Atharva Veda Anuvaka 3
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Kanda 210 Suktas56 Mantras

Anuvaka 3

Reversal-and-protection: turning hostility back, securing bodily safety, and stabilizing life, livestock, and desire through divine radiance, herbs, and order (ṛta).

Kinds of charm

Abhicharika (against foes): 5Bhaishajya (healing): 3Paushtika (prosperity): 2

Suktas in Anuvaka 3

Sukta 21

AVŚ 2.21 is a compact counter-hostility hymn that weaponizes Sūrya’s radiance—haras (burning force), arciṣ (ray), and śóciḥ (flame)—to turn hatred back upon its source. Repeating the refrain “who hates us, whom we hate,” it frames solar heat as a moral-ritual agent of retribution, scorching and repelling the aggressor while protecting the reciter’s side.

Devata: Sūrya (as punitive heat/śóciḥ). | 4 Mantras

Sukta 22

This six-verse Atharvavedic charm invokes Candra (the Moon) as a carrier of haras and tejas—burning, luminous potency—to reverse hostility and return it upon the aggressor. The hymn repeatedly frames the act as justified requital against “the one who hates us,” seeking to strip the enemy of radiance, strength, and effective agency. Its power is conceived as a lunar, transferable force that can be aimed back (prati-hara) to neutralize and punish hostile intent or sorcery.

Rishi: Traditionally Atharvanic/Angirasa attribution for this counter-hatred material | Devata: Candra (Moon), as wielder of haras (burning potency) | 6 Mantras

Sukta 23

AVŚ 2.23 is a compact counter-sorcery hymn that enlists the Waters (Āpaḥ) as a luminous, fiery power capable of reversing hostility. By invoking the waters’ arciṣ (radiance), haraḥ (carrying-off force), and tejas (efficacy), the charm “turns back” harm and strips the aggressor of potency, while implicitly protecting the reciter’s sphere.

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (hymn-level attribution varies by anukramaṇī; commonly treated as Atharvanic). | Devata: Āpaḥ (Waters), as empowered agents of tejas and protection. | 5 Mantras

Sukta 24

This Atharvavedic counter-sorcery hymn turns a hostile working back upon its author by commanding the yātus (sorcerous agents), the launched “missile” (hetí), and the devouring kīmīdinīs to return to their owner. Its power lies in coercive brahman—effective speech that names, binds, and re-directs the harm so that it consumes the sender rather than the intended victim. The refrain-like imperatives (“punaḥ…yantu…”, “tam atta…”) create a juridical, almost contractual reversal: the agents must devour the one who commissioned them.

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angiras-type attribution (hymn-level tradition; verse functions within a counter-sorcery complex). | Devata: Mantra-directed to hostile agents (yātavaḥ, kīmīdinīḥ) under the coercive power of brahman (effective speech). | 8 Mantras

Sukta 25

AV 2.25 is a compact bhaiṣajya-apotropaic hymn that enthrones Pṛśniparṇī as a conquering herb-deity whose power can disable hostile persons, sorcery, and miscarriage-causing forces. By verbal “cutting off the head” of the ill-named and by imagining the herb as Agni-like in pursuit, the hymn turns a medicinal plant into a weapon of total neutralization and communal protection.

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages for bhaiṣajya hymns; specific r̥ṣi attribution depends on anukramaṇī tradition for AV 2.25). | Devata: Pṛśniparṇī (herb-deity/personified medicinal power). | 5 Mantras

Sukta 26

AV 2.26 is a paustika-rakṣā hymn for paśu-saṃgraha: it calls cattle to “stream” into the goṣṭha, be rightly led home, and then be firmly held so they do not stray or get lost. By invoking Bṛhaspati as the knowing guide, Sinīvālī as the auspicious leader at the front, and Anumati as the power that grants and secures, the sukta turns the cattle-pen into a ritually sealed center of prosperity and protection.

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted without a single fixed ṛṣi attribution in practical sūktas; commonly classed under Atharvan/Angiras milieu) | Devata: Bṛhaspati; Sinīvālī; Anumati (with paśu-saṃgraha as the pragmatic focus) | 5 Mantras

Sukta 27

AVŚ 2.27 is a protective healing charm centered on a personified Herb (Oṣadhi) administered at the critical moment of eating, so that hostile forces cannot “win the morsel.” Repeating the formula of “morsel and counter‑morsel,” the hymn turns ingestion into a counter-sorcery act, rendering injurers and essence-drainers (arāsaḥ) powerless and securing victory over enemies in an Indra-like mode.

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (Commonly transmitted as Atharvanic in śatru-parājaya contexts). | Devata: Oṣadhi (the Herb) as personified healing and protective power; secondarily the abstract force of abhibhū (overpowering). | 7 Mantras

Sukta 28

AV 2.28 is an āyuṣya-bhaiṣajya hymn that turns the worshipper away from jarā-mṛtyu (senescence-and-death) by placing the patient under the joint, orderly protection of Mitra–Varuṇa, with Agni as the knowing ritual mediator. It safeguards prāṇa and apāna, wards off harm from both friends and enemies, and culminates in a blessing for long life, bodily lustre, and the attainment of old age under Aditi and the All-Gods.

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angiras-type attribution (as typical for AV healing/life rites; specific r̥ṣi assignment depends on the anukramaṇī tradition for 2.28). | Devata: Mitra-Varuṇa; Agni (Hotṛ) as ritual mediator | 5 Mantras

Sukta 29

AV 2.29 is a benedictive longevity-and-prosperity charm that “plants” long life in the beneficiary and stabilizes it through divine agencies of heat (Agni), formation (Tvaṣṭṛ), and auspicious impulsion (Savitar). It couples āyuṣya (life-span) with prajā (secure progeny) and rāyas-poṣa (thriving increase of wealth), sealing the blessing with a claim of restored, undecaying vital strength (ūrjā) and radiant well-being (varcas).

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (commonly treated as Atharvan/Angiras-type benediction). | Devata: Agni (Jātavedas), Tvaṣṭṛ, Savitar (composite benedictive invocation). | 7 Mantras

Sukta 30

This five-verse Atharvanic charm works by analogical coercion: as Wind churns grass upon the earth, so the operator ‘churns’ and turns the target’s manas toward himself, producing longing and preventing departure. Alongside attraction (strīkarman/paustika-abhicārika), the hymn also deploys an expulsion motif—sending away an intrusive harm as if extracting a thorn from its sheath—showing the Atharvanic habit of pairing “draw-in” and “drive-out” technologies of mind and body.

Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī for this kāmya cluster) | Devata: Vāta (Wind) as the operative model; the effective ‘deity’ is the mantra’s coercive power over manas (mind). | 5 Mantras

Deities of Anuvaka 3

  • SuryaSūrya

    Protector/destroyer (burns and reverses hatred)

    In 1 hymn

  • ChandraCandra (Soma / Moon)

    Protector (returns hostility with tejas)

    In 1 hymn

  • ApasĀpaḥ (Waters)

    Purifier/protector (luminous reversal of sorcery)

    In 1 hymn

  • Yatus / HetiYātus / Heti (hostile agencies, personified)

    Destroyer (forced to recoil upon sender)

    In 1 hymn

  • PrishniparniPṛśniparṇī (herb-deity)

    Healer/protector (cuts hostile forces; guards pregnancy)

    In 1 hymn

  • BrihaspatiBṛhaspati

    Protector/provider (guides and secures cattle/wealth)

    In 1 hymn

  • OshadhiOṣadhi (Herb, generic)

    Healer/protector (guards the eater; defeats hostile seizure)

    In 1 hymn

  • Mitra-VarunaMitra-Varuṇa

    Protector/regulator (orderly guardianship; averts jarā-mṛtyu)

    In 1 hymn

  • Agni

    Protector/healer (heat as life-stabilizer and auspicious force)

    In 2 hymns

  • TvashtriTvaṣṭṛ

    Healer/creator (forms and stabilizes long life)

    In 1 hymn

  • VayuVāyu (Wind)

    Enabler (analogical force in attraction charm)

    In 1 hymn

Inside Anuvaka 3

The theme

Reversal-and-protection: turning hostility back, securing bodily safety, and stabilizing life, livestock, and desire through divine radiance, herbs, and order (ṛta).

Threads through it

  • Counter-hostility and return-to-sender sorcery (pratiyātu/hetī-nivartanam)
  • Luminous protection via Sūrya, Candra, and Āpaḥ (tejas/haras/arciṣ)
  • Herb-centered apotropaic and healing rites (Oṣadhi, Pṛśniparṇī)
  • Paśu-saṃgraha and prosperity protection (cattle gathering/retention)
  • Āyuṣya: longevity, warding jarā-mṛtyu, stabilizing life-force
  • Manas-karman: coercive attraction/longing through analogical compulsion

Who it serves

Handling enmity, curses, and occult attack; safeguarding pregnancy and food-intake; restoring and protecting health and longevity; bringing cattle safely home; securing prosperity and desired affection.

What it heals

  • Enmity, hatred, and hostile speech/intentSukta 2.21, 2.22, 2.23, 2.24
  • Sorcery/witchcraft attack (yātu), launched ‘missile’ (hetī), devouring forces (kīmīdinī)Sukta 2.23, 2.24, 2.25
  • Miscarriage-causing and pregnancy-threatening forcesSukta 2.25
  • Food being ‘won’ by hostile forces; poisoning/evil seizure at the moment of eatingSukta 2.27
  • Senescence-and-death (jarā-mṛtyu), threatened lifespan, need for longevity protectionSukta 2.28, 2.29
  • Loss/straying of cattle; need to gather, lead home, and retain livestockSukta 2.26
  • Love/attraction and turning the target’s mind (manas) toward the operatorSukta 2.30

Frequently Asked Questions

They combine apotropaic ‘return-to-sender’ rites against hatred and sorcery with stabilizing protections—herb-healing, longevity (āyuṣya), cattle security, and a mind-turning attraction charm.

Sūrya (2.21), Candra (2.22), and the Waters Āpaḥ (2.23) supply tejas/haras/arciṣ to send hostility back; 2.24 compels the yātus and hetī themselves to recoil.

For herb-based protection and healing: 2.25 (Pṛśniparṇī) and 2.27 (Oṣadhi). For longevity and warding jarā-mṛtyu: 2.28 (Mitra–Varuṇa with Agni) and 2.29 (life-planting prosperity-longevity blessing).

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