Atharva Veda 2.19.4: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 19, Mantra 4
Sukta 19
अग्ने॒ यत् ते॑ शो॒चिस्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ शोच॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
ágne yát te śócis téna táṃ práti śoca yó ’smā́n dvéṣṭi yáṃ vayáṃ dvíṣmaḥ
O Agni, with that flame of thine, scorch him in requital—him who hateth us, whom we ourselves do hate.
Ô Agni, par cette flamme qui est tienne (śociṣ) — par elle, en retour, brûle celui qui nous hait, celui que nous haïssons nous-mêmes.
The meaning
What it says
Agni is asked: with your śocis (bright flame), scorch back the hater—who hates us, whom we hate.
The inner meaning
Śocis is the mind’s bright, sharp discrimination that burns confusion and fear; hostility is met by clarity that ‘scorches’ its concealment.
The truth in it
Ill-will thrives in darkness and ambiguity; luminous truth and firm boundaries make it wither.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (counter-sorcery / hostile retaliation) with Rakṣoghna (protective) coloring
Its aim
To repel and punish an enemy’s hatred by turning Agni’s burning force back upon the hostile person (pratyavāya).
Word by Word
Pada patha
अग्ने । यत् । ते । शोचिः । तेन । तम् । प्रति । शोच । यः । अस्मान् । द्वेष्टि । यम् । वयम् । द्विष्मः ।
- अग्ने
- O AgniO Agni (Fire), invoked as the divine burner and retaliatory agentNounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अग्नि
- यत्
- that whichthat which; the particular (power/heat) in questionPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद्
- ते
- of you / yourthy; belonging to thee (Agni’s own potency)Pronounषष्ठी-एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root त्वद्
- शोचिः
- flame, blaze, radianceflame, blaze, burning radiance; the punitive heat that consumes hostility (śocana-śakti)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (of the relative clause)Root शोचिस्
- तेन
- with thatwith that; by means of that (very flame as instrument)Pronounतृतीया-एकवचनRole करणRoot तद्
- तम्
- himhim; that person (the hostile other)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद्
- प्रति
- towards, againstback against; in return, counter-directed (pratyavāya/retaliation sense)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRole directional markerRoot प्रति
- शोच
- burn (him)!burn! scorch! (imperative: cause to be consumed/tormented by heat)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot शुच्
- यः
- whowho; whichever person thatPronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद्
- अस्मान्
- usus; our party/household/community under protectionPronounद्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद्
- द्वेष्टि
- hateshates, bears malice toward; acts as an enemy (dveṣa as hostile intention)Verbलट्; प्रथम-एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot द्विष्
- यम्
- whomwhom; that person (target of our counter-hostility)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद्
- वयम्
- wewe; the ritual agents/clients speaking in the ritePronounप्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद्
- द्विष्मः
- hatehate, are hostile to; acknowledge enmity and authorize counteractionVerbलट्; उत्तम-बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot द्विष्
Sandhi Notes
- अग्ने | यत् | ते | शोचिः | तेन | तम् | प्रति | शोच | यः | अस्मान् | द्वेष्टि | यम् | वयम् | द्विष्मः ।
- 1) यो॒३स्मान् = यः + अस्मान् (विसर्गस्य लोपः; ‘यः’ इत्यस्य ‘यो’ रूपं स्वर/पदपाठ-परम्परया; ‘अस्मान्’ आरम्भे अ-कारे संधिः)।
- 2) ‘शोचिस्तेन’ = शोचिः + तेन (विसर्गः परे तकारे ‘ः’ रूपेण एव; लेखने संहितायां संयोगः)।
- 3) ‘तं प्रति’ = तम् + प्रति (अनुस्वार/म् परे पकारे यथावत्)।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Agni (as retaliatory burner and protector)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (AV often approximates anuṣṭubh; exact metrical scan depends on pada-resolution and edition)
- Rasa
- Raudra and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa takes śocis as Agni’s inherent burning power (dāhaka-tejas) fit for pratyavāya, ‘returning’ the injury. The imperative śoca is directed to Agni as executor of the sacrificer’s defensive will: the hater of ‘us’ is to be burned back (prati) by the same fiery potency. The final clause (‘whom we hate’) is read as explicit designation of the adversary, legitimizing the counter-rite rather than unprovoked aggression.
Anukramaṇī-uncertain (hymn attribution required)
Protective-retaliatory formulas using Agni’s radiance vocabulary (śocis/arciṣ/tejas) as graded ‘weapons’.
Encodes the Atharvanic idea that light itself is a defensive technology—illumination as exorcism.
Agni
Light-bearing fire that reveals; guardian at the domestic threshold; purifier of unseen harms.
Scorches and exposes hostile forces; protects the household’s ‘luminous order’.
4×8 (approx.); repeated formula with substituted weapon-term śocis
Possible resolution around te śociḥ; AV cadence favors formulaic repetition over strict syllable regularity.
Sibilants (ś) create a ‘hissing flame’ sonic texture.
A bright, cutting auditory line; the imperative ‘śoca’ feels like a flash/flare.
Kindle the domestic fire (gārhapatya) or establish a rite-fire for protection/retaliation.
Facing the fire, the Atharvan priest recites this mantra as a direct injunction to Agni.
An oblation (ghee or appropriate offering) is cast into the fire at the imperative ‘śoca’, treating the āhuti as the physical ‘sending’ of the burning back (prati).
Optionally, the adversary is specified by name in an ancillary utterance (nāma-grahaṇa) consistent with Atharvanic practice, while maintaining the mantra’s deictic ‘tam/yam’.
Conclude with a pacificatory offering to prevent collateral harm, re-securing the household boundary.
Kauśika Sūtra: pratīhata/pratyavāya-type prayoga for ‘dveṣa’ (enemy-hatred) employing Agni-mantras (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as apotropaic technician: he ‘aims’ Agni’s śocis through mantra and āhuti, ensuring the act is framed as defensive retribution (prati) rather than indiscriminate harm.
Recite beside a bright, clean flame (lamp or hearth) to ‘shine back’ hostility; keep the fire steady (no smoky flare-ups).
Early evening or before important social contact.
Householder-led; priest optional for extended rakṣā rites.
Light a diya, chant, then sit silently watching the flame for a minute to stabilize attention.
Agni (ritual fire as weaponized heat); Fuel/kindling (samidh) implicitly as carrier of śocis; Oblation (āhuti) implicitly as the ‘delivery’ of the command
śocis (bright flame) of Agni.
Śocis is ‘revealing burn’: it destroys by exposure and purification, not merely by violence.
Ritual for perceived ‘toxic social exposure’: strengthening clarity and reducing anxiety via symbolic illumination.
Any hostile agent (explicit or implicit).
Return-scorching of the hater through Agni’s luminous flame (śocis).
Formulaic substitution (weapon-term swap) + fire-gazing; optionally trace a protective circle around the hearth with a burning twig (regional practice, not text-guaranteed).
Evil eye-like envy, curses, hostile speech.
- शोचिः (śocis)
- Illuminating discernment; a purifying glare that exposes malice
- प्रति शोच (prati śoca)
- Reversal of harmful intent through luminous counter-force
- यः…द्वेष्टि (yo…dveṣṭi)
- Generalized targeting—hostility as a type, not only a person
Cultivate inner luminosity that repels negativity.
maṇipūra
Trāṭaka-like soft gaze on flame with slow nasal breathing.
A white-gold flame in the solar plexus rises to the heart as a radiant shield; hostile shadows recoil from the light.
Clear, bright, vigilant calm.
Chant, then rest attention in the ‘brightness’ sensation; end with a goodwill thought to prevent fixation on enemies.
Maintain steady pitch; let sibilants be crisp but not harsh; emphasize ‘śociḥ’ and ‘śoca’.
agne | yat te śociḥ | tena tam | prati śoca | yo ’smān dveṣṭi | yaṃ vayaṃ dviṣmaḥ.
Bright, focused, slightly higher resonance than the ‘tapas’ verse.
If agitation rises, reduce repetitions and conclude with silent breath-counting (cooling).
21 times
When entering environments of gossip, envy, or subtle hostility.
Before social events, workplace conflict, or after feeling ‘drained’ by negativity.
Increased clarity, confidence, and sense of protection; reduced susceptibility to intimidation.
Do not escalate interpersonal conflict; use alongside practical communication and support.
No explicit plant appears; the operative ‘substance’ is Agni’s śocis (burning radiance). In Atharvanic technology, fire functions analogously to a medicinal agent: it ‘cooks’ and expels the hostile force. Any fuel/oblation serves as a material substrate that carries the verbal command into enacted heat.
The speaker-group (‘we’) authorizes a controlled violence mediated by a priest and a deity, not by private vengeance alone. The rite presumes access to ritual fire and Atharvanic expertise, situating power in households or patrons who can commission such counteraction, while the priest regulates legitimacy by framing it as retaliation against a prior hater.
The diction is RV-compatible (Agni, śocis, dveṣ-), but the pragmatic force is characteristically Atharvanic: explicit targeting of a social enemy (‘who hates us’) and the retaliatory marker prati. The compact deictics (tam/yam) suit performative identification in ritual contexts.
In Gopatha’s Atharvanic theology, efficacy arises from brahman (formulated speech) yoked to a concrete carrier (fire/oblation). Agni is both witness and executioner: the mantra does not merely describe burning, it authorizes and directs it. The ‘prati’ logic aligns with Atharvanic notions of returning harm to its source, a recurrent justification for protective/retaliatory rites.
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