Sukta 19
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Āṅgirasa provenance for protective charms; specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī tradition).
Devata: Indra (as protector and deflector of weapons); secondarily the ‘missiles’ as the object being controlled.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; short protective verses in AV Book 1 are predominantly anuṣṭubh—confirmable against padapāṭha/anukramaṇī tables).
Mantras
Mantra 1
शत्रुनिवारणम्। मा नो॑ विदन् विव्या॒धिनो॒ मो अ॑भिव्या॒धिनो॑ विदन्। आ॒राच्छ॑र॒व्या ऽ अ॒स्मद्विषू॑चीरिन्द्र पातय
Let not the piercers find us; let not the over-piercers find us. Far away—those arrow-missiles—make them, O Indra, to swerve aside from us, and cast them down.
Mantra 2
विष्व॑ञ्चो अ॒स्मच्छर॑वः पतन्तु॒ ये अ॒स्ता ये चा॒स्याः । दैवी॑र्मनुष्येषवो॒ ममा॒मित्रान् वि वि॑ध्यत
Let the arrows, turned every way, fly off from us—those that are shot, and those that are (aimed) at her. Ye divine and human shafts, pierce, pierce through my enemies.
Mantra 3
यो नः॒ स्वो यो अर॑णः सजा॒त उ॒त निष्ट्यो॒ यो अ॒स्माँ अ॑भि॒दास॑ति । रु॒द्रः श॑रव्य ऽ यै॒तान् ममा॒मित्रा॒न् वि वि॑ध्यतु
Whether he be our own, whether a stranger, whether a clansman, yea, whether one within the house—whoever assaileth us with malice: let Rudra, the arrow-bearing, pierce through and through these my foes.
Mantra 4
यः स॒पत्नो॒ योऽस॑पत्नो॒ यश्च॑ द्वि॒षन् छपा॑ति नः । दे॒वास्तं सर्वे॑ धूर्वन्तु॒ ब्रह्म॒ वर्म॒ ममान्त॑रम्
Whoso is rival, or whoso is no rival yet, and whoso, hating, curseth us,—him may all the Gods together crush away: within me is the Brahman, as an armour.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used as a protective charm to prevent attackers and their weapons (literal or symbolic) from finding or striking the person, and to divert the harm away.
Indra is the primary protector who makes missiles swerve and fall; Rudra appears as the archer-power who can pierce hostile forces, completing the ‘deflect and reverse’ logic of the charm.
No specific herb or offering is required in the text; the hymn works primarily through recitation and protective intention, though some traditions add a simple rakṣā-thread or boundary-marking as a support.
Ask anything about Sukta 19 of the Atharva Veda
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