Sukta 3
Rishi: Atharvanic/Angiras-type attribution (protective household tradition).
Devata: Apotropaic ‘Path’/Banishment; implicitly Indraic protection against thieves and predators.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant in AV protective charms)
This hymn is a household apotropaic charm that forces threats—wolves, thieves, nooses, and ill-willed persons—onto a “farther path,” away from the settlement. It combines spatial banishment (sending danger outward along an adverse route) with Indra’s juridical violence (vajra-smite) and an Atharvanic technology of binding/unbinding that can restrain or release at will.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
शत्रुनाशनम् उदि॒तस्त्रयो॑ अक्रमन् व्या॒घ्रः पुरु॑षो॒ वृकः॑ । हिरु॒ग्घि यन्ति॒ सिन्ध॑वो॒ हिरु॑ग् दे॒वो वन॒स्पति॒र्हिरु॑ङ्नमन्तु॒ शत्र॑वः
For the destruction of foes, arisen, three have strode forth—the tiger, the man, the wolf. ‘Hiruk!’ for the rivers rush; ‘Hiruk!’ the god, the Lord of the Forest: ‘Hiruk!’ let the enemies bow them down.
Mantra 2
परे॑णैतु प॒था वृकः॑ पर॒मेणो॒त तस्क॑रः । परे॑ण द॒त्वती॒ रज्जुः॒ परे॑णाघा॒युर॑र्षतु
By the farther path let the wolf depart; by the farthest, yea, the thief. By the farther way let the toothed cord (the noose) pass; by the farther let the evil-willed one rush away.
Mantra 3
अ॒क्ष्यौऽच ते॒ मुखं॑ च ते व्याघ्र जम्भयामसि । आत् सर्वा॑न् विंश॒तिं न॒खान्
Thine eyes, and thine mouth likewise, O tiger, we cause to gape; and then—thy twenty claws, all of them.
Mantra 4
व्या॒घ्रं द॒त्वतां॑ व॒यं प्र॑थ॒मं ज॑म्भयामसि । आदु॑ ष्टे॒नमथो॒ अहिं॑ यातु॒धान॒मथो॒ वृक॑म्
The tiger, the toothed one, first of all do we force to gape; then also the thief, and the serpent, the yātudhāna, and likewise the wolf.
Mantra 5
यो अ॒द्य स्ते॒न आय॑ति॒ स संपि॑ष्टो॒ अपा॑यति । प॒थाम॑पध्वं॒सेनै॒त्विन्द्रो॒ वज्रे॑ण हन्तु॒ तम्
Whoso to-day, a thief, draws near—crushed down, he turns and goes away. By paths of overthrow let him depart; let Indra with the thunderbolt smite him.
Mantra 6
मू॒र्णा मृ॒गस्य॒ दन्ता॒ अपि॑शीर्णा उ पृ॒ष्टयः॑ । नि॒म्रुक्ते॑ गो॒धा भ॑वतु नी॒चाय॑च्छश॒युर्मृ॒गः
Broken be the beast’s teeth, and crumbled, yea, his back-bones (strength). In the hidden low place let there be but a lizard; hold the beast down low—let him lie prone.
Mantra 7
यत् सं॒यमो॒ न वि य॑मो॒ वि य॑मो॒ यन्न सं॒यमः॑ । इ॒न्द्र॒जाः सो॑म॒जा आ॑थर्व॒णम॑सि व्याघ्र॒जम्भ॑नम्
What is a binding, yet not a binding; a loosening—yea, a loosening—what is no binding at all: Indra-born, Soma-born, thou art Atharvanic, a crusher of the tiger.
Inside Sukta 3
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn begins by establishing the spatial-ritual mechanism: threats are ordered to depart by the ‘farther’ and ‘farthest’ paths, away from the human sphere.
- What it asks
That wolves, thieves, nooses/snares, and evil-minded persons be diverted, repelled, and made to flee along routes of ruin rather than toward the home.
- Where its power lies
The mantra’s efficacy is asserted through Atharvanic binding/unbinding logic—able to bind yet not be bound, to loosen and nullify hostile restraint—and through Indra’s decisive vajra-force.
- How it closes
It culminates in naming the charm as Indra-born and Soma-born, explicitly Atharvanic, and as a ‘crusher of the tiger’ (symbol of fierce threat), sealing the protection with a final claim of irresistible dominance.
Famous verses
pareṇa etu pathā… (“by the farther path let … depart”)
indro vajreṇa hantu tam (“let Indra smite him with the vajra”)
vyāghra-jambhanam (“crusher of the tiger”)
Kind of hymn
Rakṣoghna / Apotropaic (protective expulsion)
What it is for
To prevent entry and harm by thieves, predators, and malefic agents by forcing their retreat and ensuring divine punishment if they persist.
Who it is for
Householders, village watch/protectors, and Atharvanic ritual specialists safeguarding a dwelling, cattle-pen, or boundary.
Also used as
- Shāntika (protective pacification)
- Abhicārika (punitive threat against thieves)
- Gr̥hya/household protection
The deity
A personified banishing vector: danger is redirected onto a remote, adverse route; Indra functions as the enforcer who smites the intruder, while Atharvanic mantra-power is framed as a paradoxical bond that can bind, unbind, or nullify hostile bindings.
Powers of the deity
- Diverts predators and criminals away from the household
- Breaks or redirects snares/nooses and hostile bindings
- Crushes and repels an approaching thief
- Authorizes Indra’s thunderbolt punishment against persistent harm
- Establishes mantra as irresistible through binding/unbinding paradox (saṃyama/viyama)
Why the deity is called
To secure the home and its perimeter by ritually relocating threats to the ‘farther/farthest’ way and by invoking Indra as the final punitive force if expulsion fails.
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgiras (anukramaṇī-type attribution; specific r̥ṣi not explicit)Atharvan. Rakṣoghna and gr̥hya-protective charms: expulsion of predators/thieves, warding of snares and hostile intent, and mantra-techniques of binding/unbinding (saṃyama/viyama).
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 4.1
- AV 4.2
- AV 4.4
Preparing for the rite
- Mark or visualize the boundary of the house/yard (threshold, gate, cattle-pen).
- Prepare a cord/rope (rajjū) or symbolic noose as the object of redirection; optionally knot it to represent hostile restraint being controlled.
- Purify the space with clean water; establish a protective orientation (facing outward from the threshold).
The rite
- Recite the verses while standing at the threshold or boundary, directing speech outward to send threats along the ‘farther path’.
- Gesture or cast the cord outward (or swing/extend it) to externalize and redirect snares and hostile intent.
- At the anti-theft verse, invoke Indra explicitly, voicing the ‘crushing’ and ‘overthrow-path’ formula as a deterrent and sanction.
What it needs
- Cord/rope/noose (rajjū) as a binding/redirecting implement
- Clean water for sprinkling (optional)
- Threshold dust/soil or boundary marker (optional, as a locus for directing the banishment)
When
At dusk/nightfall (when theft/predation is feared) or immediately upon sensing intrusion; also suitable before sleep as a boundary-ward.
The main substance
Rope/cord/noose (rajjū) as a controllable symbol of binding and redirection
Amulets
- Knotted cord (protective knot as ‘controlled binding’)
- Threshold/boundary marker (string line or cord tied at the entrance)
How it is prepared
Use a clean cord; optionally tie one or more knots while intending ‘I bind and turn away hostile bindings.’ Extend or cast the cord outward during recitation to enact banishment.
Frequently Asked Questions
To protect a household by ritually diverting threats—thieves, predators, snares, and hostile intent—away from the home and onto a remote, adverse route.
The “farther path” is a ritual-spatial command: danger is not just resisted but relocated outward, so it cannot enter the protected boundary.
Both: the speech-act of banishment is primary, and Indra is invoked as the enforcer—if a thief persists, Indra’s vajra is called to punish and stop him.
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