Atharva Veda 4.13.5: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 13, Mantra 5
Sukta 13
आ त्वा॑गमं॒ शंता॑तिभि॒रथो॑ अरि॒ष्टता॑तिभिः । दक्षं॑ त उ॒ग्रमाभा॑रिषं॒ परा॒ यक्ष्मं॑ सुवामि ते
ā tvā́gamam śáṃtātibhir átho ariṣṭátātibhiḥ | dákṣaṃ ta ugrám ā́bhāriṣam párā yákṣmaṃ suvāmi te
Hither have I come unto thee with bestowals of peace, yea, with bestowals of unhurt security. For thee have I brought strong, vigorous power: from thee I drive the wasting Yakṣma far away.
Ta đến với ngươi cùng những sự ban phát an hòa, lại cùng những sự ban phát an ổn không tổn hại. Vì ngươi, ta đem đến sức lực mạnh mẽ, dữ dội (dákṣa); ta xua Yakṣma—chứng hao mòn—ra xa khỏi ngươi.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages; specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
Devata: Bhaiṣajya/Healing power; anti-Yakṣma efficacy (yakṣma as the adversary)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant in this healing sequence)
Primary: shanta
Secondary: vira
Śaṃtāti and ariṣṭatāti are taken as ‘bestowals’ (tāti) of śam (appeasement/wholeness) and ariṣṭa (uninjuredness), i.e., protective agencies accompanying the Atharvan’s approach. Dakṣa is glossed as bodily and ritual vigor (balam/śakti) made ‘ugra’ to overpower disease. ‘Parā…suvāmi’ is expulsion: the mantra is a verbal act of driving yakṣma out from the patient’s body and sphere.
Expulsion of yakṣma (wasting/consumption) and installation of protective vigor and well-being in the patient.
Yakṣma (wasting/consumption; often mapped to chronic debilitating illnesses, including pulmonary wasting in later interpretation).
Pacification + empowerment: establish peace/safety, then install dakṣa (vital competence) and verbally expel yakṣma.
Yakṣma aligns with dhātu-kṣaya (tissue depletion) and often vāta aggravation; therapy emphasizes balya (strengthening) and ojas restoration.
Supportive ritual for chronic fatigue/consumptive conditions (e.g., TB history, cachexia, chronic inflammatory disease) alongside medical care; also relevant to burnout recovery framing.
bhaisajya
Yakṣma personified as wasting adversary
To remove yakṣma far away and establish peace, security, and vigorous strength in the patient.
Approach-with-gifts formula + installation of power (ā-bhāriṣam) + expulsion (parā… suvāmi).
Relapse, debility, fear, vulnerability to further illness
The speaker approaches the patient bearing ‘bestowals of peace’ and ‘unhurt security,’ brings strong power (dakṣa ugram), and drives yakṣma (wasting disease) far away.
Healing begins by establishing safety and reassurance (śaṃtāti, ariṣṭatāti), then installing vitality/competence (dakṣa) so the mind-body can expel the wasting pattern.
Restoration is not only removal of illness but the active installation of peace, safety, and strength; absence of harm must be replaced with presence of vigor.
- śaṃtāti
- Pacification field; nervous-system settling
- ariṣṭatāti
- Protective immunity; ‘nothing will break you’ assurance
- dakṣa
- Organizing intelligence of healing; metabolic and moral vigor
- ugra
- Decisive therapeutic force that confronts disease
- yakṣma
- Consumption—chronic depletion, despair, lingering infection
Receive peace and unhurt security; then visualize expelling the wasting shadow beyond the perimeter of the breath.
anahata
Soothing inhale on śaṃtāti/ariṣṭatāti; stronger exhale on parā yakṣmaṃ suvāmi.
A warm protective field settles over the body; a gray wasting mist is guided out with the exhale and dissolves at a distance.
Calm determination.
Chant 12 times daily for a cycle of 7 days as supportive practice, paired with nourishment, rest, and medical adherence.
Even, calming tone in first half; slightly stronger pitch/force on ‘parā yakṣmaṃ’ phrase.
Keep compound abstracts clear: śaṃ-tāti-bhiḥ, ariṣṭa-tāti-bhiḥ; do not rush the final expulsion verb suvāmi.
Maintain retroflex ṭ in ariṣṭa, Keep dakṣa with clear kṣ cluster, Suvāmi: long ā, not short a
Warm, reassuring; final line firm but not harsh.
Best paired with the subsequent hand-consecration (4.13.6) as a ritual sequence: pacify → empower touch → apply.
12
Chronic wasting, prolonged convalescence, frailty, burnout-like depletion in caregiving contexts.
At the beginning of daily care; when patient feels unsafe or discouraged; before therapeutic touch.
Traditional yakṣma-expulsion; increased calm, hope, and felt vigor; supportive adherence to recovery routines.
Not a substitute for diagnosis/treatment of TB, cancer, or chronic disease; seek professional care for weight loss, fever, cough, night sweats.
पदच्छेदः: आ | त्वा | अगमम् | शं-तातिभिः | अथो | अरिष्ट-तातिभिः | दक्षम् | ते | उग्रम् | आ | अभारिषम् | परा | यक्ष्मम् | सुवामि | ते । 1) त्वा॑गमम् = त्वा + अगमम् (स्वर-सन्धि/अजादि-सन्धि; आ + अ → आ). 2) शंता॑तिभिः, अरि॒ष्टता॑तिभिः: समास/प्रातिपदिक-रूप ‘ताति’ (रक्षण/प्राप्ति/वृद्धि-भाव) के साथ तृतीया बहुवचन. 3) उ॒ग्रमाभा॑रिषम् = उग्रम् + आ + अभारिषम् (म् + आ → माभा…; उपसर्ग ‘आ-’ धातु √भृ के साथ). 4) परा यक्ष्मं: ‘परा’ उपसर्गवत् ‘सुवामि’ के अर्थ को ‘अपसारण’ की ओर ले जाता है (पदपाठ में पृथक्).
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.
