Atharva Veda 5.21.6: Kanda 5, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 21, Mantra 6
Sukta 21
यथा॑ श्ये॒नात् प॑त॒त्रिणः॑ संवि॒जन्ते॒ अह॑र्दिवि सिं॒हस्य॑ स्त॒नथो॒र्यथा॑ । ए॒वा त्वं दु॑न्दुभे॒ऽमित्रा॑न॒भि क्र॑न्द॒ प्र त्रा॑स॒याथो॑ चि॒त्तानि॑ मोहय
yáthā śyēnā́t patatríṇaḥ saṃvijánte áhardivi siṃhásya stanáthor yáthā | evā́ tvaṃ dundubhe ’mítrān abhí kranda prá trāsayā́tho cittā́ni mohaya
As, at the hawk, the winged creatures quiver together, day and night; as at the lion’s thunder-roar: even so, O Drum, cry against the foes; drive them forth in terror, and bewilder their minds.
Wie beim Habicht die geflügelten Wesen bei Tag und Nacht gemeinsam erzittern; wie beim donnernden Brüllen des Löwen: ebenso, o Trommel, schreie gegen die Feinde; jage sie in Schrecken fort und verwirre ihren Sinn.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (hymn to the dundubhi; seer attribution varies by anukramaṇī lists)
Devata: Dundubhi (personified war-drum) as the operative power; implicitly Indraic battle-force
Chandas: Predominantly Anuṣṭubh-like cadence with Atharvanic flexibility (mixed/irregular pāda lengths occur in this hymn)
Primary: vira
Secondary: raudra
Sāyaṇa takes the two similes (hawk, lion) as paradigms of spontaneous, involuntary fear (saṃvijana) to be transferred by mantra to the enemy host. He glosses dundubhi as a battle-instrument whose sound is itself a śastra (weapon) when empowered by Atharvanic recitation; mohaya is not mere ‘confuse’ but ‘make their counsel fail’ (mantra aimed at buddhi-nāśa).
To terrify and mentally disorganize enemy forces through the consecrated war-drum’s sound
Psychological operations: intimidation, disruption of enemy decision-making; ‘acoustic dominance’ and morale warfare.
abhicarika
Amitrāḥ (enemy forces)
To terrify enemies, break cohesion, and induce confusion through consecrated sound.
Sonic weaponization + sympathetic exempla (hawk/lion) + direct imperatives to the personified instrument.
Enemy advance, coordinated attack, hostile resolve.
By analogies of fear—birds trembling at a hawk and creatures at a lion’s thunder-roar—the mantra commands the war-drum (dundubhi) to cry against enemies, terrify them, drive them away, and bewilder their minds.
Sound becomes psychological warfare: the consecrated drum externalizes inner courage and projects destabilization into the opponent’s attention field; it also represents the practitioner’s ability to disrupt hostile narratives and confidence.
Fear spreads through perception and rhythm; coordinated sound can dissolve enemy cohesion by attacking attention, not just bodies.
- दुन्दुभि (dundubhi)
- organized sonic force; collective heartbeat of courage; weaponized vāc
- अमित्र (amitra)
- hostile forces—external rivals and internal sabotaging tendencies
- अभि क्रन्द (abhi kranda)
- assertive proclamation; taking sonic space
- त्रासय (trāsaya)
- break enemy morale; induce panic response
- चित्तानि मोहय (cित्तानि mohaya)
- disrupt cognition, strategy, and coordination
- श्येन (śyena)
- predatory shock; sudden threat perception
- सिंह स्तनथु (siṃha stanathu)
- sovereign intimidation; primal dominance signal
Harnessing ‘nāda’ as protective force; transmuting fear into steady courage.
viśuddha (sonic power)
Bhrāmarī or deep voiced humming before recitation to embody controlled resonance.
Vīrya (courage) with alertness; non-scattered attention.
Recite with a steady beat (hand on chest or soft drum). Visualize sound-waves forming a protective perimeter and dissolving hostile intent into confusion and retreat.
Keep imperatives (kranda, trāsaya, mohaya) clearly articulated; follow Śaunakīya accents where marked, but prioritize martial clarity.
Slight crescendo through the similes; strongest emphasis on ‘dundubhe’ and the three commands.
dundubhe: retroflex ḍ not present—use dental d; keep -bhe clear, saṃvijante: nasal ‘ṃ’ before v, trāsaya: long ā, mohaya: ho- open o
Resonant, projecting, drum-like; avoid strain—use diaphragm support.
Traditionally paired with actual drum-sound; if no drum, use measured claps or a low humming drone to embody ‘dundubhi’.
3
Need for protection and confidence against hostile opposition (social, legal, competitive).
Before entering confrontation; during moments of intimidation to stabilize courage.
Increased assertiveness, reduced fear, clearer ability to project presence; symbolic ‘disruption’ of opponent’s psychological advantage.
Do not use to cultivate malice; in anxiety disorders, intense martial recitation may overstimulate—use fewer repetitions and slower tempo.
पाठे: श्ये॒नात् प॑त॒त्रिणः॑ (पञ्चमी + प्रथमा); संवि॒जन्ते॒ = सम् + वि + जन्ते (धातु-समास/उपसर्गयोगः; रूपं लट् आत्मनेपद). अह॑र्दिवि = अहः + दिवि (अव्ययीभाव). स्त॒नथो॒र्यथा॑ = स्तनथोः + यथा (विसर्ग-लोपः/रकारादेशः). दु॑न्दुभे॒ऽमित्रा॑न् = दुन्दुभे + अमित्रान् (अवग्रहः; अ-आदि संधिः). क्र॑न्द॒ = √क्रन्द् लोट्. प्र त्रा॑स॒याथो॑ = प्र + त्रासय + अथो (पदच्छेदः).
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
