L''''Atharvaveda''', le quatrième Veda (अथर्ववेद en sanskrit, tapurusha composé d'atharvān, ici un type de prière, et de veda, signifiant « connaissance ») est un texte sacré de l'hindouisme. Il comprend 731 hymnes, et se compose d'incantations, de chants, de charmes magiques et de prières ; ses deux dernières ''shakha'' (recensions) se nomment respectivement Śaunaka et Paippalāda. D'après la tradition, l'Atharvaveda aurait été principalement composé par deux groupes de rishis, connus sous les noms de Bhrigus et d'Angirasas. Au surplus, la tradition attribue la paternité de certaines parties à d'autres rishis, tels que Kauśīka, Vaśīṣṭha et Kashyapa.

== Situation ==
L'Atharvaveda, bien qu'il appartienne indubitablement au corpus des hymnes védiques, peut d'une certaine façon être regardé comme une tradition parallèle à celle des Rig-Veda et Yajur-Veda.

Les écrits jaïnistes et bouddhistes lui sont plus hostiles qu'à n'importe quel autre texte hindou — ils le brocardent en le désignant sous les appellations ''Aggvâna'' ou ''Ahavâna Veda''. L'Atharva Veda est par suite moins prégnant que les autres vedas ; de plus, le ''Gayatri mantra'' employé dans l'Atharva Veda est différent de celui des trois autres vedas. Il ne faut pas oublier que les Hindous croient que les mantras possèdent une très haute puissance mystique et divine ; c'est ainsi que pour prévenir un éventuel danger, les appendices eux-mêmes (''Atharvar Pariśiśhthas'') clament que les incantations inhérentes aux écoles Mauda et Jalada devraient être évitées, et qu'une discipline stricte devrait être suivie selon les règles de pondérance et de régulation de l'Atharva Veda. Il y est même précisé que les femmes impliquées dans un Atharvān pourraient en venir à souffrir un avortement — si elles sont enceintes — au moment très précis où les chants martiaux seraient prononcés.

L'Atharva-Veda est perçu par beaucoup comme une science occulte et mystique, afférente aux esprits et aux destins post-mortem. Dans le Mahâbhârata, lorsque les Pandavas sont exilés dans les sylves pendant treize ans, Bhima, frustré, suggère à Yudhishthira de consulter l'Atharva-Veda, afin de « comprimer le temps, et ainsi compresser treize années en treize jours. »

== Recensions ==
Le ''Caraṇavyuha'' (attribué à Shaunaka) inventorie neuf ''shakhas'' (à savoir les Écoles de l'Atharva-Veda) :
# paippalāda
# stauda
# mauda
# śaunakiya
# jājala
# jalada
# brahmavada
# devadarśa
# chāraṇavidyā
Seules Śaunaka et Paippalāda sont encore actives.

== Anecdotes ==
* L'Atharva-Veda est le premier texte hindou à entretenir un rapport avec la médecine. Il identifie les causes de la maladie comme étant des agents causaux vitaux (et non hiératiques) tels que le ''yatudhānya'', le ''kimīdi'', le ''kṛimi'' et le ''durṇama''. Les atharvāns vont ainsi chercher à annihiler ces agents au moyen de différentes drogues, afin de contrecarrer la maladie (voir XIX.34.9). Cette approche de la maladie est déjà étonnamment avancée comparativement à la théorie des trois humeurs, développée plus tard, durant l'ère des purāṇa. Des réminiscences d'origine atharvāniques vont tout de même persister pendant l'ère puraṇique, le traité médical de suṣruta en étant l'exemple le plus frappant (garuḍa purāṇa, karma kāṃḍa — chapitre 164). Les purāṇa vont de cette façon proposer que les germes sont la cause de la lèpre. Dans le même chapitre, suṣruta va aussi s'étendre sur le rôle des helmintes dans la maladie. L'Atharva-Veda, I.23-24, décrit les symptômes de la lèpre et recommande le rajanī auṣadhi concernant son traitement. L'auṣadhi est ensuite détaillé comme une plante aux ramures noires avec des plants noirâtres, ce qui ressemble fortement à un lichen aux propriétés antibiotiques. C'est pourquoi l'Atharva-Veda peut prétendre être l'un des premiers textes de l'humanité à avoir registré l'usage d'agents antibiotiques.

The '''Atharvaveda''' ('',  an ancient Rishi, and '''' meaning "knowledge") is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda".
According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of ,  and . There are two surviving recensions (s), known as  '''''' ('''AVS''') and '''''' ('''AVP''').

==Status==

The Atharvaveda, while undoubtedly belonging to the core Vedic corpus, in some ways represents an independent parallel tradition to that of the Rigveda and Yajurveda. It incorporates much of  early traditions of healing and magic that are paralleled in other Indo-European literatures. There are striking parallels with Hittite and Germanic sorcery stanzas.  

The Atharva Veda is less predominant than other Vedas as it is little used in solemn (Shrauta) ritual. The largely silent Brahmán priest observes the procedures of the ritual and 'heals' it with two mantras and pouring of ghee when a mistake occurs. Though an early text, its status has been ambiguous, due to its magical character. It was not found in South India during the Middle Ages, and until very recently.   

The Gayatri mantra used in Atharva Veda is different from other three Vedas.  A special initiation of the Gayatri is required to learn the Atharva Veda. The Atharvaveda Parishishtas   (appendices) state that priests of the  and  schools of the Atharvaveda should be avoided, or strict discipline should be followed as per the rules and regulations set by the Atharva Veda. It is even stated that women associated with  may suffer from abortions if pregnant women remain while the chants for warfare are pronounced.

The Atharvaveda is considered by many to be as dark and secret knowledge, pertaining to the spirits and the afterlife. In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas are exiled to the forests for thirteen years, Bhima, being frustrated, suggests to Yudhisthira that they consult the Atharvaveda, and "shrink time, and hereby compress thirteen years to thirteen days..."

==Recensions==

The '''' (attributed to Shaunaka) lists nine shakhas or Schools of the Atharvaveda:<ref>Modak (1993) p.15 (footnote 8)</ref>

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Of these, only the  (AVS) and the  (AVP) recensions have survived.  Both have some later additions, but the core  text is considered earlier than the . Often in corresponding hymns, the two recensions have different verse orders, or each has additional verses not in the other.

,  and  are some of the five ''kalpa'' texts adduced to the  tradition and not separate schools of their own. 

Two main post-Samhita texts associated with the AV are the  and the . The Vaitanasutra deals with the participation of the Atharvaveda priest () in the Shrauta ritual while the Kauśikasūtra contains many applications of Atharvaveda mantras in healing and magic. This serves the same purpose as the  of the Rigveda and is of great value in studying the application of  the AV text in Vedic times.  
Several  and the  Upanishads. The former contains an important reference to , the founder of the Shaunakiya shakha, while the latter is associated with the  shakha.

==Dating==
It is clear that the core text of the AV is not particularly recent in the Vedic  tradition, and falls within the classical ''Mantra period'' of .

The Atharvaveda is also the first Indic text to mention 12th to 10th centuries BC or the early Kuru kingdom.

During its oral tradition, however, the text has been corrupted considerably more than some other Vedas, and it is only from comparative philology of the two surviving recensions that we may hope to arrive at an approximation of the original reading.

Tradition suggests that , one of the early collators, and , one of the late contributors associated with the Atharvanic text, lived during the reign of prince  dynasty.

==Divisions and issues of note==
*The Shaunakiya text is clearly divided into four parts:  1-7 deal with healing and general black and white magic that is to be applied in all situations of life, from the first tooth of a baby to regaining kingship. Kandas  8-12 constitute early speculation on the nature of the universe and of humans as well as on ritual, and are thus predecessors of the Upanishads. They continue the speculative tradition of some Rigvedic poets. Kandas 13-18 deal with issues of a householder's life, such as marriage, death and female rivalry, as well as with the ambiguous Vratyas on the fringes of society and with the Rohita sun as an embodiment of royal power. Kandas 19 is an addition and Kanda 20 is a very late addition containing Rgvedic hymns for the use of the Atharvanic Brahmanacchamsin priest as well as for the enigmatic Kuntapa ritual of the Kuru kingdom of Parikshit. The Paippalada text has a similar arrangement into four parts (Kandas 1-15, 16-17, 18, 19-20) with roughly the same contents.
 
* Jain and Buddhist texts are considerably more hostile to the AV (they call it  or  Veda) than they are to the other Hindu texts.  