Atharva Veda 2.21.1: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 21, Mantra 1
Sukta 21
शत्रुनाशनम्। सूर्य॒ यत् ते॒ तप॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ तप॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
sū́rya yát te tápaḥ téna táṃ práti tapa yó ’smā́n dvéṣṭi yáṃ vayáṃ dvíṣmaḥ
O Sūrya, with what burning power is thine—therewith do thou scorch him back again, who hateth us, whom we do hate.
यह मंत्र दुश्मन को खत्म करने के लिए है। हे सूर्य, तुम्हारी जो गर्मी है, उससे उस आदमी को तपाओ जो हमसे दुश्मनी रखता है। जिसे हम भी अपना दुश्मन समझते हैं, उसको तुम वापस गर्मी से जला दो।
The meaning
What it says
The speaker invokes Sūrya’s tapas (burning heat/austerity-power) to scorch back the person who hates the speaker—i.e., to reverse hostility onto its source.
The inner meaning
Psychologically, the mantra externalizes corrosive anger into a disciplined, impersonal force (solar tapas) so that reactive hatred is “returned” without inner collapse; it is a ritualized boundary against intrusive malice.
The truth in it
Hostility is a self-consuming fire: when met with clarity and lawful force (tapas as moral-energetic heat), harmful intent rebounds upon the one who sustains it.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Counter-sorcery / Enemy-destruction; śatrunāśana)
Its aim
To repel and burn down an enemy’s hatred/hostile magic by redirecting solar tapas back upon the hater
Word by Word
Pada patha
सूर्य । यत् । ते । तपः । तेन । तम् । प्रति । तप । यः । अस्मान् । द्वेष्टि । यम् । वयम् । द्विष्मः ।
- शत्रुनाशनम्
- enemy-destruction; a charm/means that destroys enemiesNoun (compound) / Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (implied: ‘(इदं) शत्रुनाशनम्’ / ‘(इमं) शत्रुनाशनम्’)Root शत्रु-नाशन (प्रातिपदिक; नाशन < √नश्/नाश् ‘नाशयति’)
- सूर्य
- O SunO Sūrya (Sun), the all-seeing burner; invoked as punitive heat and witnessNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address)Root सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- that which; whateverwhatever/that which; introducing the specific power to be redirectedPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (of तपः/तपस् understood as ‘that (austerity/heat)’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- your; of youthy/your; belonging to the Sun as possessor of tapasPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of you’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- तपः
- heat; austerity; sacred powerheat, ardour, burning power (tapas) as a coercive, enemy-consuming forceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/विषय (that ‘heat/austerity’ as the thing referred to)Root तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेन
- by that; with thatwith that (instrumental); by means of that very solar burningPronounतृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- तम्
- him; that onehim; the hostile person as target of the ritePronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- प्रति
- towards; againstback against, in return; reversal/retaliation marker (pratyavāya, ‘turning back’)Indeclinable (preverb/preposition)अव्ययRole दिशा/प्रत्यवस्थान (governing the action ‘towards/against’)Root प्रति
- तप
- burn! scorch!burn! scorch! (imperative); perform punitive heating upon the enemyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (imperative addressed to सूर्य)Root √तप् (तपँ) ‘तपते/तापयति’
- यः
- whowho; relative pronoun specifying the offenderPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usus; the ritual patron and his group/household under protectionPronounद्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- द्वेष्टि
- hateshates, bears malice; hostile intent construed as actionable harmVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √द्विष् (द्विषँ) ‘द्वेष्टि’
- यम्
- whomwhom; correlating with ‘him’ as the object of our counteractionPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wewe; the performers/patron asserting agency in the counter-cursePronounप्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- द्विष्मः
- hatewe hate/are hostile to; formal declaration enabling lawful ritual retaliationVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √द्विष् (द्विषँ) ‘द्वेष्टि’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): सूर्य | यत् | ते | तपः | तेन | तम् | प्रति | तप | यः | अस्मान् | द्वेष्टि | यम् | वयम् | द्विष्मः
- 1) ‘सूर्य॒ यत्’ = सूर्य + यत् (no change)
- 2) ‘ते॒ तप॒ः’ = ते + तपः (no change)
- 3) ‘तं प्रति॑’ = तम् + प्रति (anusvāra/म् before प)
- 4) ‘यो॒३स्मान्’ = यः + अस्मान् → योऽस्मान् (अः + अ → ओऽ; avagraha; Vedic pluti-marking shown as ३ in the text)
- 5) ‘यं व॒यं’ = यम् + वयम् (no change)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution depends on the anukramaṇī for AVŚ 2.21)
- Devata
- Sūrya (as tapas-bearing punitive witness)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (to be confirmed against pada count in the anukramaṇī tradition)
- Rasa
- Raudra and Vira
Sāyaṇa glosses tapas as Sūrya’s dahana-śakti (‘power of burning’) and takes prati as ‘in return/turned back’ (pratyavartya), making the mantra a reversal of enmity: the Sun is entreated to transfer the heat that might touch the sacrificer onto the hater. The explicit ‘whom we hate’ is treated as a sanctioned identification of the adversary, not mere emotion, establishing the rite’s target (abhidheyatā) and efficacy (sāmarthya) through precise designation.
AVŚ 2.21 (hymn cluster: solar reversal formulas); AVŚ 2.20–2.22 (adjacent reversal/neutralization series with Vāyu/Candra/Sūrya)
Counter-hostility and reversal charms (abhicārika-apotropaic) using solar tejas/tapas as the operative force.
Represents the Atharvanic technique of harnessing a cosmic regulator (Sūrya) to restore social-energetic order by returning aggression to its origin.
Sūrya
Daily regulator of time and visibility; the moral witness whose light exposes hidden harm and whose heat enforces consequence.
Burns away contagion/impurity conceptually; supports vitality (ojas/tejas) when invoked protectively.
Apotropaic reversal: turns back curses, hatred, and hostile intent by “reflecting” them in solar fire.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables (with Atharvanic sandhi/word-boundary flexibility)
Formulaic repetition across verses; cadence driven more by charm-structure than strict classical metrical regularity.
Hammering, juridical rhythm—well-suited to ‘return’ (prati-) spells.
Creates a sense of inexorable recoil: the repeated relative clause (‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi…’) functions like a verbal hook catching the aggressor.
Identify the adversary (dveṣṭṛ) by name or by a substitute token (e.g., a clod/effigy), maintaining ritual secrecy where prescribed.
At sunrise (or facing the sun), the Atharvan priest recites the mantra while performing a ‘turning back’ gesture (prati): a forward offering/gesture followed by a reversal toward the enemy’s direction.
Optionally (per common Kauśika patterns for such mantras), accompany recitation with heating symbolism: exposure to sunlight, warming a stone/metal, or touching a warmed implement to the token, to materialize ‘tapas’ as operative force.
Conclude by dismissing the hostile influence away from the patron’s boundary (house/village line), reinforcing the ‘back-against-him’ semantics of prati.
Kauśika Sūtra: śatrunāśana / dveṣa-pratyāvartana karmāṇi
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as apotropaic technician: he identifies the target, times the act to solar presence, and enacts pratyāvartana (reversal) through gesture and directed recitation.
Recited as a home-protective counterspell when facing persistent hostility, slander, or suspected bewitchment; often paired with sun-facing posture at dawn.
Sunrise or when the sun is visible (sūryodaya preferred for solar charms).
Householder may perform; a specialist Atharvan priest may be sought for intensified abhicāra contexts.
Used as a ‘protective affirmation’ with ethical caution—aimed at neutralization/reversal rather than obsessive harm.
तपस् (tapas) as ‘fire/heat’—non-material fiery substance.
The mantra treats cosmic heat as a transferable pharmakon: an energetic ‘burn’ that can cauterize social-spiritual infection by forcing it back to its source.
Indirect: tapas/tejas language maps to Ayurvedic ‘tejas’ and the management of aggressive heat (pitta) when disciplined rather than reactive.
Stress-boundary practice against harassment; cognitive ‘return to sender’ framing to reduce rumination and fear.
A known hater/enemy (explicitly named by function, not by personal name).
To reverse and scorch the aggressor’s hateful force, neutralizing harm by punitive return.
Pratyāvartana (reversal) through identification of a deity’s weapon-quality (tapas) and command-form imperative (tapa).
Hatred, hostile speech, and implied hostile magic (kṛtyā-like intent).
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- witness, sovereign clarity, punitive illumination that reveals and burns impurities
- तपस् (tapas)
- concentrated will/discipline; transformative fire that can purify or punish
- प्रति-तप (prati-tap)
- reversal/boomerang of hostile force; reflective justice
- द्वेष्टि / द्विष्मः (dveṣṭi / dviṣmaḥ)
- acknowledged enmity; naming the affect so it can be ritually handled rather than repressed
- शत्रुनाशनम् (śatrunāśanam)
- severing of harmful relational bonds; cutting off malign influence
Solar clarity as a shield: visualize hostile intent hitting a field of light and returning harmlessly to its origin.
Maṇipūra (solar plexus)
Sūrya-bhedana (right-nostril emphasis) in mild form; steady exhale on ‘prati tap’ phrase.
A golden disc at the navel radiating outward, cauterizing cords of resentment.
Alert, boundary-set, non-fearful vigilance.
Chant facing the sun; keep intention on protection and restoration of ṛta, not personal cruelty. End with a brief śānti recitation to cool residual agitation.
Śaunaka accentual style: preserve udātta on key nominals (sūryá, tapás) and the imperative (táp(a)); avoid flattening the ‘prati’ compound.
Give a slight lift on udātta syllables; keep the repeated relative clause (‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi…’) even and emphatic.
Firm, bright, forward-placed (as if projecting sunlight).
Abhicāra-context: traditionally paired with protective sealing gestures (dik-bandha) and concluded with cooling/śānti to prevent residual raudra.
21 times
Facing harassment, envy, repeated antagonism, or suspected ‘evil eye’/hostile intent.
At sunrise or before entering a contested social space; also after receiving threatening messages to reset composure.
Restored confidence and energetic boundary; sense that hostility is neutralized and cannot ‘stick’.
Avoid escalating obsession or personal vengeance; if anger spikes, follow with calming breath or a śānti mantra.
No plant or drug is named in this verse; the operative ‘substance’ is solar tapas itself, conceptualized as a transferable, weaponized heat. In Atharvanic technics, such non-botanical agencies (fire/heat/light) function analogously to herbs: they are invoked as tangible forces that can be directed, intensified, and reassigned to a target.
The verse presumes access to a specialist who can legitimately name an enemy and mobilize a cosmic power (Sūrya’s tapas) for household protection. The explicit ‘whom we hate’ frames retaliation as ritually authorized, implying a social world where conflict is managed through priestly mediation and sanctioned counteraction rather than private violence alone.
The diction is largely common Vedic: tapas, dveṣ-, and imperative tapa are RV-attested. The Atharvanic coloration lies in pragmatic syntax and function: the relative clause ‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi’ plus the correlative target ‘taṃ…’ is deployed as a direct operational specification (a ‘targeting formula’) typical of AV counter-sorcery, with prati emphasizing reversal as a technical ritual operator.
Gopatha’s general Atharvanic theory treats mantras as efficacious through correct application (yukti) and identification (abhisandhi) of the target, often grounding power in cosmic correspondences (āditya/sūrya as heat and overseer). While a verse-specific Gopatha citation must be matched to chapter/section in a critical index, the conceptual fit is clear: solar heat is a cosmic instrument that, when properly ‘turned’ (prati), becomes a juridical-ritual punishment of the hostile party.
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