Atharva Veda 1.4.2: Kanda 1, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 4, Mantra 2
Sukta 4
अ॒मूर्या उप॒ सूर्ये॒ याभि॑र्वा॒ सूर्यः॑ स॒ह। ता नो॑ हिन्वन्त्वध्व॒रम्
amū́ryā úpa sū́rye yā́bhir vā sū́ryaḥ sahá | tā́ no hinvantu adhvarám
The Amūryā Powers, attendant on the Sun—wherewith, indeed, the Sun is joined—may they impel for us the rite (adhvara) to its due accomplishment.
ขอให้ฤทธิ์อามูรฺยา (Amūryā) ผู้ติดตามพระสุริยะ—ซึ่งด้วยฤทธิ์เหล่านั้นเองพระสุริยะทรงประกอบอยู่—จงเร่งเร้า “อธฺวร” (adhvara) พิธีบูชาของเรา ให้สำเร็จลุล่วงโดยชอบเถิด
The meaning
What it says
May the Amūryā powers attendant upon Sūrya—those with which the Sun is joined—impel our rite (adhvara) to successful completion.
The inner meaning
When clarity (solar awareness) rises, supportive inner faculties (amūryāḥ) organize scattered effort; the psyche is ‘driven’ toward completion without obstruction.
The truth in it
Success comes when the central light of discernment coordinates subsidiary energies; ritual and life both require an impelling coherence.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (protective) (solar purification complex)
Its aim
To secure the successful forward-driving of the operative rite by invoking solar-associated protective agencies; secondarily to dispel obstructive/dark forces that hinder healing or ritual success.
Word by Word
Pada patha
अमूर्याः । उप । सूर्ये । याभिः । वा । सूर्यः । सह । ताः । नः । हिन्वन्तु । अध्वरम्
- अमूर्याः
- unfailing / not-deluding (fem. pl.)the Amūryāḥ—mysterious, non-human (often taken as protective powers/rays attendant on the Sun; in Sayana-style Atharvanic reading: unseen apotropaic agencies)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अमूर्य (प्रातिपदिक; अ- + मूर्य) अथवा अमूर्या-
- उप
- towards, nearunto, toward; in attendance upon (ritually: ‘approaching’/‘applying’ the power)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot उप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- सूर्ये
- in/at the Sunin/unto the Sun (as locus of brilliance, remover of darkness and disease)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- याभिः
- with which (fem. instr. pl.)with which (feminine instrumental plural; the specific powers/energies by which the effect is wrought)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचनRole करणRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वा
- or / indeedor/indeed (enclitic; alternative or emphatic linkage in the charm-formula)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot वा (अव्यय)
- सूर्यः
- the SunNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- सह
- together, along withtogether with, in company with (co-agency: Sun + his attendant powers)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot सह (अव्यय)
- ताः
- those (fem. nom. pl.)those (feminine plural; the said powers/Amūryāḥ)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- for us / ourfor us, our (beneficiary of the rite—householder/patient/community)Pronounषष्ठी (एन्क्लिटिक), बहुवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हिन्वन्तु
- let them impel / set in motionlet them set in motion, impel, drive on (Atharvanic force: to propel the rite to success; also ‘drive away’ obstacles)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot हिव्/हिन्व् (धातु; प्रेरणे)
- अध्वरम्
- the rite/sacrifice (ceremony)the rite/sacrifice (here broadly the operative ‘karman’; in Atharvan usage: the efficacious performance to be successfully carried through)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अध्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: अमूर्याः | उप | सूर्ये | याभिः | वा | सूर्यः | सह | ताः | नः | हिन्वन्तु | अध्वरम् ।
- 1) सूर्ये याभिः: संधि-विशेषः नहीं
- पदसीमा पर स्वर-संधि नहीं हुआ।
- 2) याभिर्वा = याभिः + वा (विसर्ग-लोप/रुत्व-प्रकार; व्यवहारतः ‘ः’ के बाद ‘व’ आने पर संहितापाठ में ‘र्व’ रूप)।
- 3) सूर्यः सह: विसर्गः यथावत् (अथर्ववेद में पदपाठानुसार पृथक् ‘सूर्यः | सह’)।
- 4) ता नो = ताः + नः (विसर्ग-लोप; ‘ः’ के बाद नकारादि आने पर संहितायां ‘ता नो’)।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī; commonly within early Atharvan strata tied to solar protective formulae)
- Devata
- Sūrya (with attendant Amūryāḥ powers)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (pragmatically treated as anuṣṭubh-like; pāda division suggests a compact charm-meter)
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
Sayana-style interpretation takes अमूर्याः as subtle, unseen female powers connected with Sūrya (often glossed as his rays or attendant energies). Their ‘impelling’ (हिन्वन्तु) is read as removing impediments and forwarding the adhvara/karman to success; the Sun’s association guarantees purification and the driving off of hostile/diseased influences.
AVŚ 1.4 (solar/protective complex; verse-level deployment varies by tradition)
Atharvanic solar-protective stratum (r̥ṣi varies by Anukramaṇī)
Śāntika/apotropaic solar invocations that remove hindrances and ‘drive’ rites to completion.
Represents Atharvan reliance on Sūrya as purifier and revealer—light as the first medicine and first protection.
Sūrya with Amūryāḥ attendants
Illuminates, purifies, and orders time; his attendants function as protective rays/forces that repel obscurity and ritually ‘carry’ the work.
Purificatory: dispels tamas-associated hindrances; supports vitality and clarity in healing rites.
Apotropaic against unseen obstacles, confusion, and ritual failure.
Anuṣṭubh-like (tri-pāda phrasing in some recensions/segmentations)
Often scanned as 8+8+8 (with possible restoration/continuation in adjacent verses in some contexts)
Compact ‘impulsion’ formula; Atharvanic pragmatism tolerates abbreviated cadence for ritual utility.
Quick invocation; forward-driving rhythm matching ‘hinvantu’.
Energizes and ‘sets in motion’—useful at the start of a rite or when momentum flags.
At sunrise, the Atharvan priest (or householder under guidance) faces the Sun.
Recite the mantra while ‘approaching’ (upasthāna) the solar direction—often with joined hands or with a gesture of offering/raising the hands toward the light.
Mentally (or by light-touch) ‘apply’ the invoked solar power to the ongoing karman: healing act, protective boundary, or commencement of a domestic rite.
Conclude with a brief silent fixation on the Sun as remover of darkness/obstacles, then proceed with the main rite.
Kauśika Sūtra: solar-propitiatory/prayoga context for AV 1.4 (exact sutra-number varies by edition; commonly placed among early adhyāyas dealing with protective rites and success of undertakings).
Atharvan/Brahman function: to secure unobstructed efficacy (apratihata-siddhi) of the karman by mantra-recitation and correct orientation/time (sunrise).
Chant at sunrise or before commencing a healing act; face east; optionally expose water to sunlight as a supportive act.
Dawn/sunrise; beginnings of rites; moments of delay or obstruction.
Householder reciter; Atharvan practitioner for protective framing.
KauśS: general solar/protection deployments (exact citation varies by edition); often used as a ‘starter’ or obstacle-remover.
Morning recitation to set intention and consistency for health routines.
Sūrya (solar brilliance/rays as an implicit ‘substance’ of purification); Amūryāḥ (personified protective powers; often conceptualized as rays/energies)
Implicit solar-fire (tejas) as purifying substance.
Light is treated as a quasi-material purifier that pushes the rite forward and burns away impediments.
Not disease-specific; removes hindrances to healing/ritual success; indirectly counters ‘darkness’ conditions (fear, confusion, lethargy).
Solar purification and activation; summons protective attendants to propel the procedure to completion.
Sūrya-tejas support; countering tamas/kapha inertia; prāṇa activation.
Motivational/attention-focusing invocation; supportive for adherence to healing routines (non-clinical).
Ritual performer/patient household
Pacify obstacles and propel the rite to successful completion.
Devata-summons + impulsion command (hinvantu) to establish ritual momentum.
Ritual failure, unseen obstructions, ‘dark’ influences
- अमूर्याः (amūryāḥ)
- solar auxiliaries—rays, protections, faculties that ‘do not die’/do not fail (folk etymologies) and ward off darkness
- उप सूर्ये (upa sūrye)
- energies aligned with illumination, purity, and truth
- सह (saha)
- integration; coordinated action
- हिन्वन्तु (hinvantu)
- activation; forward motion through obstacles
- अध्वरम् (adhvaram)
- any healing/protective procedure requiring correct momentum
Invite inner ‘solar attendants’—clarity, courage, steadiness—to propel practice.
Maṇipūra (tejas)
3 steady breaths facing east; chant on exhale; feel energizing warmth in the navel region.
Golden rays assembling as guardians around the practitioner, pushing a ritual ‘wheel’ forward.
Alert, luminous attention.
Use at the start of any sādhanā; keep mind on ‘hinvantu’—gentle activation, not agitation.
Bright, even tone; slight lift on ‘sūrye’ and ‘hinvantu’.
Keep ‘amūryāḥ’ clear and unhurried; do not clip long vowels.
Clear, bright, morning voice.
Best chanted at dawn; functions as an ‘obstacle-remover’ and rite-starter rather than a disease-specific charm.
12 times
Morning sunlight exposure (as appropriate); Simple sankalpa-setting; Short walk/breathing to energize; Organize practical steps of the ‘rite’ (medication schedule, appointments)
Beginning a healing regimen, rite, journey, or any task facing delays/obstacles.
At sunrise; before starting; when motivation or clarity is low.
Mental clarity, steadiness, and a sense of protected momentum.
If used in heat-sensitive conditions, keep practice cooling and brief; do not substitute for medical care.
No explicit herb appears; the operative ‘substance’ is solar brilliance conceptualized as a purifying, obstacle-removing force. In Atharvanic medicine, such non-material ‘substances’ (light, heat, radiance) function analogously to herbs: they are invoked as agents that drive out darkness, demons, and disease, thereby ‘impelling’ the cure/rite.
The verse presumes a specialist who can harness cosmic agencies (Sūrya and his attendant powers) to guarantee ritual success. This reflects the Atharvan priest’s distinctive authority: not merely offering to gods, but managing unseen forces to remove impediments—an expertise that reinforces priestly mediation in domestic and therapeutic crises.
The diction is RV-compatible (Sūrya, sahá, hinv- ‘impel’), but the prominence of a somewhat opaque feminine plural (amūryāḥ) is characteristically Atharvanic: it foregrounds semi-personified, liminal ‘powers’ rather than the more transparent RV pantheon. The charm-like compression and pragmatic ‘let them impel our adhvara’ aligns with AV’s operational style.
Gopatha’s general Atharvanic theory grounds efficacy in correct mantra, correct application (prayoga), and the priest’s knowledge of correspondences (bandhu) between cosmic forces and ritual acts. A solar upasthāna-type formula is thus efficacious because Sūrya is the paradigmatic dispeller of darkness/evil; invoking his attendant powers ensures the karman proceeds without obstruction (pratibandha).
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