átharvan ā m. (said to be fr. an obsolete word athar, fire), a priest who has to do with fire and Soma

• 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.)

• N. of Śiva, Vasishṭha [Kir. x, 10], Soma, Prāṇa

• (ā, a), m. n. 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)

• (átharvāṇas). pl. m. descendants of Atharvan, often coupled with those of Aṅgiras and Bhṛigu

• the hymns of the Atharva-veda