Sukta 59
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (anonymous/collective)
Devata: Oṣadhi (Arundhatī) as a personified healing/protective power
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh-like (AV domestic-healing style)
Mantras
Mantra 1
औषधिः। अ॒न॒डुद्भ्य॒स्त्वं प्र॑थ॒मं धे॒नुभ्य॒स्त्वम॑रुन्धति । अधे॑नवे॒ वय॑से॒ शर्म॑ यच्छ॒ चतु॑ष्पदे
For the oxen thou art first; for the milch-cows thou, O Arundhatī. Grant shelter to the non-milking one, to the young, to the four-footed herd.
Mantra 2
शर्म॑ यच्छ॒त्वोष॑धिः स॒ह दे॒वीर॑रुन्ध॒ती। कर॒त् पय॑स्वन्तं गो॒ष्ठम॑य॒क्ष्मां उ॒त पूरु॑षान्
Let the herb, Arundhatī, together with the goddess-herbs, grant protection; let her make the cowshed rich in milk, free from wasting sickness, and men as well.
Mantra 3
वि॒श्वरू॑पां सु॒भगा॑म॒च्छाव॑दामि जीव॒लाम्। सा नो॑ रु॒द्रस्या॒स्तां हे॒तिं दू॒रं न॑यतु॒ गोभ्यः॑
To the all-formed, the auspicious, the life-bestowing, I utter speech hitherward: may she for us drive far away from the kine that missile of Rudra.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here Arundhatī is a personified healing herb (oṣadhi), treated as an auspicious, life-giving protective power that safeguards the herd and the cowshed.
Both. It primarily protects cattle and increases milk-yield, but it also asks that the cowshed be free from yákṣma (wasting sickness) and that human members of the household be protected too.
It is a Vedic image for a sudden, dangerous strike—often understood as murrain, epidemic affliction, or abrupt cattle-death—sent away from the herd through Arundhatī’s protective agency and the mantra’s command.
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