Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.285

v1.c3.285

Atharvāṅgirasaḥ.—This is the collective name of the Atharvaveda in several passages¹ of the later Brāhmaṇas. It occurs once in the Atharvaveda itself,² while the term Atharvaveda is not found before the Sūtra period.³ The compound seems, according to Bloomfield,⁴ to denote the two elements which make up the Atharvaveda. The former part refers to the auspicious practices of the Veda (bheṣajāni);⁵ the latter to its hostile witchcraft, the yātu⁶ or abhi-cāra.⁷ This theory is supported by the names of the two mythic personages Ghora Aṅgirasa and Bhiṣaj Atharvaṇa, as well as by the connection of Atharvāṇaḥ and Atharvaṇāni with healing (bheṣaja) in the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa.⁸ Moreover, the term bheṣajā (‘remedies’) designates in the Atharvaveda⁹ that Veda itself, while in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa¹⁰ yātu (‘sorcery’) conveys the same meaning. The evidence, however, being by no means convincing, it remains probable that there existed no clear differentiation between the two sages as responsible for the Atharvaveda as a whole.