Atharva Veda 18.2.44: Kanda 18, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 44
Sukta 2
समि॒मां मात्रां॑ मिमीमहे॒ यथाप॑रं॒ न मासा॑तै । श॒ते श॒रत्सु॒ नो पु॒रा
sám imā́ṃ mā́trāṃ mimīmahe yáthā́paraṃ ná mā́sātai | śaté śarátsu no purā́ ||
Together we mete out this measured span, that the later portion fail not by months—(a life) of a hundred autumns for us, as of old ordained.
เราทั้งหลายร่วมกันกำหนดส่วนอายุอันมีขอบเขตนี้ เพื่อให้ส่วนภายหลังไม่พร่องลงด้วยเดือนทั้งหลาย—ขอให้เรามีชีวิตยืนยาวร้อยฤดูใบไม้ร่วง ดังที่โบราณกำหนดไว้.
The meaning
What it says
The community (or ritual participants) ‘measure out’ a life-span so that the later portion is not diminished by months; they invoke the ideal of living a hundred autumns, as in ancient ordinance.
The inner meaning
In the funerary setting, the mantra is a counter-current against premature curtailment: it repairs the psyche’s sense of ‘unfinished time.’ Measuring (mimīmahe) becomes re-authoring one’s narrative so that life is felt as complete and properly apportioned, not stolen or truncated.
The truth in it
Human beings need a sense of temporal wholeness. Ritual speech can restore dignity to time—affirming that life should reach its full measure and that what is ‘later’ deserves protection from erosion.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Antyeṣṭi / Pitṛmedha (Funerary; longevity-countercharm within death-ritual frame)
Its aim
To (re)affirm a complete, undiminished life-measure—ideally a hundred years—warding off premature curtailment of lifespan.
Word by Word
Pada patha
सम् । इमाम् । मात्राम् । मिमीमहे । यथा । अपरम् । न । मासातै । शते । शरत्सु । नः । पुरा ।
- सम्
- together; completely (prefix to the verb)together; completely; in due measure (ritually ‘rightly, without excess or defect’)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (अविकारी)Root सम् (उपसर्ग) / सम् (अव्यय)
- इमाम्
- this (f.)this (presently invoked, the ‘measure’ now being fixed by mantra)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मात्राम्
- measure; fixed portion/limitmeasure; allotted portion; (here) the measured span of life/term (āyus) to be securedNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
- मिमीमहे
- we measure; we determinewe measure out; we apportion (performatively ‘we establish the destined measure’)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot √मा (माने/मितौ) — ‘to measure’
- यथा
- so that; asso that; in such wise thatIndeclinableसम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थक अव्ययRoot यथा (अव्यय)
- अपरम्
- further; subsequent; anotherthe further (term); the later remainder (i.e., the next period beyond the present one)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (क्रियाविशेषणवत्)Role KarmaRoot अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- notnot; lest (apotropaic negation: ‘may it not be cut short’)Indeclinableनिषेधार्थक अव्ययRoot न (अव्यय)
- मासातै
- may it not overpass the months; may it not exceed month by monthbe diminished/shortened by months; ‘fail in months’ (i.e., not fall short of full months)Verbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ् (वैदिक प्रयोग), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचनRoot मास (प्रातिपदिक) + अतय्/अति (गत्यर्थ/अतिक्रमणार्थ) → मासाति ‘to pass beyond months’ (वैदिक)
- शते
- in a hundreda hundredNumeral/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (सप्तमी-सम्बन्धः)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot शत (प्रातिपदिक)
- शरत्सु
- in (many) autumns/yearsin autumns; years (śarad as a year-counting season)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot शरद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नः
- of us; for usfor us; our (beneficiary group: household/lineage)Pronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role SampradānaRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पुरा
- formerly; before; in earlier timeformerly; from of old; in advance (as a fixed destiny ‘already laid down’)Indeclinableकालवाचक अव्ययRoot पुरा (अव्यय)
Sandhi Notes
- सम् | इमाम् | मात्राम् | मिमीमहे | यथा | अपरम् | न | मासातै | शते | शरत्सु | नः | पुरा ।
- 1) समि॒मां = सम् + इमाम् (म् + इ → मि).
- 2) मात्रां॑ मिमीमहे—सन्धि नहीं
- केवल पद-सीमा.
- 3) यथाप॑रं = यथा + अपरम् (आ + अ → आ).
- 4) न मासा॑तै—सन्धि नहीं.
- 5) श॒ते श॒रत्सु—सन्धि नहीं.
- 6) नो पु॒रा = नः + पुरा (विसर्ग-लोप/ओ-आदेशः: नः → नो)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Traditionally associated with Atharvanic seers in the AV 18 funerary corpus (often classed under Atharvan/Angiras lineage in ancillary lists).
- Devata
- Āyus (Life-span) / the normative ‘hundred-autumn’ life; implicitly the cosmic order sustaining full term.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (with a shortened/elliptic closing pāda as transmitted)
- Rasa
- Karuna and Shanta
Sāyaṇa takes mātrā as āyuṣaḥ parimāṇa, the ‘measure of life’; mimīmahe is a performative fixing of the life-term by Atharvanic speech. ‘Not diminished by months’ is read as avoidance of premature death before the completion of full calendric units; ‘hundred autumns’ is the conventional πλήρης āyus. purā indicates the ancient, proper norm (sanātana-vidhi) of full lifespan.
AVŚ 18.2.1-62 (funerary and post-funerary formulas, including longevity counter-charms)
Anonymous Atharvanic funerary seer (AVŚ 18.2 Pitṛmedha corpus)
Antyeṣṭi/Pitṛmedha liturgy: managing death’s liminality, protecting the living’s lifespan, and ritually affirming completeness of time and order.
In the death-ritual frame, the Atharvan voice protects the living by reasserting the ‘hundred-autumn’ norm—turning grief into renewed commitment to life’s full term.
Āyus (Life-span) / normative ‘Śata-śarad’ order
Regulates the allotted span and its calendric integrity; maintains the proper sequence of months and seasons as a life-supporting order.
Supports longevity and recovery of vitality after contact with death-impurity and grief.
Guards against premature death, ‘loss of months,’ and the contagion of death’s shortening influence on survivors.
Anuṣṭubh (with elliptic/short closing as transmitted)
2 full pādas + a truncated 3rd/4th sense-unit in transmission; typical Atharvanic funerary compression.
Ellipsis is common in ritual corpora where context supplies the completion; cadence remains anuṣṭubh-like for memorability.
Compact and solemn; ‘mātrāṃ mimīmahe’ gives a measured, counting rhythm.
Creates a feeling of ‘re-measuring’ time—steadying mourners and reaffirming life’s norm.
During the pitṛkarman recitation of AV 18.2, the Atharvan priest intones this mantra as a ‘measure-setting’ formula.
The mantra is spoken with a stabilizing gesture (saṃdhāraṇa), conceptually ‘measuring’ the life-term—either for the surviving household or as an ideal norm contrasted with the deceased’s fate.
The recitation is integrated into the continuous anuṣṭubh flow of the sukta, without separate oblation unless the local prayoga prescribes a small ājyāhuti.
Kauśika Sūtra: Antyeṣṭi/Pitṛkarman section (AV 18.2 sequence employed in funerary recitation; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant: reciter who ‘fixes’ (saṃkalpayati) the life-measure by mantra within the funerary liturgy.
Used within or after funerary observances to protect survivors’ lifespan; may be recited when concluding rites, re-entering the home, or during post-funeral purification days.
Immediately after cremation/antyeṣṭi sequences, or during the first nights when grief and fear of contagion are strongest.
Atharvan priest (or family elder) leads; communal recitation reinforces ‘we measure out’ collective protection.
Recited as a family remembrance and longevity blessing after a death anniversary or during mourning periods.
In funerary Atharvan practice, time is handled like a substance: it can be portioned, protected from ‘loss,’ and restored to wholeness through speech.
Premature shortening of lifespan (āyu-kṣaya) in a ritual-psychic sense; vulnerability after funerary contact.
Longevity affirmation through calendric completeness (months not failing) and ideal lifespan invocation (hundred autumns).
Āyuḥ as foundational; grief and death-contact can disturb prāṇa and ojas—this mantra functions as an ojas/āyuḥ stabilizer in ritual terms.
Bereavement-related health risk; reaffirming routine/time-structure and life-continuity to mitigate stress-related morbidity.
Ritual participants/survivors (the ‘we/us’ of the verse).
Restore and protect the full life-measure of the living; prevent ‘loss of months’ and premature curtailment in the shadow of death rites.
Measuring/portioning spell (mātrā-mimī-) + calendric safeguard (months) + archetypal norm (hundred autumns, purā).
Premature death, lingering death-inauspiciousness, temporal ‘leakage’ of lifespan.
Longevity (āyus) as the root prosperity enabling all other goods.
- mātrā
- allotted life-term; the proper boundary that protects against premature loss
- mimīmahe
- ritual recalibration; collective agency in restoring order
- māsa
- incremental erosion of life; calendric completeness as integrity
- śataṃ śarat-su
- normative full life; maturity, harvest-completion
- purā
- ancestral ordinance; continuity with primordial/ancestral norm
Contemplation of time as a sacred measure; reaffirming commitment to a full, meaningful life-span after confronting death.
Mūlādhāra (grounding after loss) with gentle lift to Anāhata (grief integration).
Slow 1:2 breathing for 10 rounds; silently count months on exhale to symbolize ‘no loss by months,’ ending with a long, calm inhale on ‘śataṃ śarat-su’.
A measuring cord laying out a bright path of months leading to an autumn harvest; each month intact, none missing.
Grounded mourning moving toward steady acceptance.
Use briefly after remembrance rituals; then perform one concrete life-affirming act (meal, walk, service) to embody ‘measured span’.
Simple, even recitation suited to anuṣṭubh; keep a gentle rise on ‘mimīmahe’ and settle on ‘śarat-su’.
Clarity on long vowels: mātrāṃ; avoid clipping consonant clusters in ‘māsātai’.
Soft, communal, steady.
In funerary contexts, steadiness and unison matter more than volume; the charm’s ‘measuring’ works through calm continuity.
21 times
After a death in the family; when fearing ‘shortened time’ or experiencing health anxiety during mourning.
During post-funeral days, on anniversaries, or whenever grief triggers fear about one’s own lifespan.
Grounding, reassurance, renewed life-affirmation; supports routines and a sense of temporal integrity.
If grief is complicated or debilitating, seek professional and community support; mantra supports but does not replace care.
No plant or drug is named; efficacy is achieved by metrical ‘measurement’ language (mātrā, mimīmahe). The operative technology is verbal calibration of lifespan rather than pharmacology.
The ability to ‘measure out’ life by authoritative speech presumes a specialist priestly voice. The beneficiary ‘noḥ’ suggests a household/lineage under Atharvanic protection, reinforcing the ritual expert’s mediating role.
The idiom ‘śate śarat-su’ is shared Vedic longevity diction; the performative use of mimīmahe with mātrā is characteristically Atharvanic in its quasi-technical, ritual-legal tone.
Gopatha’s general Atharvanic theory treats mantra as a binding ‘brahman’ that stabilizes life and order; this verse exemplifies that by converting calendric completeness (months/years) into a protective norm enforced by speech.
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