Sukta 23
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted without a single named ṛṣi for minor healing charms; assigned in some indices to Atharvan/Angiras lineages).
Devata: Oṣadhi (the herb) and Rājanī/Night (personified night-power).
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (4 pādas of 8 syllables; typical of Atharvanic healing charms).
AVŚ 1.23 est un bref charme thérapeutique atharvanique qui «re-noircit» ce qui est devenu d’un blanc de mauvais augure—en particulier kílāsa (taches blanches de la peau) et palitá (grisonnement prématuré). Il invoque une herbe née de la nuit, de teinte noire, avec Rājanī (la Nuit), afin d’inverser la décoloration, d’expulser un malheur de type Nirṛti et de faire disparaître la marque blanche par la force du mantra (brahman).
Mantras
Mantra 1
शत्रुनिवारणम्। न॒क्तं॒जा॒तास्यो॑षधे॒ रामे॒ कृष्णे॒ असि॑क्नि च । इ॒दं र॑जनि रजय कि॒लासं॑ पलि॒तं च॒ यत्
Née de la nuit es-tu, ô Plante—Oṣadhi—, la sombre, la noire, oui, la noircie. Ceci, ô Nuit, rends-le de nouveau sombre : le kilāsa et la blancheur grise—quoi que ce soit.
Mantra 2
कि॒लासं॑ च पलि॒तं च॒ निरि॒तो ना॑शया॒ पृष॑त्। आ त्वा॒ स्वो वि॑शतां॒ वर्णः॒ परा॑ शु॒क्लानि॑ पातय
Kilāsa et la grisonnance—issus de Nirṛti—détruis-les, ô Tacheté. Que ta propre couleur, la tienne, entre en toi; rejette au loin les blancheurs.
Mantra 3
असि॑तं ते प्र॒लय॑नमा॒स्थान॒मसि॑तं॒ तव॑ । असि॑क्न्यस्योषधे॒ निरि॒तो ना॑शया॒ पृष॑त्
Noir est ton siège, ton lieu de déliaison; noir, encore, est le tien. Ô herbe de la Noire, détruis Nirṛti; frappe le Tacheté (le fléau).
Mantra 4
अ॒स्थि॒जस्य॑ कि॒लास॑स्य तनू॒जस्य॑ च॒ यत् त्व॒चि। दूष्या॑ कृ॒तस्य॒ ब्रह्म॑णा॒ लक्ष्म॑ श्वे॒तम॑नीनशम्
Tout ce qui est sur la peau—mal né de l’os, kilāsa, et mal né du corps—ô tache: par la puissance du brahman, comme une chose fabriquée (et imposée), j’ai fait s’évanouir cette marque blanche.
Frequently Asked Questions
It targets whitening conditions—especially kílāsa (white skin patches) and palitá (premature grayness)—and treats them as both a medical and inauspicious ‘mark’ to be reversed.
Night symbolizes the power of darkening and restoration; the herb is imagined as carrying that same blackening potency, so together they ‘turn back’ the whitened sign and drive away its harmful agency.
Both. Along with healing, it expels Nirṛti (calamity/misfortune) and cancels an affliction described as ‘wrought’ or imposed, giving the charm an apotropaic, protective edge.
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