Atharva Veda 18.2.44 — Kanda 18, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 44

Sukta 2

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

समि॒मां मात्रां॑ मिमीमहे॒ यथाप॑रं॒ न मासा॑तै । श॒ते श॒रत्सु॒ नो पु॒रा

IAST Transliteration

sám imā́ṃ mā́trāṃ mimīmahe yáthā́paraṃ ná mā́sātai | śaté śarátsu no purā́ ||

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

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.

Word by Word

• सम्: together; completely (prefix to the verb)
• सम्: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् (उपसर्ग) / सम् (अव्यय)

• इमाम्: this (f.)
• इमाम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• मात्राम्: measure; fixed portion/limit
• मात्राम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)

• मिमीमहे: we measure; we determine
• मिमीमहे: Kartā
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मा (माने/मितौ) — ‘to measure’

• यथा: so that; as
• यथा: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)

• अपरम्: further; subsequent; another
• अपरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)

• न: not
• न: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)

• मासातै: may it not overpass the months; may it not exceed month by month
• मासातै: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक) + अतय्/अति (गत्यर्थ/अतिक्रमणार्थ) → मासाति ‘to pass beyond months’ (वैदिक)

• शते: in a hundred
• शते: Adhikaraṇa
• Type: Numeral/Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)

• शरत्सु: in (many) autumns/years
• शरत्सु: Adhikaraṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरद् (प्रातिपदिक)

• नः: of us; for us
• नः: Sampradāna
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• पुरा: formerly; before; in earlier time
• पुरा: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)

Attribution

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)

Mantra Rasa

Primary: karuna

Secondary: shanta