Atharva Veda 7.74.2: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 8, Sukta 74, Mantra 2
Sukta 74
विध्या॑म्यासां प्रथ॒मां विध्या॑म्यु॒त म॑ध्य॒माम्। इ॒दं ज॑घ॒न्याऽमासा॒मा च्छि॑नद्मि॒ स्तुका॑मिव
vidhyā́my āsā́ṃ prathamā́ṃ vidhyā́my utá madhyamā́m | idáṃ jaghanyā́m āsā́m ā́ chinadmi stukā́m iva ||
I pierce of these the first; I pierce also the middle. This last of these I cut away, as one a tuft (is shorn).
ข้าพเจ้าแทงทะลุส่วนแรกของสิ่งเหล่านี้ และแทงทะลุส่วนกลางด้วย ส่วนสุดท้ายนี้ข้าพเจ้าตัดออก ดุจคนตัดปอยขนออกไป
The meaning
What it says
The speaker ‘pierces’ the first swelling, then the middle one; the last is ‘cut off’ like a tuft of hair—an ordered extirpation of multiple nodules.
The inner meaning
A staged dismantling of a problem: name it, penetrate it, then sever its final root. The mantra trains the mind to move from fear of recurrence to methodical completion.
The truth in it
What is entrenched is removed by sequence: insight (piercing) followed by decisive release (cutting away). Healing is often iterative, not instantaneous.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing)
Its aim
Total extirpation of multiple swellings (gandamālā/apacit), treating each node in sequence until the last is removed.
Word by Word
Pada patha
विध्यामि । आसाम् । प्रथमाम् । विध्यामि । उत । मध्यमाम् । इदम् । जघन्याम् । आसाम् । आ । छिनद्मि । स्तुकाम् । इव ।
- विध्यामि
- I pierce / I strike / I cut throughI pierce/destroy; repeated for iterative therapeutic forceVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KartāRoot √विध् (विधँ—विधान/विध्वंसन) → विध्य- (धातु-आधारित वर्तमान-प्रयोग)
- आसाम्
- of these (women/things)of these (swellings); proximal, present on the patientPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole Sambandha (genitive relation)Root इदम्-प्रातिपदिक (सर्वनाम) → असद्/एतद्-समूह; रूप: आसाम्
- प्रथमाम्
- the firstthe first; the foremost/earliest swellingAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot प्रथम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- विध्यामि
- I pierce / I strikeI pierce/destroy; second strike in the verbal sequenceVerbलट्, परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KartāRoot √विध् (विधँ) → विध्य-
- उत
- and alsoand also; additive intensifierIndeclinableअव्ययRoot उत (निपात)
- मध्यमाम्
- the middle (one)the middle; the intermediate swellingAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot मध्यम- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इदम्
- thisthis; deictic, accompanying a gesture/touchPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- जघन्याम्
- the last / the lowestthe last/lowest; the final swelling in the setAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot जघन्य- (प्रातिपदिक: ‘lowest/last’)
- आसाम्
- of theseof these; again specifying the lesion-setPronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole Sambandha (genitive relation)Root इदम्-प्रातिपदिक (सर्वनाम) → रूप: आसाम्
- आ
- towards; forthforth, away; directional particle of removalIndeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्ग)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- छिनद्मि
- I cut off / I severI cut off; surgical metaphor of excisionVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRole KartāRoot √छिद् (छिदँ—छेदन)
- स्तुकाम्
- a tuft / wisp / lock (of hair/grass)a tuft/lock (of hair or fiber); something cut away cleanlyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (upamāna in simile) / object of comparisonRoot स्तुका- (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asas, like; simile marking the ease/cleanliness of removalIndeclinableअव्ययRoot इव (निपात)
Sandhi Notes
- विध्यामि | आसाम् | प्रथमाम् | विध्यामि | उत | मध्यमाम् | इदम् | जघन्याम् | आसाम् | आ | छिनद्मि | स्तुकाम् | इव । मुख्य सन्धि:
- (1) विध्या॑म्यासां = विध्यामि + आसाम् (इ + आ → या; ‘विध्यामि’ के अन्त्य ‘इ’ के पूर्व ‘आ’ आने से य-आगम/वृद्धि-प्रकार का वैदिक संधि-रूप) ।
- (2) विध्या॑म्यु॒त = विध्यामि + उत (इ + उ → यु; वैदिक संधि) ।
- (3) जघ॒न्याऽमासा॒म् = जघन्याम् + आसाम् (म् + आ…; पदान्त ‘म्’ के बाद स्वरारम्भ, वैदिक पाठ में अवग्रह ‘ऽ’ से संकेत) ।
- (4) आ च्छि॑नद्मि = आ + छिनद्मि (उपसर्ग ‘आ’ पृथक्; छ्-प्रारम्भ के कारण पाठ में ‘च्छि’ जैसा संयोग)।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic healer tradition.
- Devata
- Healing power embodied in the drug and the excisive speech-act.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable).
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
Sayana reads the triadic sequence (first–middle–last) as comprehensive therapy: no swelling is left untreated. The deictic ‘idam’ implies accompanying touch/pointing. ‘Cut off like a tuft’ conveys complete severance without remainder, a standard Atharvanic image for clean removal of disease.
Bhaiṣajya—charms of excision and ‘opening’ (piercing) for glandular swellings/apacīt-type afflictions; mastery of vāc as a surgical instrument.
Embodies the Atharvan healer’s stance: disease is a concrete adversary addressed directly, localized, and removed through a combination of substance (mūla/auṣadhi) and performative speech.
Auṣadhi (healing drug) + Vāc-as-incision (functional power)
The plant-power and spoken formula cooperate as a divine ‘instrument’ that opens, drains, and separates morbid growth from the body.
Piercing/opening of nodes; separation and shedding of pathological tissue; restoring normal flow (rasa) by removing blockage.
Prevents recurrence by ‘finishing the last’—closing the cycle of affliction.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; Atharvanic flexibility with sandhi and resolution around vidhyāmi/ā chinadmi.
Incantatory parallelism (repeated vidhyāmi) substitutes for strict metrical symmetry; the cadence is ‘procedural’.
Staccato, tool-like rhythm—two thrusts (pierce/pierce) followed by a longer finishing stroke (cut away).
Creates a somatic sense of ‘opening’ and ‘release’, suitable for synchronized gesture (touching/marking each swelling in order).
Identify the swellings in order (first, middle, last) by sight and touch.
With each recitation of vidhyāmi, touch/press the corresponding swelling with the root or medicated implement.
On ‘ā chinadmi’, perform a stronger symbolic ‘cutting’ gesture (e.g., drawing the root/knife-like blade of grass across), signifying severance.
Dispose of any used plant material away from the dwelling to externalize the disease.
Kauśika Sūtra: apacit/gandamālā healing—touching each swelling in turn with the drug while reciting sequential ‘piercing/cutting’ formulas (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan healer: conducts diagnostic ordering, coordinates gesture with deictics and verbs, and manages disposal to prevent ritual recontamination.
Healer touches/indicates each swelling in sequence while reciting; may apply a prepared root-paste or bandage after each ‘piercing’ utterance.
Repeated over several evenings/mornings until reduction; often auspicious when the patient is calm and fasting/lightly fed.
Atharvan healer (or household ritualist) directs touch, recitation, and preparation of simples.
Likely within Kauśika’s bhaisajya procedures for apacīt/gandamālā-type swellings.
As a contemplative adjunct to medical care: use as a focused visualization of staged healing and completion.
mūla (root-drug; implied from preceding verse); cutting/cleaving imagery (metaphorical surgical tool)
Disease is treated as an attached object; by aligning word, gesture, and plant potency, the body is re-claimed and the ‘foreign growth’ is shorn away.
Apacīt / gandamālā-type glandular swellings (multiple nodes)
Performative ‘piercing’ and ‘shearing’ by mantra, often paired with root-drug application; sequential targeting of each node to ensure total removal.
Granthi/arbuda-like swellings; kapha-mediated nodularity with local obstruction—therapy aims at bhedana (opening) and lekhana (scraping) in later Ayurvedic idiom (conceptual parallel, not a direct AV claim).
Swollen lymph nodes / benign cystic nodules; also a psychological parallel to stepwise problem resolution in chronic conditions.
The swellings (personified as removable excrescences)
Complete extirpation of multiple swellings—no node left behind.
Enumerative targeting + sympathetic ‘surgery’ (piercing/cutting) enacted by speech and gesture; likely accompanied by topical herb/root handling.
Recurrence and spread (the ‘middle’ and ‘last’ imply progression)
- विध्यामि (vidhyāmi)
- Focused intent that penetrates obstruction; the ‘needle’ of vāc/attention
- प्रथमाम् / मध्यमाम् / जघन्याम्
- Mapping disease in stages; refusing vagueness by enumerating the foe
- आ छिनद्मि (ā chinadmi)
- Final severance of the disease’s hold; ritual ‘surgery’ by speech
- स्तुका (stukā)
- A removable excrescence; the swelling is demoted to something that can be shorn
Sequential release: locate three ‘knots’ (granthis) in the body-mind and dissolve them one by one.
Anāhata/viśuddha axis (knots of grief/voice) (optional contemplative mapping).
Three rounds of slow exhale with a soft internal ‘piercing’ intention; final long exhale on ā chinadmi (release).
Visualize three dark nodules shrinking; the last detaches like a tuft and falls away; the area fills with warm clarity.
Ekāgratā (one-pointed, procedural focus).
Do not force intensity; keep the mind surgical, not angry—precision over aggression.
Vedic recitation with clear udātta emphasis on verbal actions (vidhyāmi, chinadmi); keep the repeated vidhyāmi as identical melodic ‘thrusts’.
Maintain separation: vidhyāmi | āsām | prathamām || vidhyāmi | uta | madhyamām || idam | jaghanyām | āsām | ā | chinadmi | stukām | iva.
Firm, clinical, unshaking; avoid anger—tone of skilled removal.
Coordinate mantra with gesture: touch/indicate each node on ‘prathamām’, ‘madhyamām’, ‘jaghanyām’; a final sweeping-away motion on ‘ā chinadmi’.
3 times
Recurring or multiple ‘lumps’—physical swellings under care, or repeated obstacles in a project/relationship.
During topical application/bandaging (traditional frame) or during a daily 3-step release practice; best when the mind is steady.
Sense of control, completion, and ‘total removal’ mindset; supportive calm during healing routines.
Not a substitute for medical evaluation of swellings; avoid using ‘cutting’ imagery to intensify anxiety—keep it procedural and gentle.
The mantra’s sequential targeting presumes a tactile procedure; the botanical implement (root/paste) becomes the indexical pointer for ‘this’ (idam) and the agent of ‘cutting off’. The plant thus anchors the verbal mapping of disease onto discrete bodily loci.
The healer’s authority is procedural and classificatory: he orders the lesions and declares their removal. Such technical speech positions the Atharvan practitioner as a specialist whose competence is both medical and ritual.
The quasi-clinical enumeration (first/middle/last) and the excision simile (stukā́m iva) are typical of AV’s pragmatic charm-language rather than RV’s encomiastic diction.
Within an Atharvanic efficacy model, completeness is crucial: naming and addressing every instance prevents ‘remainder’ (śeṣa) of disease. The verse’s exhaustive triad operationalizes that principle.
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