Sukta 25
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).
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; standard for many AV healing/apotropaic verses—confirmable by full hymn metrical scan).
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.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
पृश्निपर्णी। शं नो॑ दे॒वी पृ॑श्निप॒र्ण्यशं॒ निरृ॑त्या अकः । उ॒ग्रा हि क॑ण्व॒जम्भ॑नी॒ ताम॑भक्षि॒ सह॑स्वतीम्
Bring weal to us, O Goddess Pṛśniparṇī; from Nirṛti do thou make for us unharm. For fierce indeed is she, the Kaṇva-crusher: that mighty one have I partaken.
Mantra 2
सह॑माने॒यं प्र॑थ॒मा पृ॑श्निप॒र्ण्यऽजायत । तया॒हं दु॒र्णाम्नां॒ शिरो॑ वृ॒श्चामि॑ श॒कुने॑रिव
This conquering Pṛśniparṇī was born the first of all; with her I hew off the head of the ill-named, as one (cuts off) a bird’s.
Mantra 3
अ॒राय॑मसृ॒क्पावा॑नं॒ यश्च॑ स्फा॒तिं जिही॑र्षति । ग॒र्भा॒दं कण्वं॑ नाशय॒ पृश्नि॑पर्णि॒ सह॑स्व च
The foe, the blood-purifier, and whoso would filch away our thriving— Destroy the womb-destroyer, the Kaṇva: O Pṛśniparṇī, prevail thou also.
Mantra 4
गि॒रिमे॑नाँ॒ आ वे॑शय॒ कण्वा॑न् जीवित॒योप॑नान्। तांस्त्वं दे॑वि पृश्निपर्ण्य॒ग्निरि॑वानु॒दह॑न्निहि
Bring in the hill-men; make them enter under the Kaṇvas—those whose very footing is life. Those, O Goddess Pṛśniparṇī, do thou, like Agni, burning after them, consume: go forth!
Mantra 5
परा॑च एना॒न् प्र णु॑द॒ कण्वा॑न् जीवित॒योप॑नान्। तमां॑सि॒ यत्र॒ गच्छ॑न्ति॒ तत् क्र॒व्यादो॑ अजीगमम्
Drive ye these forth and far away—these Kánvas, life-besetters, near-approachers. Unto the darkness where they wend, thither have I dispatched the flesh-devourer.
Inside Sukta 25
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn foregrounds Pṛśniparṇī as a primordial, conquering herb—introduced as ‘born first’ and inherently victorious.
- What it asks
That she destroy the womb-destroyer and prosperity-stealer, and disable the ‘ill-named’ hostile power afflicting the household/community.
- Where its power lies
Her efficacy is asserted through violent completeness (head-hewing) and unstoppable pursuit (Agni-like burning after the enemy), implying total removal rather than partial relief.
- How it closes
The hymn seals the expulsion by directing the goddess to go forth against the threats, consuming and driving them away from the protected group (Kaṇvas) and their ‘footing in life’.
Famous verses
du̱rṇāmnā̱ṃ śiro̍ vṛ̱ścāmi̍
agnirivānu-dahan
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic (protective expulsion)
What it is for
To cut off and burn away hostile forces—human or non-human—who steal prosperity, harm blood/life, or destroy the womb, thereby restoring safety, fertility, and thriving.
Who it is for
Householders and community ritualists (Atharvan priests) seeking protection for family/pregnancy and defense against malefic persons, ‘ill-named’ forces, and wilderness/outsider threats.
Also used as
- Rakṣoghna (apotropaic)
- Garbharakṣā (pregnancy protection)
- Śāntika (pacificatory, by removal of hostile influences)
The deity
Pṛśniparṇī is the speckle-leaved medicinal plant personified as a goddess—an embodied pharmacological and magical potency whose ‘victory’ (sahamānā) functions as both cure and protection. In this hymn she operates like a cutting tool (severing hostile power) and like fire (Agni) that consumes what threatens the community and the womb.
Powers of the deity
- Severing/neutralizing hostile agency (symbolic decapitation)
- Rakṣoghna protection: driving off demons, witches, and ill-wishers
- Safeguarding pregnancy and preventing garbhaghna/garbhāda harms
- Restoring bodily integrity and ‘purifying blood’ (asṛk-pāvana framing)
- Pursuit-and-consumption power modeled on Agni (anu-dahana)
- Community defense, especially for a named lineage/community (Kaṇvas)
Why the deity is called
She is invoked as the primary medicinal force that can both heal and aggressively expel: to disable the ‘ill-named’ enemy, stop womb-destruction/miscarriage-causing forces, and protect the Kaṇva community’s life and thriving.
The seer
- Atharvanic seer (anukramaṇī-variant attribution for AV 2.25)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya and rakṣoghna charms: herb-invocations, expulsion of hostile beings (rakṣas), and protection of fertility/prosperity through plant-based rites and binding/amulet logic.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 2.24 (adjacent oṣadhi/rakṣoghna context, tradition-linked)
- AV 2.26 (adjacent protective/healing context, tradition-linked)
- AV 4.12 (oṣadhi-sūkta corpus association; not necessarily same named r̥ṣi in every anukramaṇī)
Preparing for the rite
- Obtain fresh Pṛśniparṇī (or its dried leaves) and keep it ritually clean (wrapped in clean cloth).
- Prepare a small water vessel for sprinkling; optionally kindle a small domestic fire to align with the hymn’s Agni-simile.
- Seat the patient/protected person (especially a pregnant woman or household representative) facing east; establish intention: protection and expulsion.
The rite
- Recite the sukta while holding/touching the Pṛśniparṇī leaves; gesture a ‘cutting’ motion at the direction of the perceived threat during the decapitation-imagery verse.
- Bind the herb as a light amulet (leaf bundle in cloth/thread) on the arm/waist, or brush the body (especially abdomen/heart) with the leaves during recitation.
- Sprinkle water around the threshold/bedspace; optionally pass the herb near the fire (without burning it) to ‘heat’ the charm’s consuming force.
- Conclude by casting away (to the north or outside the boundary) any collected sweepings/used water as the expelled negativity’s carrier.
What it needs
- Pṛśniparṇī herb (leaves/whole plant)
- Clean thread/cloth for binding (amulet)
- Water for sprinkling
- Optional: domestic fire (Agni) as supportive ritual presence
When
Performed at the onset of perceived attack/ill-omen, during pregnancy-protection rites, or at liminal times (dawn/dusk) when apotropaic actions are customary.
The main substance
Pṛśniparṇī (speckle-leaved medicinal herb; auṣadhi as goddess)
Herbs
- Pṛśniparṇī
Amulets
- Leaf-bundle amulet tied with clean thread/cloth
- Herb-touch/binding on arm/waist (rakṣā-bandha style)
How it is prepared
Use fresh leaves if possible; wash lightly, dry, and bundle. The bundle may be tied on the body or used to brush/symbolically ‘cut’ during recitation; optionally warm near (not in) the fire to echo the Agni-simile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pṛśniparṇī is a medicinal plant personified as a goddess. The hymn treats her as an active protective power that can both heal and drive away harmful influences.
It is Atharvanic symbolic language for completely disabling an enemy’s power—whether that enemy is a hostile person, a curse, or a demonic force—so it cannot return or act again.
Traditionally it is paired with handling the Pṛśniparṇī herb—binding it as an amulet, brushing the body, or protecting thresholds with sprinkling—while reciting the verses to expel threats and safeguard life, especially pregnancy and household prosperity.
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