Sukta 22
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (attributed within the Atharvan corpus; specific r̥ṣi assignment varies by anukramaṇī tradition for this hymn).
Devata: Āyus (Long Life) / Varṇa (healthy complexion) as functional ‘deities’; implicitly the healing power resident in the charm.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant Atharvanic śloka-meter style)
Ang Atharvaveda 1.22 ay isang maikling panalangin ng paggagaling na nagpapalayas sa harimā́ (ang may sakit na "dilaw" ng jaundice/o panghihina) at nagpapanumbalik ng āyus (mahabang buhay) at isang malusog, pulang varṇa (malusog na kulay). Ito ay gumagana sa pamamagitan ng salamangka ng paglilipat, na inililipat ang kulay ng sakit sa mga halaman at mga dilaw na bagay, habang nagtataguyod ng mapalad na pulang kulay sa paligid ng pasyente bilang proteksiyon.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
हृद्रोग-कामिला-नाशनम्। अनु॒ सूर्य॒मुद॑यतां हृद्दयो॒तो ह॑रि॒मा च॑ ते । गो रोहि॑तस्य॒ वर्णे॑न॒ तेन॑ त्वा॒ परि॑ दध्मसि
Pagkatapos ng Araw nawa ito ay tumindig: mula sa iyong puso nawa ang paninilaw ay umalis. Sa pamamagitan ng kulay ng pulang baka, sa ganitong kulay ay pinalilibutan ka namin at ipinagkakaloob sa iyo.
Mantra 2
परि॑ त्वा॒ रोहि॑तै॒र्वर्णै॑र्दीर्घायु॒त्वाय॑ दध्मसि । यथा॒यम॑र॒पा अस॒दथो॒ अह॑रितो॒ भुव॑त्
Sa paligid mo ay inilalagay namin itong anting-anting na may pulang kulay, para sa pagkakaroon ng mahabang buhay; nawa ang taong ito ay manatiling hindi nasasaktan, at higit pa rito, nawa siya ay huwag maging maputla ni maninilaw.
Mantra 3
या रोहि॑णीर्देव॒त्या॒३ गावो॒ या उ॒त रोहि॑णीः । रू॒पंरू॑पं वयो॑वय॒स्ताभि॑ष्ट्वा॒ परि॑ दध्मसि
Ang mga bakaing Rohini na pinagkakalooban ng diyos, at ang mga baka na siyang mga Rohini, anyo sa ibabaw ng anyo, edad sa ibabaw ng edad, sa pamamagitan ng mga ito ay inilalagay namin sa paligid mo.
Mantra 4
शुके॑षु ते हरि॒माणं॑ रोप॒णाका॑सु दध्मसि । अथो॒ हारि॑द्रवेषु ते हरि॒माणं॒ नि द॑ध्मसि
Sa mga halamang suka para sa iyo ay inilalagay namin ang paninilaw; sa mga halamang ropanaka ay itinanim namin ito. At higit pa rito, sa mga kasuotang dilaw-dilaw na turmerik para sa iyo ay inilalagay namin ang paninilaw.
Inside Sukta 22
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by aligning the cure with Sūrya’s rising and by commanding the harimā́ to go forth from the patient (notably from the heart-region).
- What it asks
That the patient’s yellowness be removed and relocated into external carriers (plants/yellow media), while the patient is re-covered with the auspicious red hue for health and longevity.
- Where its power lies
The mantra asserts efficacy through colour-logic and binding: ‘we set/establish’ (dadhmasi/ni dadhmasi) the desired state around the patient and ‘place down and away’ the disease into substitutes.
- How it closes
It seals the transformation as a stable condition: the person should be arapāḥ (unharmed) and not a-harita (not pale/yellowed), with dīrghāyutva established around them.
Famous verses
anu sūryam udayatām … harimā ca te
pari tvā rohitair varṇair dīrghāyutvāya dadhmasi
harimāṇaṃ … hāridraveṣu … ni dadhmasi
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Paustika (Long-life, vitality)
What it is for
Removal of jaundice-like yellowness and heart-affliction, stabilization of healthy complexion, and establishment of long-lived protective vitality around the recipient.
Who it is for
Household ritualists and Atharvanic practitioners treating visible wasting/yellowing conditions; also caregivers seeking a paustika longevity-seal for a convalescent.
Also used as
- Paustika
- Shāntika (appeasement/averting inauspicious bodily signs)
The deity
Āyus and Varṇa function here as operative powers: longevity, bodily integrity, and the visible sign of health (a stable, ruddy complexion). Sūrya is invoked as the natural force that “raises” and clears, while Harimā́ is treated as a transferable, personified affliction to be displaced into external substrates.
Powers of the deity
- Restores long life (dīrghāyutva) and vitality
- Repels/relocates harimā́ (jaundice/yellowness) from the body
- Re-establishes auspicious red coloration as a protective counter-state
- Uses solar alignment (sunrise imagery) to activate cleansing and renewal
- Protects from injury/affliction (arapāḥ: ‘unhurt, unharmed’)
Why the deity is called
To expel the disease-essence of yellowness and replace it with a ritually installed, health-bearing redness—thereby making the patient ‘unharmed’ and free from pallor/yellowing.
The seer
- Atharvanic (anukramaṇī-variant attribution)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya and paustika charms: expelling embodied disease-entities (e.g., harimā́), restoring vitality/complexion, and sealing protection through binding/encircling rites (pari-).
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 1.23 (adjacent healing/colour-and-disease removal complex, tradition-dependent)
- AV 2.9 (healing/transference style, Atharvanic corpus)
- AV 6.127 (harimā/jaundice-removal theme, broader Atharvanic bhaiṣajya tradition)
Preparing for the rite
- Choose a clean, quiet place; seat the patient facing east if possible.
- Collect red-hued material for ‘rohitá-varṇa’ (red thread/cloth/dye) to serve as the encircling charm-medium.
- Prepare plant receptacles named/understood as śuká (pale/bright plants) and ropāṇakā (regenerative/healing growths); keep a yellow medium (hāridra—turmeric or turmeric-dyed cloth) ready as a sink for harimā́.
- If following solar imagery, begin at or just before sunrise; ensure the patient is calm and warmed.
The rite
- Recite while ritually ‘encompassing’ (pari-) the patient with the red material—tying/binding lightly or circling the body/head as local practice allows.
- On verses that target harimā́, perform a symbolic transfer: touch the patient (especially chest/heart region) and then touch/place the affliction into the plant receptacles and/or turmeric-yellow medium, as if depositing it away.
- Conclude by reaffirming dīrghāyutva (long life) and the state of being arapāḥ (unhurt), leaving the red binding/amulet in place for a set period (e.g., a day/night cycle) per custom.
What it needs
- Red thread/cloth/dye (rohitá-varṇa), ideally associated with ‘red cow’ symbolism
- Śuká-plants (pale/bright vegetal receptacles; locally identified suitable plants)
- Ropāṇakā plants (healing/regenerative herbs; locally identified)
- Hāridra (turmeric or turmeric-dyed cloth/objects)
When
Preferably at sunrise (sūryodaya) or early morning during convalescence; can be repeated for several days until the yellowing abates.
The main substance
Rohitá (red) binding/covering as the main protective counter-colour medium
Herbs
- Śuká-plants (pale/bright plant receptacles)
- Ropāṇakā (healing/regenerative plants)
- Hāridra (turmeric; also turmeric-dyed cloth as colour-medium)
Amulets
- Red thread/cord (to bind lightly on arm/waist/neck as customary)
- Red cloth wrap or small red pouch containing a pinch of turmeric/selected herb (local practice)
How it is prepared
Prepare a red cord/cloth for encircling; keep turmeric (or turmeric-dyed cloth) and chosen plant receptacles nearby. During recitation, symbolically ‘lift’ harimā́ from the patient by touch and ‘place it’ into the plant/turmeric media, then leave the red binding in place as the installed varṇa of health.
Frequently Asked Questions
It targets harimā́—‘yellowness’ associated with jaundice/weakness and inauspicious pallor—and seeks to restore a stable, healthy complexion and long life.
Yellow is treated as the disease-sign to be transferred out, while red (rohitá) is installed as the counter-sign of health and vitality, ritually ‘encircling’ the patient as protection.
The hymn uses transference: the practitioner symbolically deposits the patient’s harimā́ into plant receptacles and turmeric-yellow media, so the affliction leaves the body and is ‘laid down and away’ elsewhere.
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