Sukta 7
Rishi: Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (hymn-cycle attribution; often treated as Atharvanic in ritual manuals)
Chandas: Likely Anuṣṭubh (contextual; confirm by full hymn metrical scan)
This sukta is a forceful Atharvanic “dispatch” (preṣa) that authoritatively consigns an enemy to harsh divine agencies, aiming at expulsion, ruin, and even life-withdrawal. It operates by treating the spoken commission itself as a quasi-personified power, backed by devas and by prāṇa as the decisive lever of destruction. A secondary, embedded domestic/apotropaic note appears in the duṣvapnya-cleansing formula, showing the same technology of naming and removal applied in a milder register.
Kind of charm
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
तेनै॑नं विध्या॒म्यभू॑त्यैनं विध्यामि॒ निर्भू॑त्यैनं विध्यामि॒ परा॑भूत्यैनं विध्यामि॒ ग्राह्यै॑नं विध्यामि॒ तम॑सैनं विध्यामि
मैं उस शक्ति से उस आदमी को मारता हूँ। मैं उसे खाली कर देता हूँ, मिटा देता हूँ, गिरा देता हूँ। मैं उसे पकड़ लेता हूँ, अंधेरे में डाल देता हूँ।
Mantra 2
दे॒वाना॑मेनं घो॒रैः क्रू॒रैः प्रै॒षैर॑भि॒प्रेष्या॑मि
मैं उसे भगा रहा हूँ। देवियों ने कहा है भगाओ, तो मैं भगा रहा हूँ। वो बड़े कठोर हैं, डराने वाले हैं। मैं उसे दूर भेज रहा हूँ।
Mantra 3
वै॒श्वा॒न॒रस्यै॑नं॒ दंष्ट्र॑यो॒रपि॑ दधामि
मैं उसे वैश्वानर के दाँतों में गिरा रहा हूँ। वहाँ उसे पकड़ लिया जाएगा।
Mantra 4
ए॒वाने॒वाव॒ सा ग॑रत्
ऐसा ही हो, मदद हो। और वो उसे निगल जाए।
Mantra 5
यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ तमा॒त्मा द्वे॑ष्टु॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः स आ॒त्मानं॑ द्वेष्टु
जो हमसे नफरत करता है, उसका अपना आप उसे नफरत करे। और जिससे हम नफरत करते हैं, वो खुद अपने आप से नफरत करे।
Mantra 6
निर्द्वि॒षन्तं॑ दि॒वो निः पृ॑थि॒व्या निर॒न्तरि॑क्षाद् भजाम
जो हमारे दुश्मन हैं, उनको हम आसमान से हटा देंगे। धरती से भी उनको बाहर करेंगे। हवा में से भी उनको अलग कर देंगे। यह मंत्र दुश्मन को दूर भगाने के लिए है।
Mantra 7
सुया॑मंश्चाक्षुष
यह अच्छा चल रहा है। और आँखों के लिए भी ठीक है।
Mantra 8
इ॒दम॒हमा॑मुष्याय॒णे॒३मुष्याः॑ पु॒त्रे दु॒ष्वप्न्यं॑ मृजे
मैं उस आदमी के बेटे से बुरा सपना हटा रहा हूँ। वो बुरा सपना जो उसकी माँ की वजह से आया था।
Mantra 9
यद॒दोअ॑दो अ॒भ्यग॑च्छन् यद् दो॒षा यत् पूर्वां॒ रात्रि॑म्
जो भी बुरा उसके पास आया, यहाँ या वहाँ। रात में जो हुआ, या पहली रात में जो हुआ।
Mantra 10
यज्जाग्र॑द् यत् सु॒प्तो यद् दिवा॒ यन्नक्त॑म्
जब वो जाग रहा था, या जब सो रहा था। दिन में जो हुआ, या रात में जो हुआ।
Mantra 11
यदह॑रहरभि॒गच्छा॑मि॒ तस्मा॑देन॒मव॑ दये
जो चीज़ रोज़ मेरा सामने आती है, मैं उसे हटा देता हूँ। मैं उसे दूर भगा देता हूँ।
Mantra 12
तं ज॑हि॒ तेन॑ मन्दस्व॒ तस्य॑ पृ॒ष्टीरपि॑ शृणीहि
उसे मारो, उससे मार दो। फिर खुश हो जाओ, शांत हो जाओ। उसकी पीठ तोड़ दो, उसका पूरा बेस ही तोड़के रख दो। वोह गिर जाए, उठ न पाए।
Mantra 13
स मा जी॑वी॒त् तं प्रा॒णो ज॑हातु
वोह जियेगा नहीं। उसकी साँस छोड़ दे, उसकी जान निकल जाए। उस आदमी को प्राण छोड़ दें, ज़िन्दगी उसको छोर दे।
Inside Sukta 7
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens in a commanding register, positioning the speaker as one who can invoke the devas’ harsh mandate and issue a binding ‘dispatch’.
- What it asks
That the target be driven out/handed over—sent away under dread, cruel divine commissions; in the gentler embedded formula, that duṣvapnya be wiped away from a specified person.
- Where its power lies
Efficacy is grounded in the performative force of brahman (mantra) as preṣa: the spoken commission is treated as operative reality, not mere petition.
- How it closes
The closure hardens into a life-force verdict: ‘let him not live; let prāṇa abandon him,’ sealing the rite with irreversible withdrawal of vitality.
Famous verses
देवानामेनं घोरैः क्रूरैः प्रैषैरभिप्रेष्यामिदुष्वप्न्यं मृजेतं प्राणो जहातुKind of hymn
Abhicarika (Sorcery/Imprecation)
What it is for
To expel and consign an enemy to destructive divine agencies through an authoritative preṣa, culminating (in the strongest closure) in the departure of the enemy’s prāṇa; optionally, to remove harmful dream-influence from a specified person by cleansing.
Who it is for
Ritual specialists (Atharvanic practitioners) and household officiants using Atharvanic mantras for coercive defense/offense; applied where a community or patron seeks decisive neutralization of a hostile party.
Also used as
- Marana-type (life-withdrawal)
- Uccāṭana/expulsion (by ‘dispatch’)
- Apotropaic cleansing (duṣvapnya-removal formula)
The deity
Prāṇa (breath, life-force) appears as the decisive agency that can abandon the targeted person, completing the hostile act.
Powers of the deity
- To ‘dispatch’ or drive a target away under divine mandate (preṣa)
- To afflict, harry, and socially/ritually expel an enemy
- To cleanse/remove an affliction when redirected apotropaically (e.g., duṣvapnya)
- To withdraw vitality by causing prāṇa to depart (marana-type efficacy)
Why the deity is called
Invoked to give the speaker’s command irresistible authority—so the target is expelled, handed over to dread powers, and ultimately deprived of sustaining breath if the rite is pursued to its harsh conclusion.
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgirasa (hymn-cycle attribution)Atharvan. Abhicāra charms of coercion and “sending” (preṣa): expulsion, binding/harrying of adversaries, and marana-type life-withdrawal; also lineage-specified apotropaic cleansing formulas used in household contexts.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 16.1–16.10 (Atharvanic/Āṅgirasa cycle attribution in many traditional listings)
- Comparable preṣa/abhicāra materials across AV books 1–7 (cycle-style attribution, not single-author)
Preparing for the rite
- Establish a controlled recitation space (clean ground; performer oriented and composed).
- Identify the target precisely (name or lineage formula where applicable), fixing intention as ‘dispatch/expulsion’.
- If using the cleansing sub-formula, ready a mārjana medium (water for sprinkling or a wiping implement such as cloth/grass) and define the subject (e.g., ‘son of such a one’).
The rite
- Recite the preṣa-verses as direct imperatives, verbally ‘sending’ the target under the devas’ dread commissions.
- For duṣvapnya-removal, perform mārjana (wipe/sprinkle) while reciting the lineage-specified formula, treating the affliction as removable impurity.
- Conclude with the prāṇa-directed statement if the rite is intended as terminal neutralization (marana-register).
What it needs
- Primary: voiced preṣa (authoritative command)
- Optional cleansing medium: water for sprinkling; cloth or darbha/grass for wiping (mārjana)
- Optional hostile adjuncts (contextual, not explicit in excerpts): binding cord, effigy, marked stake/peg, or a designated boundary for expulsion
When
As an adhoc coercive rite when threat is present; cleansing formula may be used after disturbing dreams or ominous sleep. Exact calendrical timing requires full ritual manual alignment.
The main substance
Preṣa (the spoken ritual ‘commission/dispatch’)
How it is prepared
Primary method is verbal performance: clear identification of target and forceful recitation as an imperative ‘sending’. For the duṣvapnya segment, prepare water (or wiping medium) and perform mārjana in synchrony with the mantra.
Frequently Asked Questions
Preṣa is an authoritative ritual ‘dispatch’ or commission—spoken as a command that sends the target away and places them under coercive divine enforcement.
Its dominant aim is hostile expulsion/neutralization, but it also contains a practical cleansing formula (mārjana) that removes duṣvapnya—harmful dream influence—from a specifically identified person.
Prāṇa is treated as the decisive life-force. Commanding prāṇa to abandon the target functions as the final seal that turns expulsion into complete neutralization (marana-register).
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