Sukta 38
Rishi: Traditionally Atharvanic/Angirasa attribution for coercive charms (hymn-level tradition varies by anukramaṇī)
Devata: Āsurī (personified coercive power) / Vaśīkaraṇa-śakti
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant in this section)
অথর্ববেদ ৭.৩৮ একটি সংক্ষিপ্ত বশীকরণ (বলপ্রয়োগে আকর্ষণ) সূক্ত, যা নারীদের আচারকর্মে স্বামী/প্রেমিককে পুনরুদ্ধার বা নিজের পক্ষে স্থির করতে এবং তার স্নেহকে একান্তভাবে নিজের প্রতি নিবদ্ধ করতে ব্যবহৃত হয়। এতে ‘আসুরী’-কে ব্যক্তিত বদ্ধন-শক্তি হিসেবে আহ্বান করা হয়েছে, যে ইন্দ্রকেও ‘নিচে নামাতে’ পারে; এবং সেই একই দমনকারী শক্তি লক্ষ্যব্যক্তির মন, বাক্ এবং সামাজিক আচরণে প্রয়োগ করে তাকে বশে আনার বিধান করা হয়েছে।
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
केवलः पतिः। इ॒दं ख॑नामि भेष॒जं मां॑प॒श्यम॑भिरोरु॒दम्। प॒रा॒य॒तो नि॒वर्त॑नमाय॒तः प्र॑ति॒नन्द॑नम्
একমাত্র স্বামী: এই ভেষজ (ঔষধ) আমি খুঁড়ে তুলছি—যেন সে আমাকে দেখে, আমার জন্য কাঁদতে-কাঁদতে ডাকে; যে চলে গেছে তার প্রত্যাবর্তন, আর যে আসে তার আনন্দময় অভ্যর্থনা।
Mantra 2
येना॑ निच॒क्र आ॑सु॒रीन्द्रं॑ दे॒वेभ्य॒स्परि॑ । तेना॒ नि कु॑र्वे॒ त्वाम॒हं यथा॒ तेऽसा॑नि॒ सुप्रि॑या
যে উপায়ে আসুরী ইন্দ্রকে নত করেছিল এবং দেবদের থেকে তাকে বিচ্ছিন্ন করেছিল—সেই একই উপায়ে আমি তোমাকে বশ করি, যাতে আমি তোমার কাছে অতিশয় প্রিয় হয়ে থাকি।
Mantra 3
प्र॒तीची॒ सोम॑मसि प्र॒तीच्यु॒त सूर्य॑म्। प्र॒तीची॒ विश्वा॑न् दे॒वान् तां त्वा॒च्छाव॑दामसि
তুমি সোমের দিকে মুখ ফেরানো; সূর্যের দিকেও মুখ ফেরানো। তুমি সকল দেবতার দিকেই মুখ ফেরানো—এমন মুখ-ফেরানো তোমাকেই আমরা আহ্বান জানাই।
Mantra 4
अ॒हं व॑दामि॒ नेत् त्वं स॒भाया॒मह॒ त्वं वद॑ । ममेदस॒स्त्वं केव॑लो॒ नान्यासां॑ की॒र्तया॑श्च॒न
আমি বলি—তুমি সভায় কথা বলো না। আমি (বলব), তুমি (শুধু) আমার আদেশে বলবে। তুমি কেবল আমার; অন্য নারীদের নামও উচ্চারণ করবে না।
Mantra 5
यदि॒ वासि॑ तिरोज॒नं यदि॑ वा न॒द्यऽस्ति॒रः । इ॒यं ह॒ मह्यं॒ त्वामोष॑धिर्ब॒द्ध्वेव॒ न्यान॑यत्
যদি তুমি লোকসমাজের ওপারে বাস করো, অথবা যদি তুমি নদীর এ-পারে স্থির থাকো—এই ওষধিই আমার জন্য তোমাকে যেন বেঁধে এখানে নিয়ে এসেছে।
Inside Sukta 38
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by ‘digging up’ a bheṣaja and declaring its function: to make the absent one turn back and to make him look toward the speaker with longing (7.38.1).
- What it asks
That the target return, welcome the speaker, and become ‘kevala’—exclusive—attached as husband/partner, not turning to other women.
- Where its power lies
Efficacy is asserted by precedent: the very power by which Āsurī once brought Indra low and severed him from the gods is now redirected to subdue the target (7.38.2).
- How it closes
The charm culminates in social control and exclusivity—restricting the target’s speech in assembly and forbidding even mention of other women—sealing the bond as singular possession (7.38.4).
Famous verses
kevalaḥ patiḥ
yenā nacakra āsurīndraṃ
mamedasastvaṃ kevalo
Kind of hymn
Strikarmani (Women's Rites) / Abhicarika (Coercive attraction)
What it is for
To cause an estranged or wavering man to return, become emotionally attached, and remain exclusively devoted—avoiding other women and yielding to the speaker’s direction.
Who it is for
Traditionally a woman (or her ritual helper) seeking reconciliation, exclusive partnership, or dominance over a husband/lover’s attention and speech.
Also used as
- Strīkarmāṇi (women’s rites)
- Saṃgrahaṇa (reconciliation/bringing back)
- Vaśīkaraṇa (attraction/domination)
The deity
Āsurī here is not a moral label but a personified force of overpowering compulsion—an enchantment-power that can separate, subdue, and reattach a person’s loyalties. She functions as the operative ‘binding’ energy that constrains desire, speech, and attention toward the speaker alone.
Powers of the deity
- Vaśīkaraṇa: compelling attraction and compliance
- Bandhana: binding mind/intent and restricting alternatives
- Viyoga/saṃyoga: separating from rivals and reuniting with the speaker
- Stambhana-like effect: silencing or limiting the target’s public speech/agency
- Pratyāvartana: turning back one who has gone away
Why the deity is called
Invoked to transfer the mythic coercive capacity (able to humble Indra) onto the target, ensuring return, obedience in social settings, and exclusive affection.
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgirasa (hymn-level tradition varies by anukramaṇī)Atharvan. Abhicārika and strīkarmāṇi charms: attraction (vaśīkaraṇa), return/reconciliation (saṃgrahaṇa), and social/sexual exclusivity via binding of mind and speech.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 7.37 (adjacent coercive/attraction material, tradition-linked)
- AV 6.130 (vaśīkaraṇa/attraction type, Atharvanic attribution in many recensions)
- AV 3.25 (kāma/attraction cluster, often cited alongside binding rites)
Preparing for the rite
- Identify a ‘bheṣaja’ plant/medicine to be dug up (as implied by 7.38.1); select a quiet spot of clean earth.
- Maintain personal cleanliness; set a clear intention naming the target (saṅkalpa-style).
- If no plant is available, prepare a symbolic substitute (a small clod/handful of earth from the digging spot) as the ‘seat’ of the charm.
The rite
- While digging up the bheṣaja, recite the opening verse to ‘awaken’ the medicine as a return-and-attachment agent (7.38.1).
- Recite the coercive-transfer verse (7.38.2) to ‘bring down’ the target’s resistance and reorient him away from rivals.
- Recite the speech-and-exclusivity constraint verse (7.38.4) as a binding of public speech and social autonomy toward the speaker’s command.
- Keep the dug substance near the body (as a carried charm) or place it where the target will encounter it (threshold/bed area), consistent with vaśīkaraṇa logic.
What it needs
- Bheṣaja (a dug-up medicinal plant; species not specified in the verse)
- Earth from the digging spot (as the plant’s empowered matrix)
When
Performed when the target is absent/estranged or before a meeting; often suited to liminal times (dawn/dusk) typical for coercive and return rites.
The main substance
Bheṣaja (dug-up plant/medicine) with its earth
Herbs
- Unspecified ‘bheṣaja’ (identified locally by tradition; the verse does not name the species)
Amulets
- Carried clod/root-piece as a personal charm (implied use; not explicitly named in the verses)
How it is prepared
Dig up the bheṣaja while reciting 7.38.1; keep a portion (root/earth) as the empowered medium, carried or placed in a contact-location associated with the target.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used for vaśīkaraṇa and reconciliation: to turn back an absent/estranged husband or lover and make his affection exclusive to the speaker.
Here Āsurī is a personified coercive power (śakti) used for binding and attraction. The hymn treats her as an operative force that can subdue resistance and redirect loyalty.
The text mentions a ‘bheṣaja’ that is dug up, but it does not name the plant. In practice, traditions may select a local plant or use the dug earth/root-piece as the charm-medium.
Ask anything about Sukta 38 of the Atharva Veda
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