Ayushya Mantras of Atharvaveda (अथर्ववेदे आयुष्यमंत्रः)
The Ayushya mantras of the Atharvaveda Samhita primarily focus on the invocation of longevity, vitality, health and protection from disease. These mantras are reflective of the Vedic understanding of life and well-being as a divine blessing, where longevity is intricately connected with cosmic harmony, moral conduct and divine grace.
Location of the Ayushya mantras
The Ayushya mantras are primarily located in the following sections of the Atharvaveda:
- Atharvaveda 3.11.1-8: This hymn is dedicated to granting a long life (aayus). It appeals to divine forces to extend human life, ensuring strength, vitality and freedom from disease. The mantra seeks blessings from celestial entities such as Heaven and Earth, the Waters and the Sun. The mantras of the hymn are as below:
मुञ्चामि त्वा हविषा जीवनाय कमज्ञातयक्ष्मादुत राजयक्ष्मात्। ग्राहि॑र्जग्राह यद्येतदेनं तस्या इन्द्राग्नी प्र मुमुक्तमेनम् ॥ 1॥[1] muñcāmi tvā haviṣā jīvanāya kamajñātayakṣmāduta rājayakṣmāt| grāhirjagrāha yadyetadenaṃ tasyā indrāgnī pra mumuktamenam ||
Meaning: O creature! I deliver you, with devotion happily for life, from this unmanifest and royal disease. O Sun and Fire! you deliver this creature from the gripping pain [arthritis] which he has at this time.[2]
यदि क्षितायुर्यदि वा परेतो यदि मृत्योरन्तिकं नीत एव। तमा हरामि निरृतेरुपस्थादस्पार्षमेनं शतशारदाय ॥ 2॥ yadi kṣitāyuryadi vā pareto yadi mṛtyorantikaṃ nīta eva| tamā harāmi nirṛterupasthādaspārṣamenaṃ śataśāradāya ||
Meaning: I bring him back from the lap of broken life, or fracture of limbs, or death or pandemic and strengthen for a hundred autumns.
सहस्राक्षेण शतवीर्येण शतायुषा हविषाहार्षमेनम्। इन्द्रो यथै॑नं शरदो नयात्यति विश्वस्य दुरितस्य पारम् ॥ 3॥sahasrākṣeṇa śatavīryeṇa śatāyuṣā haviṣāhārṣamenam| indro yathainaṃ śarado nayātyati viśvasya duritasya pāram ||
Meaning: I have raised this soul having thousands of eyes, hundreds of powers, hundreds of life-forces by self-giving or devotion. So that Indra enables this body to cross every trouble and reach the autumn seasons.
शतं जीव शरदो वर्धमानः शतं हेमन्तान्छतमु वसन्तान्। शतं त इन्द्रो अग्निः सविता बृहस्पतिः शतायुषा हविषाहार्षमेनम् ॥ 4॥ śataṃ jīva śarado vardhamānaḥ śataṃ hemantānchatamu vasantān| śataṃ ta indro agniḥ savitā bṛhaspatiḥ śatāyuṣā haviṣāhārṣamenam ||
Meaning: Growing, may you live for a hundred autumns, for a hundred winters and hundred springs. I have channelized in many ways with devotion, the mighty, brilliant, the ruler of all, protector of the great for your hundreds of life-forces.
प्र विशतं प्राणापानावनड्वाहाविव व्रजम्। व्यन्ये यन्तु मृत्यवो यानाहुरितरान्छतम् ॥ 5॥ pra viśataṃ prāṇāpānāvanaḍvāhāviva vrajam| vyanye yantu mṛtyavo yān āhur itarān chatam ||
Meaning: O breath, enter into this body like the two oxen carrying chariots in the cowshed. They told other hundred kinds of causes of death which go upside down.
इहैव स्तं प्राणापानौ माप गातमितो युवम्। शरीरमस्याङ्गानि जरसे वहतं पुनः ॥ 6॥ ihaiva staṃ prāṇāpānau māpa gātamito yuvam| śarīramasyāṅgāni jarase vahataṃ punaḥ || 6||
Meaning: O breath! May both of you remain in this only, do not go away from this. Both of you must take the body and its parts of this creature for praise.
जरायै त्वा परि ददामि जरायै नि धुवामि त्वा। जरा त्वा भद्रा नेष्ट व्यन्ये यन्तु मृत्यवो यानाहुरितरान्छतम् ॥ 7॥ jarāyai tvā pari dadāmi jarāyai ni dhuvāmi tvā| jarā tvā bhadrā neṣṭa vyanye yantu mṛtyavo yānāhuritarānchatam || 7||
Meaning: O creature! I give you in all ways to obtain praise. I beseech you for praise. Your praise brings many pleasures. Other causes of death go upside down and they describe a hundred kinds of those destroyers of desires [deaths].
अभि त्वा जरिमाहित गामुक्षणमिव रज्ज्वा। यस्त्वा मृत्युरभ्यधत्त जायमानं सुपाशया। तं ते सत्यस्य हस्ताभ्यामुदमुञ्चद्बृहस्पतिः ॥8॥ abhi tvā jarimāhita gāmukṣaṇamiva rajjvā| yastvā mṛtyurabhyadhatta jāyamānaṃ supāśayā| taṃ te satyasya hastābhyāmudamuñcadbṛhaspatiḥ ||8||
Meaning: From birth, man, through God-given knowledge and the protection and teachings of learned men, is freed from calamities such as hunger, thirst, and disease, and then proceeds with both hands—that is, in every possible way—to practice righteousness.
These mantras invoke the divine physicians, the Ashvins and other deities to bestow life-sustaining strength, reflecting the interplay between ritual and health.
2. Atharvaveda 7.53.1-5: This hymn explicitly prays for health and longevity, emphasizing the importance of harmony within the body and the external world. It invokes divine guardians to protect the vital breath (prana) and extend one’s years on earth. The five mantras are presented below for perusal.
अमुत्रभूयादधि यद्यमस्य बृहस्पतेरभिशस्तेरमुञ्चः। प्रत्यौहतामश्विना मृत्युमस्मद्देवानामग्ने भिषजा शचीभिः ॥ 1॥amutrabhūyādadhi yadyamasya bṛhaspaterabhiśasteramuñcaḥ| pratyauhatāmaśvinā mṛtyumasmaddevānāmagne bhiṣajā śacībhiḥ ||
Meaning: O all-pervading God! The reason for which you have rightly delivered us from the fear of the Hereafter and the protector of the elders, the regulator of the king and crime. Parents in the form of a physician among the learned have removed adversely death [suffering caused by death] from us by actions.
सं क्रामतं मा जहीतं शरी॑रं प्राणापानौ ते सयुजाविह स्ताम्। शतं जीव शरदो वर्धमानोऽग्निष्टे गोपा अधिपा वसिष्ठः ॥ 2॥saṃ krāmataṃ mā jahītaṃ śarīraṃ prāṇāpānau te sayujāviha stām| śataṃ jīva śarado vardhamāno'gniṣṭe gopā adhipā vasiṣṭhaḥ ||
Meaning: O life and breath! You two go together and do not leave the body. O man ! They both remain united for you here for a hundred years. May you live growing. May the all-pervading God be your excellent protector.
आयुर्यत्ते अतिहितं पराचैरपानः प्राणः पुनरा ताविताम्। अग्निष्टदाहार्निरृतेरुपस्थात्तदात्मनि पुनरा वेशयामि ते ॥ 3॥āyuryatte atihitaṃ parācairapānaḥ prāṇaḥ punarā tāvitām| agniṣṭadāhārnirṛterupasthāttadātmani punarā veśayāmi te ||
Meaning: O man! Let those two - life-force and exhalation come again to turn away your decreasing life-forces. May the physician or the fire of the body bring back that life from the great calamity and enter it in your body again.
मेमं प्राणो हासीन्मो अपानो᳡वहाय परा गात्। सप्तर्षिभ्य एनं परि ददामि ते एनं स्वस्ति जरसे वहन्तु ॥ 4॥ memaṃ prāṇo hāsīnmo apāno vahāya parā gāt| saptarṣibhya enaṃ pari dadāmi te enaṃ svasti jarase vahantu ||
Meaning: May the inhalation and exhalation of this not leave and go away. I offer this being to the seven pervading or seers [i.e. skin, eyes, ears, tongue, nose, mind and intellect]. May they carry it with joy for praise.
प्र विषतं प्राणापानावनड्वाहाविव व्रजम्। अयं जरिम्णः शेवधिररिष्ट इह वर्धताम् ॥ 5॥ pra viṣataṃ prāṇāpānāvanaḍvāhāviva vrajam| ayaṃ jarimṇaḥ śevadhirariṣṭa iha vardhatām || 5||
Meaning: O life and breath! You two enter, just as two oxen carrying a chariot enter the cowshed. May this being, the treasure of praise, being free from suffering grow here. 3. Atharvaveda 19.67: This section with eight mantras provides a broader invocation for vitality and enduring health. It connects the individual’s lifespan to universal balance and the sustenance of life through cosmic rhythms. The mantras are presented below.
पश्येम शरदः शतम् ॥ 1॥ paśyema śaradaḥ śatam || 1||
Meaning: Let us continue to watch for a hundred years.
जीवेम शरदः शतम् ॥ 2॥ jīvema śaradaḥ śatam ||
Meaning: May we live for a hundred years.
बुध्येम शरदः शतम् ॥ 3॥ budhyema śaradaḥ śatam ||
Meaning: May we understand for a hundred years.
रोहेम शरदः शतम् ॥ 4॥ rohema śaradaḥ śatam || 4||
Meaning: May we continue to ascend for a hundred years.
पूषेम शरदः शतम् ॥ 5॥ pūṣema śaradaḥ śatam || 5||
Meaning: May we remain strong and healthy for a hundred years.
भवेम शरदः शतम् ॥ 6॥ bhavema śaradaḥ śatam || 6||
Meaning: May we live for a hundred years.
भूयेम शरदः शतम् ॥ 7॥ bhūyema śaradaḥ śatam || 7||
Meaning: May we remain pure for a hundred years.
भूयसीः शरदः शतात् ॥ 8॥ bhūyasīḥ śaradaḥ śatāt || 8||
Meaning: May we continue for more than a hundred years.
Theme of the Ayushya mantras
- Integration of Divine Forces: The Ayushya mantras often invoke natural and divine entities such as the Sun (Surya), the Waters (Apas) and the Wind (Vayu), emphasizing their vital roles in sustaining life and health.
- Connection between Morality and Longevity: The hymns suggest that moral righteousness, truthfulness and adherence to dharma play crucial roles in ensuring a long and healthy life.
- Holistic Health: These mantras reflect the Vedic understanding of health as encompassing the physical, mental and spiritual well-being, rather than focusing solely on the absence of disease.
- Prayers for Immunity and Strength: The hymns often include appeals to protect the body from ailments, strengthen the immune system and ensure vitality throughout life.
Ritualistic Usage
The Ayushya mantras were chanted during various Vedic rituals like:
- Naming Ceremony (Namakarana): To bless the newborn with a long life.
- Marriage Rites: To ensure a healthy and long life for the couple.
- Healing Rituals: To ward off disease and restore vitality.
- Daily Prayers: To maintain harmony and balance in life.
Relevance in Contemporary Context
The Ayushya mantras highlight the ancient Indian emphasis on holistic health and preventive care, which resonates with modern wellness paradigms. Their philosophical depth reminds us of the interconnectedness of the human body, mind and the cosmos. By studying these mantras, one gains not only insight into ancient medical practices but also timeless wisdom on nurturing life in harmony with nature. The Rgveda and Atharvaveda, revered as profound reservoirs of ancient wisdom, contain remarkable insights into the medical sciences, particularly the qualities of a consummate physician, the efficacy of herbs and the nature of diseases.[3]