# अथर्वन् (atharvan)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/atharvan

अथर्वन् (atharvan) is a Sanskrit word meaning a priest who has to do with fire and Soma, an epithet of Shiva, Vashishtha, Soma, and Prana, the fourth Veda, containing formulas and spells, descendants of Atharvan, the hymns of the Atharva-veda, a priest associated with fire and Soma. Its 28 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them A Priest or Brāhmaṇa, The Atharvaveda (Sacred Text), The Progenitor Sage Atharvan.

- **SLP1:** `aTarvan`  **IAST:** atharvan  **Devanagari:** अथर्वन्
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atharvan
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/atharvan/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### A Priest or Brāhmaṇa (10 definitions)
- a priest who has to do with fire and Soma  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H1) [Printed book page 17,3] अथर् (athar) वन् (atharvan) m. (said to be fr. an obsolete word अथर् (athar), fire), a priest who has to do with fire and Soma [ ID=3547 ]
- A priest who worships fire and Soma.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 0039-b ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) m. [ अथ - ऋ - वनिप् शकंध्वादि (atha-ṛ-vanip śakaṃdhvādi) ° (°) Tv.; probably connected with some word like athar fire] 1 A priest who has to worship fire and Soma
- A Brahmana  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 0039-b ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) m. [ अथ - ऋ - वनिप् शकंध्वादि (atha-ṛ-vanip śakaṃdhvādi) ° (°) Tv.; probably connected with some word like athar fire] 2 A Brāhmaṇa
- 1. A fire-priest. 2. The first fire-priest. 3. His descendants. 4. His magical incantations, the Atharva Veda.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 008-3 ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) átharvan, m. fire-priest; N. of the first fire-priest : pl. his descendants; s. & pl. his magical incantations, the AV. [ ID=876 ]
- 1. A priest associated with fire and soma. 2. A Brahmana.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 012-22 ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) (I) m. 1. A priest who has to do with fire and soma; 2. a Brāhmaṇa. [ ID=772 ]
- 1. A priest. 2. The name of a saint. 3. The Atharvaveda.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 0013-a ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) atharvan (borrowed from the Zend. āthra-van, derived from ātar, ‘fire’), m. 1. A priest. 2. The name of a Ṛṣi, or saint. 3. The Atharvaveda. [ ID=221 ]
- A fire-priest, especially the first fire-priest.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 011 ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) m. fire-priest, esp. the first fire-priest; pl. his race or = seq. (then also sgl.). [ ID=714 ]
- 1. A Brahmana or priest. 2. A mythical priest and Prajapati, author of the Atharvaveda and eldest son of Brahma. 3. An epithet of Vasishtha, Soma, Prana, and Shiva. 4. The fourth or Atharvaveda. 5. The descendants of Atharvan. 6. The hymns of the Atharvaveda collectively.  
  *Goldstücker Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अ (a) थर्व (atharva) न् (tharvan) (atharvan) [Printed book page 045-a ] अ (a) थर्व (atharva) न् (tharvan) (atharvan) 1. m. ( - र्वा (-rvā) ) 1 A Brāhmaṇa, a priest (probably one connected with offerings to fire or the attendance on the holy fire). 2 The proper name of a priest who is considered to have obtained the fire from heaven and who in the course of mythological personification appears as a Prajāpati or father of all beings, as the inspired author of the fourth or Atharvaveda, as the eldest son of Brahmā to whom Brahmā revealed the Brahmavidyā (q. v.) or knowledge of God (see also अ (a) थर्व (atharva) ) and, at a later period, as the same as Angiras (q. v.). Sons of his are Agni (see also अ (a) ङ्गिरस् (aṅgiras) ), Dadhyanch, Bhishaj, Bṛhaddiva, Kabandha. 3 An epithet of a. Vasiṣṭha q. v., b. Soma q. v., c. प्राण (prāṇa) q. v., d. Śiva (the god being supposed to carry into effect the charms of the Atharvaveda). 2. m. n. ( - र्वा (-rvā)- र्व (-rvā-rva) ) The fourth or Atharvaveda q. v. (see also m. pl. अ (a) थर्व (atharva) ाणः (atharvāṇaḥ) ). 3. m. pl. ( - र्वा (-rvā) णः (-rvāṇaḥ) ) 1 The descendants of Atharvan; they appear sometimes coupled with the descendants of Bhṛgu and of Angiras (see अ (a) थर्व (atharva) ाङ्गिरसः (rasaḥ) (atharvāṅgirasaḥ) ). 2 The hymns of the fourth or Atharvaveda collectively (considered as the descen- dants of Atharvan); the Atharvaveda (see also अ (a) थर्व (atharva) ाङ्गि - (atharvāṅgi-) रसः (rasaḥ) ). E. From an obsolete theme अ (a) थर्, (athar,) fire, with taddh. aff. वनिप् (vanip). See the E. of अ (a) थरी (atharī). The oldest etym. which derives अ (a) थर्व (atharva) न् (tharvan) (atharvan) from अ (a) neg. and थर्वन् (tharvan) (from थर्व् (tharv) ‘to go’), is without any probability. A similar etym. is given of अ (a) थर्व (atharva) ी (atharvī) q. v. [ ID=1560 ]
- 1. A priest associated with fire and Soma. 2. A Brahman. 3. Name of the mythical priest who first obtained fire and offered Soma and prayers. 4. An epithet of Shiva, Vashishta, Soma, and Prana. 5. The fourth Veda, consisting chiefly of formulas intended to obviate the effects of sacrifice mistakes.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 0017-b ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) atharvan, ā, m. (said to be fr. an obsolete word athar, fire), a priest who has to do with Page0017-c+ 76 fire and Soma; a Brāhman; N. of the priest who is said to have been the first to obtain fire and offer Soma and prayers: he is represented as a Prajāpati, as Brahmā's eldest son, as the first learner and earliest teacher of the Brahma-vidyā, as the author of the Atharva-veda, as identical with Aṅgiras, as the father of Agni, &c.: epithet of Śiva, Vaśiṣṭha, Soma, Prāṇa; ( ā, a ), m. n. the fourth or Atharva-veda, consisting chiefly of for- mulas intended to obviate the effects of any mistake or untoward incident attending the performance of a sacrifice. —Atharvāṇas, pl. m. descendants of Atharvan, often coupled with those of Aṅgiras and Bhṛgu; the hymns of the Atharva-veda. —Atharva- bhūta, ās, m. pl. (who have become Atharvans), epithet of the twelve Maharṣis. —Atharva-vat, ind. like Atharvan or his descendants. —Atharva-vid, t, m. one versed in the Atharva-veda (a qualification essen- tial to the special class of priests called Brāhmaṇas). —Atharva-veda, as, m., N. of the fourth Veda, which strictly speaking is not a Veda at all, like the Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma-vedas, but a collection of formulas to avert the consequences of mistakes or mishaps in sacrifices. —Atharva-śikhā, f. title of an Upaniṣad. —Atharva-śiras, n. = preceding; ( ās ), m. an epithet of Mahāpuruṣa. —Atharva-hṛdaya, am, n. title of a Pariśiṣṭa. [ ID=950 ]
- a Brahman priest invited by Yudhishthira to officiate in his Rajasuya sacrifice  
  *The Purana Index*
  > [Printed book page 1-043 ] Atharvan (II) — a Brāhman priest invited by Yudhiṣ- ṭhira to officiate in his Rājasūya sacrifice. Bhā. X. 74. 9. [ ID=318 ]

### The Atharvaveda (Sacred Text) (6 definitions)
- the fourth Veda, containing formulas and spells  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > अ (a) थर्वन् (atharvan) m. n. ( आ (ā), अ (a) ) the fourth or Atharva-veda (said to have been composed by Atharvan, and consisting chiefly of formulas and spells intended to counteract diseases and calamities) [ ID=3550 ]
- the hymns of the Atharva-veda  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > pl. the hymns of the Atharva-veda. [ ID=3552 ]
- The Atharvaveda, regarded as the fourth Veda.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — र्वा - र्व (rvā-rva) m. n., ° वेदः (°vedaḥ) The Atharvaveda, regarded as the fourth Veda. [It contains many forms of imprecations for the destruction of enemies and also contains a great number of prayers for safety and averting mishaps, evils, sins or calamities, and a number of hymns, as in the other Vedas, addressed to the gods with prayers to be used at religious and solemn rites; cf. Mahāvīracarita (Borooah’s Edition), 2. 24 मूर्तिमभिरामघोरां बिभ्रदिवाथर्वणो निगमः (mūrtimabhirāmaghorāṃ bibhradivātharvaṇo nigamaḥ). It has nine Śākhās and five Kalpas, and is comprised in 20 Kāṇḍas. The most important Brāhmaṇa belonging to this Veda is the Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa, and the Upaniṣads pertaining to it are stated to be 52, or, according to another account, 31.] [ cf. Zend atharvan, Pers. āturbān.]
- The fourth Veda consisting chiefly of formulas to counteract mistakes in sacrifices.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) (II) m.n. The fourth Veda consisting chiefly of formulas, intended to obviate the effects of any mistake attending the performance of a sacrifice. [ ID=773 ]
- the Atharvaveda  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > Atharvan 2 = Atharvaveda: XII, 13136 ( Ṛgveda sa-Yajur- veda 'thaivātharva-Sāmasu ), 13258 ( pañcakalpam Atharvāṇaṃ kṛtyābhiḥ parivṛṃhitaṃ ); XIII, 4590 ( vedaṃ ) [ ID=933 ]
- the Atharvaveda  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > Atharvan 3, pl. = Atharvaveda: III, 12963 ( Atharvaṇaḥ ); V, 1711 ( Atharvasu ); XII, 8613. [ ID=934 ]

### The Progenitor Sage Atharvan (5 definitions)
- Name of an ancient sage and priest associated with the creation of fire worship and Vedic prayers  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of the priest who is said to have been the first to institute the worship of fire and offer Soma and prayers (he is represented as a Prajāpati, as Brahmā's eldest son, as the first learner and earliest teacher of the Brahma-vidyā, as the author of the Atharva-veda, as identical with Aṅgiras, as the father of Agni, &c.) [ ID=3548 ]
- The ancient sage and priest who first brought down fire from heaven, offered Soma, and recited prayers.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 0039-b ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) m. [ अथ - ऋ - वनिप् शकंध्वादि (atha-ṛ-vanip śakaṃdhvādi) ° (°) Tv.; probably connected with some word like athar fire] 3 N. of the priest who is said to have first brought down fire from the heaven, offered Soma and recited prayers. [He is represented as the eldest son of Brahmā, sprung from his mouth; as a Prajāpati appointed by Brahmā to create and protect subordinate beings, who first learnt from Brahmā and then taught the Brahma-vidya and is considered to be the author of the Veda called after him. His wife was Śānti, daughter of Kardama Prajāpati. He had also another wife called Citti; he is also ( pb ) considered identical with Aṅgiras and father of Agni.]
- an ancient sage  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 099-1 ] Atharvan 1 (a ṛṣi). § 493 (Āṅgirasa): III, 222, 14215 (finds out Agni in the sea), 14218, 14225, 14226, 14227.— § 560 (Santsujātap.): V, 43, †1670.—§ 606 (Tripurākhy.): VIII, 34, 1497 ( Atharvāṅgirasau ).—§ 730 (Ānuśāsan.): XIII, 14 ββ, 991 ( sa-Bṛhaspatiḥ ). [ ID=932 ]
- 1. Married Shanti, the daughter of Kardama. 2. Spread sacrificial ritual in the world. 3. Father of Dadhyancha.  
  *The Purana Index*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 1-042 ] Atharvan (I) — married Śānti, a daughter of Kardama. It was he who spread yajña in the world. 1 His son was Dadhyañca who had a horse's head. 2 Page1-043+ 29 [ Footnote: 1) Bhā. III. 24. 24.] [ Footnote: 2) Ib. IV. 1. 42.] [ ID=317 ]
- 1. A mythical semi-divine priest or ancestor. 2. A family of mythical priests in the plural.  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 1-017 ] Atharvan. — The name in the singular denotes the head of a semi-divine family of mythical priests, 1 of whom nothing his- torical can be said. In the plural the family as a whole is meant. In a few places an actual family seems to be referred to. Thus, for instance, they are mentioned as recipients of gifts in the Dānastuti 2 (‘Praise of Gifts’), of Aśvattha's Page1-018+ 56 generosity; their use of milk mingled with honey in the ritual is referred to; 3 and a cow that miscarries ( ava-tokā ) from accident is dedicated to the Atharvans, according to the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa. 4 [ Footnote: 1) See Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, 141. In the Vaṃśa of the Bṛhad- āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, ii. 6, 3, Atharvan Daiva is characteristically the pupil of Mṛtyu.] [ Footnote: 2) Rv. vi. 47, 24.] [ Footnote: 3) Rv. ix. 11, 2.] [ Footnote: 4) iii. 4, 11, 1. Cf. Vājasaneyi Saṃ- hitā, xxx. 15. Cf. Bloomfield, Hymns of the Athar- vaveda, xxxv. et seq., who (p. xxxviii) takes avatokā as a woman, and the Atharvans as the hymns; Hillebrandt, Vedische Mythologie, 2, 174 et seq. ] [ ID=50 ]

### Related Compounds and Concepts (4 definitions)
- Mercury  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — अधिपः (adhipaḥ) N. of बुध (budha) Mercury ( सामवेदाधिपो भौमः शशिजो ' (sāmavedādhipo bhaumaḥ śaśijo ') थर्ववेदराट् (tharvavedarāṭ) )
- 1. A receptacle of the knowledge of the Atharvaveda. 2. Conversant with the Atharvaveda.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — निधिः, - विद् (nidhiḥ, -vid) m. receptacle of the (knowledge of) Atharvaveda, or conversant with it; गुरुणाऽथर्वविदा कृतक्रियः (guruṇā'tharvavidā kṛtakriyaḥ) Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 8. 4, 1. 59; ( अथर्वविधिपदेन (atharvavidhipadena) दुरितोपशमननिमित्तशांतिकपौष्टिकप्रवीणत्वं पौरोहित्योचितत्वं द्योत्यते (duritopaśamananimittaśāṃtikapauṣṭikapravīṇatvaṃ paurohityocitatvaṃ dyotyate) Malli. )
- 1. Those who have become Atharvans. 2. Name of the twelve Maharshis.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — भूताः (bhūtāḥ) ( pl. ) those who have become Atharvans, N. of the 12 Maharshis
- Name of an Upanishad dealing with Brahmavidya  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > — शिखा, - शिरस् (śikhā, -śiras) n. [ अथर्वणो (atharvaṇo) वेदस्य शिखा शिर इव वा (vedasya śikhā śira iva vā) ब्रह्मविद्याप्रतिपादकत्वेन श्रेष्ठत्वात् (brahmavidyāpratipādakatvena śreṣṭhatvāt) ] N. of an Upaniṣad dealing with Brahmavidyā. [ ID=802 ]

### Epithet for Other Deities/Figures (2 definitions)
- An epithet of Shiva, Vashishtha, Soma, and Prana  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of Śiva, Vasiṣṭha [ Kirātārjunīya (Title) x, 10 ], Soma, Prāṇa [ ID=3549 ]
- 1. An epithet of Shiva or Vasishtha. 2. Descendants of Atharvan or the hymns of this Veda.  
  *Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) [Printed book page 0039-b ] अथर्वन् (atharvan) m. [ अथ - ऋ - वनिप् शकंध्वादि (atha-ṛ-vanip śakaṃdhvādi) ° (°) Tv.; probably connected with some word like athar fire] 4 Epithet of Śiva, Vasiṣṭha. -( pl. ) Descendants of Atharvan; hymns of this Veda; जिष्णुं (jiṣṇuṃ) जैत्रैरथर्वभिः (jaitrairatharvabhiḥ) Raghuvaṃśa (Bombay) 17. 13

### Descendants or Followers of Atharvan (1 definition)
- descendants of Atharvan  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > अथर्वन् (atharvan) m. pl. ( अथर्वाणस् (atharvāṇas) ). descendants of Atharvan, often coupled with those of Aṅgiras and Bhṛgu [ ID=3551 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Apte Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Goldstücker Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); The Purana Index; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

The Sanskrit Lexicon app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sanskrit-lexicon-dictionary/id6746787546