Atharva Veda 2.22.1: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 22, Mantra 1
Sukta 22
शत्रुनाशनम्। चन्द्र॒ यत् ते॒ तप॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ तप॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
cándra yát te tápaḥ téna táṃ práti tapa yó ’smā́n dvéṣṭi yáṃ vayáṃ dvíṣmaḥ
O Moon, with that tapas which is thine, with that do thou scorch him in return—who hateth us, whom we ourselves do hate.
यह मंत्र दुश्मन को खत्म करने के लिए है। चंद्र देव से प्रायर है कि अपनी तपस्या की ताकत से दुश्मन को जला दो। जो हमसे दुश्मनी करता है, जिको हम भी सही नहीं मानते, उसको वापस में तपाओ।
The meaning
What it says
The speaker invokes Candra (Moon/Soma) and asks him to use his own tapas (ritual/ascetic heat) to “scorch back” (prati-tap) the person who hates the speaker.
The inner meaning
Hostility is met by disciplined inner heat: the mantra externalizes anger into a regulated, ritually bounded force, aiming to prevent the mind from being consumed by reactive hatred while still seeking protection.
The truth in it
Attention and intention can “return” negativity: when one aligns with a higher, regulating power (cosmic order embodied by Candra/Soma), malice is neutralized by being reflected back to its source rather than internalized.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (enemy-destruction / counter-magic)
Its aim
To repel and punish an identified hater by turning the Moon/Soma’s tapas against him (retaliatory scorching).
Word by Word
Pada patha
चन्द्र । यत् । ते । तपः । तेन । तम् । प्रति । तप । यः । अस्मान् । द्वेष्टि । यम् । वयम् । द्विष्मः ।
- चन्द्र
- O Moon (bright one)O Moon (the bright one); invoked as a luminous, cooling yet punitive power able to 'burn back' hostilityAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (हे चन्द्र!)Role सम्बोधन (address)Root चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- whatever; that whichwhat/that which; the specific, efficacious portion of (the Moon’s) power being singled outPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म (of तप्) / विषय (what)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you; yourof thee/thy; belonging to the Moon as possessor of tapas (potent heat/ascetic force)Pronounषष्ठी-एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तपः
- austerity; heat; spiritual powertapas: ardent heat, ascetic potency; here a magical-penal energy used for enemy-destructionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ/साधन-भाव (as ‘austerity/heat’ functioning as the power)Root तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेन
- with that; by thatwith that (instrumentally); by means of that very tapas as the operative force of the spellPronounतृतीया-एकवचनRole करणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- him; that personhim; the hostile person designated as targetPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towards; againstback against; in return, counter-directed—reversal of the enemy’s maliceIndeclinableअव्ययRole दिशा/प्रत्यभिमुख्य (towards/against)Root प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- तप
- burn! heat! (afflict!)burn, scorch, afflict with heat; imperative commanding the deity to apply punitive tapasVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot तप् (धातु)
- यः
- whowho; relative marker introducing the enemy-definition clausePronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ (of द्वेष्टि)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usus; the ritual client/community under Atharvanic protectionPronounद्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्म (of द्वेष्टि)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- द्वेष्टि
- hateshates, bears malice; the hostile affect that justifies apotropaic retaliationVerbलट् (वर्तमान); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot द्विष् (धातु)
- यम्
- whomwhom; correlating with 'we'—the one we identify as adversaryPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्म (of द्विष्मः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wewe; the officiant + patron group asserting ritual agency and social solidarityPronounप्रथमा-बहुवचनRole कर्तृ (of द्विष्मः)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- द्विष्मः
- hatehate, are hostile to; formal declaration of enmity enabling abhicāra-style counteractionVerbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तम-पुरुष; बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot द्विष् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): चन्द्र | यत् | ते | तपः | तेन | तम् | प्रति | तप | यः | अस्मान् | द्वेष्टि | यम् | वयम् | द्विष्मः ।
- 1) ‘चन्द्र॒ यत्’ इत्यत्र संहितायां विसर्ग/अनुस्वार-परिवर्तन नास्ति
- केवलं पदसीमा।
- 2) ‘तप॒स्तेन’ = तपः + तेन (विसर्गः तकारादौ ‘स्’ इव श्रूयते/लिख्यते—वैदिकपाठ-लक्षणम्)।
- 3) ‘यो॒३स्मान्’ = यः + अस्मान् (विसर्ग-लोपः; ओ-स्वरः संहितालक्षणम्; ‘३’ प्लुत/दीर्घोच्चारण-सूचकः)।
- 4) ‘द्वेष्टि॒ यं’ = द्वेष्टि + यम् (पदसीमा; संधि-परिवर्तन नहीं)।
- 5) ‘व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः’ = वयम् + द्विष्मः (पदसीमा; संधि नहीं)।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (specific ṛṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī; often classed under Atharvan/Āṅgirasa enemy-destruction hymns).
- Devata
- Candra (Soma/Moon) as punitive agent through tapas.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (likely; short imperative structure typical of AV anuṣṭubh—confirmable against pada-count in a critical edition).
- Rasa
- Raudra and Vira
Sāyaṇa takes candra as Soma/Candra, possessor of tapas (here not merely ‘heat’ but a deity’s punitive, magically effective energy). The imperative tapa is construed as ‘afflict/burn’ the adversary; prati indicates retaliation and reversal (the enemy’s hate is turned back upon him). The relative clause yó ’smān dveṣṭi defines the legitimate target; yáṃ vayáṃ dviṣmaḥ marks the socially recognized enemy, not an indiscriminate victim.
Anukramaṇī-variant; commonly treated as Atharvan/Āṅgirasa-type anonymous seer for śatrunāśana verses
Abhicārika counter-spells (prati-karman), enemy-binding/neutralization, protective reversals using celestial powers
Represents the Atharvanic technique of redirecting hostile intention through a cosmic agent, preserving the patron’s integrity by ritually outsourcing retaliation to devatā-power.
Candra (Soma/Moon)
Regulator of nights, plants, and mind-like luminosity; a reflector that can also serve as a punitive mirror for disorder (dveṣa).
Stabilizes manas, supports ojas/soma symbolism, cooling restoration when invoked in benevolent contexts.
Apotropaic reversal—Moon’s tapas/tejas is weaponized to repel hatred and diminish an enemy’s efficacy.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables; imperative core in mid-pādas (tena… prati tapa) with relative clause closure (yo… yam…)
Compact Atharvanic anuṣṭubh with formulaic refrain-like relative construction; occasional sandhi-driven syllable compression.
Clipped, command-driven cadence suited to imprecation and reversal.
Builds a focused “strike” on the imperative (prati tapa), then seals it with the identifying relative clause.
Identify the adversary (by name or by symbolic designation) as ‘the hater’.
Recite the mantra facing the direction associated with the enemy (often the quarter of perceived threat), establishing prati (‘back against’) intent.
Perform a counteracting act (karman) consistent with ‘tapa’: e.g., heating/brandishing a heated implement, or symbolically ‘burning’ a substitute (grass/effigy) while reciting, to externalize the scorching.
Conclude by a protective sealing act for the patron (touching the head/heart, or encircling gesture), marking the transfer of harm away from ‘us’ and back to ‘him’.
Kauśika Sūtra: śatrunāśana / dveṣa-pratīkāra sections (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition; commonly grouped under rites employing ‘prati’ counter-spells to return hostility).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as apotropaic technician: he designates the target, controls the ‘return’ (prati) logic, and safeguards the patron from rebound through correct recitation and closure.
Recited at night under moonlight or facing the moon; may accompany boundary rites (sprinkling, circling the house) in later practice-extensions.
Night; especially waxing moon for ‘increase of power,’ or when hostility is acute.
Householder (gṛhapati) may recite; in formal settings an Atharvan priest directs the counter-rite.
Mental recitation as protective visualization; avoid literal harm-intent and frame as ‘returning negativity’.
Soma/Moon (Candra) as the operative power (tapas); Tapas (ritual heat/ascetic force) as the ‘substance’ of efficacy
Implicit via tapas ‘heat/scorching’ imagery
Tapas functions as a quasi-substance: transferable heat that can be directed. Candra, though ‘cool,’ is here a regulator who can concentrate punitive heat as moral-ritual pressure.
Psychological boundary-setting against harassment; ritualized coping with perceived hostility (stress inoculation via structured recitation).
Known or ritually designated “hater” (dveṣṭṛ)
Return scorching force to the hater; deter further aggression by invoking lunar tapas.
Prati-karman (reversal), devatā-commissioning, identification-by-relative-clause (yo… yam…)
Enmity, curses, hostile speech/intent
- चन्द्र (candra)
- cool authority that can also punish; Soma’s regulating mind-light that reflects and reverses hostility
- तपस् (tapas)
- concentrated will/discipline; transformative pressure that can purify or burn
- प्रति तप (prati-tap)
- counter-magic/reversal; ethical containment—harm is not sent randomly but returned to the aggressor
- द्वेष्टि / द्विष्मः (dveṣṭi/dviṣmaḥ)
- acknowledged enmity; naming the affect to control it ritually
Mirror-like awareness: observe hostility without absorbing it; return it to emptiness through disciplined attention (tapas).
ājñā
Nadi-śodhana or slow lunar breathing (candra-bhedana) followed by brief kumbhaka on the imperative phrase.
Moonlight condenses into a protective sphere; any hostile arrows touch it and rebound to their source as harmless light.
Steady, watchful, non-reactive clarity with firm boundaries.
Chant softly, keep the mind cool; let ‘tapas’ mean concentration, not rage. End with a short śānti prayer to re-stabilize.
Simple sāman-less Atharvanic recitation; keep udātta on key nouns (candra, tapas) and a slight lift on the imperative.
Emphasize ‘tena… prati tapa’; keep the relative clause (yo… yam…) even and sealing.
Firm, contained, not shouted; ‘command’ tone on prati-tap.
After repetitions, ritually ‘close’ with a cooling breath or water-sip to prevent residual raudra affect in the patron.
21 times
Facing persistent hostility, slander, or psychic intimidation.
At night, preferably in calm focus; before sleep when rumination about an enemy arises.
Sense of protection, reduced fear, strengthened boundaries; traditional aim: enemy’s malice rebounds and weakens.
Avoid escalating real-world conflict; do not use to justify harm. If paranoia/anxiety is severe, seek professional support.
No explicit herb appears; the operative ‘substance’ is Soma/Candra conceptualized as tapas. Atharvanic medicine and sorcery often treat non-material forces (heat, brilliance, poison, breath) as quasi-substances; here tapas functions like a pharmacological agent—administered by speech and ritual gesture to ‘burn’ the hostile condition embodied in the enemy.
The verse presumes an officiant-backed community (‘us’) with the authority to name an enemy and mobilize divine punitive power. The public declaration ‘whom we hate’ suggests socially ratified enmity (not private whim), aligning with Atharvanic ritual’s role in protecting household/polity and reinforcing in-group cohesion under priestly management.
The diction is largely common Vedic: tapas, dveṣ-, imperative tapa. The notable Atharvanic pragmatic style is the direct operational command plus target-definition (relative clause), typical of AV spell-language—more explicitly performative and juridical (‘who hates us’) than many RV hymnic praises.
In Gopatha’s Atharvanic theology, efficacy hinges on correct deployment of brahman (formulated speech) and the controlled redirection of forces. A mantra with prati logic exemplifies ‘returning’ harm to its source; the Moon/Soma’s tapas is a legitimizing cosmic power harnessed by Atharvanic utterance, making the rite effective when properly targeted and ritually sealed.
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