Anuvaka 3
Suktas in Anuvaka 3
Sukta 21
AV 4.21 is a gopauṣṭika (cattle-prosperity) hymn that ritually “brings the herd home,” settles it in the goṣṭha (cow-stall), and secures fertility, abundant milk, and safe ranging. The cows are praised as the household’s moving wealth, while Indra’s wide-ranging fearlessness and Rudra’s enclosing weapon are invoked to prevent pursuit, snares, theft, and hostile speech that could diminish the herd.
Sukta 22
AV 4.22 is a royal-subjugation hymn that petitions Indra to enlarge a patron kṣatriya’s might, make him the single “bull” among the clans, and crush or bind every rival. It blends benediction (cosmic abundance from Heaven-and-Earth) with coercive abhicāra, aiming at political consolidation: enemies are struck down, opposition is subdued, and hostile resources are drawn into the king’s control.
Sukta 23
AV 4.23 is an Agni Jātavedas hymn of release (muñc-) that treats aṃhas—anguish, constricting misfortune, and sin-like pollution—as something that can be untied through Agni’s ritual mediation. By recalling Agni’s cosmic sovereignty and his role in mythic victories over hostile powers, the hymn converts praise into an operative remedy: Agni carries offerings, brings divine goodwill (sumati), and loosens the bonds of distress.
Sukta 24
Atharvaveda 4.24 is a papamocana (sin-and-distress loosening) hymn that turns to Indra—Vṛtra-slayer, strength-bearer, and giver of wealth—to “unbind” the worshipper from aṃhas (oppressive fault, pollution, or misfortune). Through a refrain-like plea, it frames deliverance as Indra’s gracious act toward the giver and Soma-offerer, restoring vigor, ritual efficacy, and success in competition (gaviṣṭi). The hymn’s power lies in coupling praise (stoma/arka/brahman) with Indra’s martial and prosperity-bestowing epithets, making release from aṃhas the condition for renewed fortune.
Sukta 25
This seven-verse hymn is a pāpamocana (sin-and-distress releasing) charm that calls on the paired powers of Vāyu (purifying, life-breath) and Savitar (impeller, loosener of bonds) to free the reciter from aṃhas—moral fault, oppressive misfortune, and its demonic residues. It combines expiation with apotropaic force: evil deeds (duṣkṛta), rakṣas, and śimidā forces are driven away, while the “best blessings” are made to stand firm in the ritual space.
Sukta 26
This hymn is a confession-and-release charm addressed to Dyāvā-Pṛthivī (Heaven and Earth), asking them to loosen and remove aṃhas—sinful taint, constriction, and burning distress. It praises the cosmic parents as the immeasurable, life-bearing foundation of wealth and stability, and petitions them to become a safe refuge. The repeated refrain “te no muñcatam aṃhasaḥ” functions as an apotropaic seal, turning cosmic order into personal clearance from guilt, affliction, and human-caused harm.
Sukta 27
AV 4.27 is a pāpamocana (sin-and-distress releasing) charm that enlists the Marut-host together with the purifying circuit of Waters—ocean, sky, rain, and earth—to unbind aṃhas (moral-ritual fault and its afflictive consequences). Through refrain-driven petitions, the hymn turns storm-force into medicine: what is fierce in battle becomes protective against inner and outer harm. Its power is expressed as a cosmic cleansing cycle, where the same waters that rise and fall also lift away guilt, danger, and debilitating misfortune.
Sukta 28
AV 4.28 is a Bhava–Śarva (Rudra in paired form) release-hymn aimed at loosening pāpa/aṃhas—moral fault, binding distress, and calamity—from the sacrificer’s whole domain. It repeatedly frames Rudra’s dual sovereignty as extending over “two-footed and four-footed,” making the charm simultaneously household-healing and herd-protective. The hymn also turns Rudraic ferocity outward, asking the two to strike hostile, occult, or battle-born threats and thereby restore auspicious order.
Sukta 29
This seven-verse hymn to Mitra–Varuṇa functions as a moral-ritual “unbinding,” seeking release from aṃhas—sin, distress, and the constriction that follows deceit, accusation, or broken truth. It praises the deities as guardians of ṛta and allies of the truthful, recalling their past rescues of renowned figures to activate the same protective jurisdiction for the reciter. The refrain-like petition “release us from aṃhas” frames the sukta as both pāpmamocana (sin-release) and rakṣā (protective defense) in social-legal conflict.
Sukta 30
AV 4.30 is a sovereignty-and-cohesion hymn in the self-declarative “aham” style, where Rāṣṭrī (Rāṣṭradevī) speaks as the integrating force that upholds the gods and thereby stabilizes the realm. By identifying the mantra-power with cosmic pervasion and divine weaponry, it sacralizes kingship, binds the people into one polity, and turns punitive force against disruptors of brahman and social order.
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