuṣya and apotropaic formulae: juridical language of transfer (‘handing over’) and mass-expulsion of death-agents.
Shows Atharvanic ‘legal’ magic: life is placed under the custody of Jarā, while rival claimants (mṛtyavaḥ) are formally dismissed.
Jarā (Auspicious Old Age) vs. Mṛtyu
Jarā as the rightful terminus of a complete human span; Mṛtyu as premature interruption manifesting in many modalities.
Supports convalescence by orienting the patient toward long duration and gradual recovery.
Apotropaic expulsion of plural death-forces; establishes a protective ‘time-ward’ around the person.
4 pādas; last pāda expands by dismissal phrase, producing a slightly ‘prose-like’ Atharvanic tail.
Apotropaic catalog/dismissal often stretches cadence; reciters may maintain anuṣṭubh pulse then quicken through the expulsion list.
Ritual-firm, declarative; the repetition of jarāyai creates a binding refrain.
Creates certainty and containment; the ‘other deaths depart’ line functions like a sweeping banishment.
Perform a protective encircling gesture around the patient (pari) while reciting the first clause.
Make a downward pressing/settling motion (ni) on the patient’s shoulder or head to ‘fix’ him in life.
Conclude with an outward sweeping gesture to dismiss ‘other deaths’ to the distance.
Kauśika Sūtra: āyuṣya rites employing consigning/establishing formulas (pari-dāna, ni-dhāraṇa) with AV 3.11 (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan as ritual ‘installer’ of jarā: enacts pari/ni semantics through gesture; functions as apotropaic specialist against mṛtyu.
Chanted while circling the patient clockwise (paritaḥ) to enact ‘pari dadāmi’; can be followed by a verbal dismissal gesture outward on ‘yanye yantu’.
After stabilization from acute illness; at liminal times (sunset/night) when death-fears intensify.
Atharvan reciter leads; family repeats refrain ‘jarāyai’.
KauśS: āyuṣya rites and mṛtyu-apahāra applications (exact citation depends on edition; commonly grouped with AVŚ āyuṣya hymns).
Used as a recovery affirmation mantra; pair with gentle walking/rehab to embody ‘led onward’.
Operates through speech-acts rather than materia; ‘Old Age’ functions as a temporal amulet—time itself becomes the protective substance.
General mortality threat; recurrent illness; fear of sudden death; vulnerability after childbirth/fever (context-dependent).
Ritual transfer to Jarā (protective time) + apotropaic banishment of competing death agencies; strengthens resolve and social assurance around the patient.
Āyuṣya-kara orientation; vāta-pacifying by grounding (ni-dhuvāmi) and reducing bhaya (fear) which aggravates vāta.
Supportive psychotherapy framing (future-oriented recovery), stress reduction; resilience scripting during chronic illness management.
Patient at risk (ill, weakened, post-crisis).
Entrust patient to auspicious old age; expel all other deaths.
Ritual ‘jurisdiction transfer’ (pari-dāna) + ‘fixing’ (ni-dhuvāmi) + mass-expulsion formula (vy anye yantu).
Named and unnamed death-causes—disease, accident, malign influences.
- जरायै (jarāyai)
- safe completion; fulfilled time; maturity as protection
- परि ददामि (pari dadāmi)
- ritual transfer of jurisdiction—from death to auspicious time
- नि धुवामि (ni dhuvāmi)
- grounding; fixing life in stability (anti-wavering spell)
- जरा भद्रा (jarā bhadrā)
- time as beneficent guide rather than decay
- मृत्यवः (mṛtyavaḥ)
- multiple death-agencies: accidents, diseases, misfortunes
- शतम् (śatam)
- totality/excess; comprehensive apotropaic sweep
Contemplation of time as ally: aligning with a long arc rather than impending end.
Lengthen exhale slightly to signal safety; silently repeat jarāyai with each exhale (no strain).
A benevolent elder-light (Jarā) taking the patient’s hand and guiding them along a sunlit path; shadowy ‘deaths’ dissolve outward at the boundary.
Śānta, future-stable resolve.
Recite, then journal/affirm one concrete recovery step; seal with a brief outward hand-wave on ‘yanye yantu’.
Maintain even udātta flow; treat the jarāyai repetition as refrain with slight emphasis each time.
Stress ‘jarāyai’ and ‘ni’; quicken slightly through the enumeration ‘yanye… itarān śatam’ while keeping clarity.
Assured, steady; slightly stronger on dismissal line to ‘push away’.
The plural mṛtyavaḥ is key—intonationally mark it to signal comprehensive protection, not a single threat.
21 times
Recovery after severe illness; elders or chronically ill persons; periods of heightened fear of death/accident.
Daily for a short course (7–21 days) during recovery; also before travel for vulnerable persons (as apotropaic).
Traditional: longevity and warding of untimely death; experiential: steadiness, reduced fear, improved adherence to recovery routines.
Avoid using to suppress necessary medical attention; if anxiety is severe, seek professional support.
No herb is invoked; the operative ‘technology’ is personification: jarā is re-coded from feared decline into a protective deity. This semantic transformation functions like a therapeutic reframing, substituting a benign endpoint for fatal trajectories.
The priest’s performative verbs (‘I give,’ ‘I set’) display ritual agency over the life-course. The community’s fear of multiple ‘deaths’ is managed through specialist speech that classifies and dismisses them.
The explicit deification of jarā as ‘bhadrā’ and the juridical-sounding consigning (‘pari dadāmi’) are characteristic of Atharvanic charm diction. The plural ‘mṛtyavaḥ’ as a taxonomy of death-causes is also more Atharvanic than typical RV usage.
Gopatha’s emphasis on mantra as binding/unbinding supports reading ‘ni dhuvāmi’ as a binding act that prevents the soul/breath from being seized. Jarā becomes the sanctioned terminus of life, while mṛtyu is the premature rupture to be expelled.
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