Bless this man, O Death, have mercy upon him! Let him rise and depart, safe and sound, with unimpaired hearing! May he reach a hundred years and enjoy life’s blessings!
Atharva Veda VIII, 2, 8
May the missile of the Gods be deflected from you! I make you emerge from the realm of darkness; from Death I have saved you! Far have I removed the Fire of the funeral pyre. I place a protective wall for your life’s preservation.
Atharva Veda VIII, 2, 9
We rescue him, Death, from your murky path which admits of no return, and, protecting him from the descent, we make a shield to guard him–this our prayer.
Atharva Veda VIII, 2, 10
To you I now impart in-breath and out-breath, a ripe old age, death at its close, well-being! All the messengers of Death who prowl around– I send them far away!
Atharva Veda VIII, 2, 11
Learn from me, my dear, what hunger and thirst are. When a man is hungry, as they say, it is water that has led (i.e. carried away) what was eaten. Therefore, just as they speak of a leader of cows, a leader of horses, a leader of men, so do they speak of water as the leader of food. So, my dear, know this offshoot (i.e. the body) to have sprung forth from a cause, for it cannot be without a root.
Sama Veda, Chandogya Upanishad VI, VIII – Concerning Sleep, Hunger, Thirst, and Death, 3
