Atharva Veda 13.3.9: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 9
Sukta 3
कृ॒ष्णं नि॒यानं॒ हर॑यः सुप॒र्णा अ॒पो वसा॑ना॒ दिव॒मुत् पत॑न्ति । त आव॑वृत्र॒न्त्सद॑नादृ॒तस्य॒ तस्य॑ दे॒वस्य॑ । क्रु॒द्धस्यै॒तदागो॒ य ए॒वं वि॒द्वांसं॑ ब्राह्म॒णं जि॒नाति॑ । उद् वेपय रोहित॒ प्र क्षि॑णीहि ब्रह्म॒ज्यस्य॒ प्रति॑ मुञ्च॒ पाशा॑न्
kṛṣṇáṃ niyā́naṃ háryaḥ supárṇā ápo vásānā dívaṃ úd pátanti | té āvavṛ́tran sádānād ṛtásya tásya devásya | kruddhásyaitád ā́go yá eváṃ vidvā́ṃsaṃ brāhmaṇáṃ jinā́ti | úd vepaya rohita prá kṣiṇīhi brahmajyásya práti muñca pā́śān
The tawny, fair-winged (ones), clothed in Waters, fly up to heaven, (breaking) the black down-leading constraint. They have encompassed (it) from the seat of ṛta—of that God. This is the offence against that wrathful God, whoso thus wrongs a knowing Brahmin. Make him quake, O Rohita; waste him away; against the Brahmin-hurter loose back the nooses.
Những kẻ màu hung vàng, cánh đẹp (suparṇa), khoác lấy các Nước, bay vút lên trời, phá tan sự ràng buộc đen tối kéo xuống. Từ chỗ ngồi của ṛta (trật tự chân thật), họ đã bao bọc (điều ấy)—đối với vị thần ấy. Kẻ nào làm hại một Bà-la-môn thông tri như vậy, ấy là tội xúc phạm vị thần đang phẫn nộ kia. Hỡi Rohita, hãy làm hắn run rẩy; hãy làm hắn hao mòn; đối với kẻ hại Bà-la-môn, hãy thả trả lại những thòng lọng (pāśa).
The meaning
What it says
Tawny, fair-winged beings, clothed in the Waters, fly up to heaven, breaking the black downward-leading constraint; from the seat of ṛta they have encompassed it—of that God. Wronging a knowing Brahmin is an offense against that wrathful God. Rohita is commanded to make the offender quake, waste away, and to return the nooses upon the Brahmin-hurter.
The inner meaning
The psyche rises when purified (waters as garment) and when oppressive ‘down-leading’ habits (dark constraint) are broken. Attacking a knower is attacking the principle that liberates from downward pull; the result is re-binding and depletion.
The truth in it
Forces that elevate life—truth, purification, right order—undo oppressive constraints; hostility toward them rebounds as renewed bondage.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Punitive) with cosmological legitimation (ṛta imagery)
Its aim
To reverse oppressive bonds and impose divine fetters on the Brahmin-injurer; to invoke solar/ṛta forces as witnesses and agents.
Word by Word
Pada patha
कृष्णम् । नियानम् । हरयः । सुपर्णाः । अपः । वसानाः । दिवम् । उत् । पतन्ति । ते । आववृत्रन् । सदनात् । ऋतस्य । तस्य । देवस्य । क्रुद्धस्य । एतत् । आगः । यः । एवम् । विद्वांसम् । ब्राह्मणम् । जिनाति । उत् । वेपय । रोहित । प्र । क्षिणीहि । ब्रह्मज्यस्य । प्रति । मुञ्च । पाशान्
- कृष्णम्
- black, darkblack/dark (darkness as covering/evil; or the dark enclosure to be broken)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (वर्ण्य-वस्तु/लक्ष्य)Root कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- नियानम्
- leading/guide; course, directionleading down/constraint (a ‘down-leading’ bond; oppressive condition)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot नियान (प्रातिपदिक; नि-√या/√यम्-सम्बद्ध नाम)
- हरयः
- the tawny ones; bay steedsthe tawny ones (often solar horses/rays; swift agents)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
- सुपर्णाः
- having good wings; wingedfair-winged (bird-like; rays/horses imagined as winged)Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (हरयः-विशेषणम्)Root सुपर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- अपः
- watersNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वसानाः
- wearing, clothed (in)wearing, clothed in (invested with)Participleप्रथमा, बहुवचन (कर्तृ-सामानाधिकरण)Role कर्तृ-विशेषणम्Root √वस् (आच्छादने) → वसाना (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
- दिवम्
- heaven, the skyto heaven/the sky (upward realm)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/गति-लक्ष्यRoot दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
- उत्
- up, forthupIndeclinableउपसर्ग (गत्यर्थे)Root उत् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- पतन्ति
- they fly, they fall/soarthey fly (rise swiftly)Verbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √पत् (गत्यर्थे)
- ते
- theyPronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- आ
- towards, untoIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- ववृत्रन्त्
- they turned/rolled/encircledVerb (finite, Vedic perfect-type form)लिट् (वैदिक), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √वृत् (वर्तने/आवरणे) → ववृत्रन्त् (लिट्/परस्मैपद-प्रयोगः; वैदिक रूप)
- सदनात्
- from the seat/dwellingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole अपादानRoot सदन (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order/truth)of ṛta (cosmic truth/order; juridical rightness)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्य
- of thatPronounपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- देवस्य
- of the godNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- क्रुद्धस्य
- of the angry oneof the wrathful oneAdjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (देवस्य-विशेषणम्)Role सम्बन्धRoot √क्रुध् (कोपे) → क्रुद्ध (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
- एतत्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/विषयRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम)
- आगः
- sin, offenseoffenseNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/विषयRoot आगस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- यः
- whowhoeverPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम)
- एवम्
- thusIndeclinableरीतौRoot एवम् (अव्यय)
- विद्वांसम्
- a knowing one, learnedlearned oneParticiple (substantive)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot √विद् (ज्ञाने) → विद्वांस् (वत्/वांस्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
- ब्राह्मणम्
- a BrahminBrahminNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (विद्वांसम्-समनाधिकरण)Root ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
- जिनाति
- overpowers, harms, defeatsinjuresVerbलट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √जि (जय/अभिभवे) / वैदिक √जिन् (हिंसने/अभिभवे)
- उत्
- up, forthforthIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot उत् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वेपय
- make (him/it) tremblemake trembleVerb (imperative)लोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आज्ञा)Root √विप्/√वेप् (कम्पने) → वेपय (णिच्-आदेश; causative)
- रोहित
- O RohitaNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक; देवता/अश्व-नाम)
- प्र
- forth, forwardintenselyIndeclinableउपसर्गRoot प्र (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- क्षिणीहि
- destroy, diminishwaste awayVerb (imperative)लोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आज्ञा)Root √क्षि (क्षये/हिंसायाम्) → क्षिणीहि (वैदिक लोट्-रूप)
- ब्रह्मज्यस्य
- of the brahma-slayer / Brahmin-harmerof the Brahmin-hurterNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot ब्रह्मज्य (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्मन्+ज्या ‘bowstring’ → ‘Brahmin-slayer/one who harms brahman’)
- प्रति
- against, backback uponIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- मुञ्च
- release, let loosereleaseVerb (imperative)लोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (आज्ञा)Root √मुच् (मोचने)
- पाशान्
- nooses, bondsnoosesNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot पाश (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- कृष्णम् नियानम् | हरयः सुपर्णाः | अपः वसानाः | दिवम् उत् पतन्ति | ते आ ववृत्रन्त् सदनात् ऋतस्य | तस्य देवस्य (क्रुद्धस्य) | एतत् आगः | यः एवम् विद्वांसम् ब्राह्मणम् जिनाति | उत् वेपय रोहित | प्र क्षिणीहि | ब्रह्मज्यस्य प्रति मुञ्च पाशान् । विशेष:
- (1) ‘दिवमुत्’ = दिवम् + उत् (उपसर्ग-सन्निकर्ष)
- (2) ‘त आववृत्रन्त्’ = ते + आ + ववृत्रन्त् (आ-उपसर्गयुक्त वैदिक लिट्-रूप)
- (3) ‘क्रुद्धस्यैतदागो’ = क्रुद्धस्य + एतत् + आगः (सन्धि-लोप/संयोग)
- (4) ‘य एवं’ = यः + एवम् (विसर्ग-लोप)
- (5) ‘उद् वेपय’ = उत् + वेपय (उपसर्ग)
- (6) ‘प्र क्षिणीहि’ = प्र + क्षिणीहि (उपसर्ग)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic/Angirasa (needs anukramaṇī).
- Devata
- Solar/ṛta upholder (implicit) and Rohita addressed.
- Chandas
- To be confirmed by scan.
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Raudra
Sāyaṇa takes the imagery as solar/ṛtaic: ‘harayaḥ supaṛṇāḥ’ are the tawny rays/horses that ascend, ‘clothed in waters’ (purity, rain-cloud brilliance), overcoming a ‘kṛṣṇa niyāna’—a dark, downward-leading bondage. From the ‘seat of ṛta’ they establish order; thus the same deity, when angered by Brahmin-injury, sends binding nooses back upon the offender.
Unknown (Anukramaṇī attribution needed; Atharvanic unit with Angirasa punitive refrain)
Cosmological-legal charm: liberation imagery (waters/wings) used to authorize punitive reversal against brahma-violence.
Shows a characteristic Atharvan strategy: depict cosmic liberation (ascending, purified powers) and then weaponize that authority as juridical punishment.
Ṛta-upholding solar power (implicit Āditya complex) with Rohita as addressed agent
Breaks downward-binding darkness and restores ascent to heaven; witnesses and enforces moral order.
Purificatory ascent (waters) and punitive binding (pāśa-return) for defense of brahman.
Triṣṭubh-like (needs confirmation by metrical scan)
4 pādas with a long mythic-cosmological opening and a fixed refrain.
Formulaic refrain may compress/expand syllables; oral transmission favors semantic cadence over strict count.
Swift ascensional imagery followed by heavy, binding imperatives.
Feels like ‘release’ then ‘reversal’: liberation for ṛta, constriction for the offender.
Recite while facing upward (divam ut patanti) or lifting the cord/noose to symbolize ascent and reversal of ‘down-leading’ constraint.
Perform a circling gesture (āvavṛtran) around the protected Brahmin/altar-seat to mark the ‘seat of ṛta’.
Release/throw the cord symbolically toward the offender (prati muñca pāśān).
Kauśika Sūtra: counter-binding and curse-return rites (edition-dependent).
Atharvan priest as operator of spatial gestures (circling, lifting) that enact the verse’s ascent-and-reversal logic.
Recited to counter oppressive bonds (social/ritual) and to protect a household’s ritual specialist or teacher figure.
At dawn or near water (symbolic alignment with āpaḥ), then followed by calmer śānti recitation.
Atharvan reciter frames the offense and ‘returns’ the binding.
May be used as a symbolic ‘release from coercion’ prayer with emphasis on purification rather than cursing.
āpaḥ (waters as garment/purifier); kṛṣṇa (darkness as binding condition); pāśa (noose)
āpaḥ (waters as garment/purifier)
Waters function as the purifying ‘covering’ enabling ascent; darkness is the constricting medium; the pāśa is the juridical tool that can be redirected.
Protective-psychological parallel: breaking coercive control and returning consequences to an abuser (ethical boundary ritual).
brahmajya
Break oppressive constraint and re-bind the wrongdoer; enforce ṛta against the Brahmin-injurer.
Mythic precedent (breaking the dark down-leading bond) + invocation of ṛta-seat as tribunal + imperative punishment + pāśa reversal.
Oppression, slander, ritual injustice, coercion against a learned person.
- kṛṣṇa
- downward inertia, ignorance, oppressive compulsion
- niyāna
- decline-patterns; entropic drift of unethical action
- harayaḥ supaṛṇāḥ
- solar/ascensional powers; liberating impulses
- āpaḥ vasanāḥ
- purification as protection; cleansed speech and intent
- divam ut patanti
- release from bondage; upward movement of consciousness
- ṛtasya sadana
- the grounding of truth-order from which judgment proceeds
- pāśa
- consequence that binds; social-ritual sanction
Observe the ‘down-leading’ tendencies (niyāna) and visualize their breakage through purification and upward attention.
viśuddha
Slow inhale imagining ‘waters clothing the breath’; exhale releasing the dark band; keep punitive refrain mental only if agitation rises.
Golden-winged forces rise through a stream of water-light; a dark chain snaps; a noose returns to harmful intent (not to persons).
Uplift (utthāna) anchored in ethical clarity.
Use as a practice of disentanglement from coercive dynamics while maintaining respect for learning and truth.
Maintain a lighter lift on divam ut patanti; deepen tone on kruddhasya etad āgaḥ; crisp imperatives at the end.
Do not rush the opening imagery; pause before the refrain to mark the shift from mythic scene to juridical sentence.
Bright in the opening, stern in the refrain.
If used for protection rather than harm, soften the final imperatives by reciting them mentally while voicing the ethical indictment aloud.
3 times
When facing oppressive social pressure, unjust constraint, or intimidation—especially involving a spiritual/educational authority figure.
After washing hands/face (water cue), recite once slowly; repeat only if calm and ethically clear.
Sense of release from ‘down-leading’ fear; strengthened boundaries and confidence in truth-order.
Avoid weaponizing against vulnerable persons; keep focus on ending oppression, not escalating conflict.
No plant; instead, ‘waters’ function as a purificatory medium and ‘dark constraint’ as the pathological/binding condition. The rite is semiotic: ascent and circling replace pharmacology.
Cosmic order (ṛta) is mobilized to protect Brahmin status; the offender is cast as anti-ṛta, legitimating coercive punishment.
The solar-horse/ray imagery is RV-like, but its embedding in a legal-curse refrain is Atharvanic. The compound-like ‘niyāna’ in a binding sense fits Atharvanic coercive semantics.
Gopatha’s emphasis on ṛta and brahman as enforceable order supports reading the solar/ṛta scene as a warrant: the same forces that restore cosmic order restore social-ritual order by punishing Brahmin-injury.
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.
