Atharva Veda 7.65.3: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 7, Sukta 65, Mantra 3
Sukta 65
श्या॒वद॑ता कुन॒खिना॑ ब॒ण्डेन॒ यत् स॒हासि॒म। अपा॑मार्ग॒ त्वया॑ व॒यं सर्वं॒ तदप॑ मृज्महे
śyāvadátā kunakhínā baṇḍéna yát sahā́sima | apāmārga tváyā vayáṃ sárvaṃ tád ápa mṛjmahe ||
Whatsoever with the dark-toothed, with the evil-nailed, with the binder we have consorted—O Apāmārga, by thee we wipe away from us all that utterly.
สิ่งใดก็ตามที่พวกเราได้คบหาเกี่ยวข้องกับผู้ฟันดำ ผู้เล็บชั่ว และผู้ผูกมัด—โอ อปามารคะ (Apāmārga) ด้วยท่าน เราทั้งหลายปัดล้างสิ่งนั้นทั้งหมดออกไปจากตนโดยสิ้นเชิง
The meaning
What it says
The speaker seeks to wipe away any contamination incurred by association with ‘dark-toothed,’ ‘evil-nailed,’ and the ‘binder’—figures of sorcery or social-ritual pollution—using Apāmārga as the cleansing agent.
The inner meaning
This is disentanglement from toxic influence: harmful relationships, coercive bonds, and fear-based alliances are treated as removable contamination rather than destiny.
The truth in it
Contact shapes consciousness; when we have mingled with destructive forces (people, habits, environments), deliberate cleansing and boundary-restoration can undo the residue.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya / Abhicarika-śānti (Decontamination from sorcerous contact; unbinding)
Its aim
To cleanse away contamination and binding harm acquired through association with stigmatized or sorcerous persons.
Word by Word
Pada patha
श्या॒वद॑ता । कु॒न॒खिना॑ । ब॒ण्डेन॑ । यत् । स॒हासि॒म । अ॒पा॒मार्ग॒ । त्वया॑ । व॒यम् । सर्व॑म् । तत् । अप॑ । मृ॒ज्म॒हे॒ ।
- श्या॒वद॑ता
- with the dark-toothed (one)with the dark-toothed one (a hostile/impure person; ‘black-toothed’ as stigma of malignity)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot श्यावदत (प्रातिपदिक; श्याव ‘dark’ + दत ‘toothed’)
- कुन॒खिना॑
- with the ill-nailed / deformed-nailed (one)with the evil-nailed one (deformed/witch-like; bearer of harmful touch)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot कुनखिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ब॒ण्डेन॒
- with the club / cudgelwith the ‘bandha/band’ (binding spell; or with a sorcerer/afflicter named ‘Baṇḍa’)—agent/instrument of binding harmNounपुंलिङ्गे तृतीया-एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot बण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- whatever (that)whatever (harm/association)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स॒हासि॒म्
- the mockery / derisive laughterNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सहासि (प्रातिपदिक; ‘laughing/derisive’)
- अपामार्ग
- O Apāmārga (the herb Achyranthes aspera)O ApāmārgaNounपुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन-एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot अपामार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वया
- by you / with youby thee, with thee (as cleansing instrument)Pronounतृतीया-एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- व॒यम्
- wePronounप्रथमा-बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सर्वम्
- allall of itAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- तत्
- thatPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया-एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अप
- away, offIndeclinableअव्ययम् (उपसर्गः)Root अप (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- मृज्महे
- we wipe/clean awaywe wipe away/cleanse offVerbलट् (वर्तमाने), आत्मनेपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Root √मृज् (मार्जने)
Sandhi Notes
- श्यावदता कुनखिना बण्डेन यत् सहासिम् । अपामार्ग त्वया वयम् सर्वम् तत् अप मृज्महे ।
- 1) तदप → तत् अप (व्यञ्जन-सन्धिः: द् + अ → द्/त्, पदपाठे ‘तत्’ + ‘अप’)
- ‘अप-मृज्’ = ‘wipe off/away’
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Apāmārga (as cleanser/unbinder)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable)
- Rasa
- Bhayankara and Shanta
Sāyaṇa reads the descriptors (dark-toothed, evil-nailed) as marks of pāpa-jana—persons of inauspicious, possibly sorcerous character—whose proximity transmits contamination or binding spells (bandha). The mantra treats social contact as a vector of ritual danger; Apāmārga is the cleanser that removes the acquired taint and loosens bindings.
Unknown (Atharvanic counter-sorcery cleansing current)
Decontamination rites after contact with sorcerers/impure persons; unbinding and removal of ‘contact-evil’ (saṃsarga-doṣa).
The Atharvan voice here protects the household from social and occult contagion, asserting that harmful bonds can be ritually dissolved.
Apāmārga (cleanser/unbinder)
A terrestrial ‘unbinder’ that breaks adhesive negativity acquired through association; restores the person to the community of the clean (śuci).
Removes fear, impurity, and the felt ‘stickiness’ of coercive contact; supports recovery from bewitchment-anxiety.
Prevents further attachment of binding forces; strengthens personal boundaries.
4 pādas; first half lists contaminating contacts, second half performs total removal.
Lists of epithets (śyāvada-tā, kunakhinā, baṇḍena) can compress/expand slightly; the cadence remains punchy.
Incantatory catalogue → decisive cleansing closure.
Psychologically ‘names the contaminant’ then seals the separation with sarvaṃ tad apa mṛjmahe.
Charge Apāmārga with the mantra, explicitly intending removal of saṃsarga-doṣa (contact-pollution).
Brush the patient and, if relevant, the garments (as carriers of contact-taint).
If ‘bandha’ is suspected, perform a symbolic untying gesture while reciting (loosening knots/threads), then wipe again.
Discard the plant and any loosened thread/knots outside the settlement boundary or at a crossroads, to externalize the harm.
Kauśika Sūtra: Apāmārga rites for bandha-mocana (loosening bindings) and saṃsarga-doṣa (pollution from contact), using wiping/sweeping and casting away.
Atharvan as remover of bandha and social-contagion impurity: diagnoses contact-based danger, performs unbinding gestures, and completes expulsion disposal.
Brush the person and especially wrists/ankles (symbolic ‘binding points’) with apāmārga; sweep the sleeping area; discard outside boundary.
After visiting suspect places/persons; after ominous dreams; before re-entering domestic sacred space.
Householder may do; Atharvan specialist may prescribe directionality and additional protective verses.
Likely within Kauśika’s apāmārga cleansing/unbinding operations after suspected sorcery or impure contact; precise citation not available from excerpt.
A ‘cutting ties’ ritual: recite, then wash hands and consciously end contact; optionally burn/throw away a small twig used for brushing.
Apāmārga (Achyranthes aspera)
The bristly plant that clings becomes the tool that ‘takes the clinginess away’: it gathers the residue of binding and is cast out, restoring freedom.
Affliction from sorcerous contact/binding; anxiety, nightmares, social fear; perceived ‘attachment’ or hex residue.
Contact-cleansing and unbinding: the plant absorbs/expels the acquired impurity; the mantra redefines the bond as removable.
Conceptually aligns with bhūta/āgantuka disturbance and śodhana; also with restoring sattva after tamasic association.
Recovery from coercive relationships, cultic influence, harassment; ‘decontamination’ rituals supporting boundary repair and trauma recovery.
Contamination from ‘binders’ and predatory contacts; binding spells (implicit)
To wipe away all effects of consorting with harmful/sorcerous persons and binding forces.
Naming the contaminant + totalizing removal (sarvaṃ tad) + plant-mediated wiping; typically accompanied by brushing and disposal.
Binding magic, coercion, social-ritual pollution, lingering influence of harmful associates
- श्यावदत (śyāvada-ta)
- predatory/inauspicious influence; decay of speech/intent
- कुनखिन् (kunakhin)
- one who scratches/harms; grasping, violating contact
- बण्ड (baṇḍa)
- binding magic; coercive attachment, constraint, psychic knots
- सहासिम (sahāsima)
- contagion by intimacy; influence through proximity
- अप मृज्महे (apa mṛjmahe)
- de-linking; unbinding through purification
Reclaiming agency after coercion; releasing energetic cords; restoring śauca (inner cleanliness).
Svādhiṣṭhāna (relational boundaries)
Kapalabhāti (mild, if appropriate) or sharp exhales to symbolize expulsion; otherwise steady exhale-release.
Imagine dark cords at wrists/ankles dissolving as a green bristly light brushes over them; then see the residue carried outside the home boundary.
Viveka (discernment): recognizing what is ‘not mine’ and letting it go.
Recite 7 or 21 times; after recitation, perform a clear boundary act (block contact, leave the place, cleanse the room) to match sahāsima → apa mṛjmahe logic.
Let the three contaminant epithets be clearly separated; slow slightly before apāmārga tvayā to mark the turning point.
Stress sarvaṃ tad apa mṛjmahe as the sealing clause; keep consonant clusters crisp (kunakhinā).
Serious, protective, slightly forceful
Ritual disposal matters: carry the ‘wiped’ residue outward—do not keep the used herb inside the sleeping space.
7 times
After involvement with manipulative people, occult fear, or environments that feel ‘contaminating.’
Immediately after leaving such contact; before sleep if feeling ‘bound’ or anxious.
Psychological separation, reduced fear, restored sense of autonomy.
If there is stalking/abuse, prioritize real-world safety; ritual supports but does not replace protection planning.
Apāmārga functions as a ‘ritual sponge’: the mantra defines the target impurities (contact with stigmatized persons; binding harm), while the plant’s wiping action performs the transfer and removal. The plant’s identity as ‘wiper-away’ is the operative bridge between speech and act.
It encodes social stigma through bodily markers (teeth, nails) and frames certain persons as vectors of danger. The verse thus witnesses boundary-making—pure/impure, safe/unsafe—managed through priestly ritual technology rather than legal process.
The focus on socially marked ‘dangerous others’ and on contamination by association is strongly Atharvanic. The lexicon of wiping (mṛj) and binding (bandha) belongs to AV’s pragmatic ritual idiom more than RV’s sacrificial praise register.
Gopatha supports the Atharvanic view that harm can be ‘bound’ onto a person and likewise ‘unbound’ through correct mantra and karman. Contact-pollution is treated as real and transferable; efficacy depends on precise performance and proper disposal to prevent reattachment.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
