Atharva Veda 5.13.4: Kanda 5, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 13, Mantra 4
Sukta 13
चक्षु॑षा ते॒ चक्षु॑र्हन्मि वि॒षेण॑ हन्मि ते वि॒षम्। अहे॑ म्रि॒यस्व॒ मा जी॑वीः प्र॒त्यग॒भ्येऽतु त्वा वि॒षम्
cákṣuṣā te cákṣur hanmi viṣéṇa hanmi te viṣám | áhe mriyásva mā́ jīvīḥ prátyag abhí etu tvā viṣám ||
With eye I smite thine eye; with poison I smite thy poison. O serpent, die—live not: backward, upon thee, let the venom go.
मैं तुम्हारी आँख से तुम्हारी आँख को मारता हूँ। मैं तुम्हारे ज़हर को ज़हर से मारता हूँ। ऐ साँप, अब मर जा, ज़िंदा मत रह। तुम्हारा ज़हर वापस तुम्हारे पास चला जाए।
The meaning
What it says
The speaker confronts a serpent directly: “With my eye I strike your eye; with poison I strike your poison. O serpent, die—do not live; let the venom turn back upon you.”
The inner meaning
A counter-gaze (focused attention) meets panic and paralysis. The mind refuses to be hypnotized by fear (the serpent’s “eye”) and reverses the intrusive force (toxin/terror) back to its source—i.e., it is named, bounded, and expelled.
The truth in it
What enters as harm can be met by lucid counter-force: awareness (cakṣus) and disciplined speech (vāc) can “turn back” destructive momentum, restoring agency in crisis.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic anti-serpent
Its aim
To kill/disable the serpent-poison and reverse it back upon the source; immediate protection against envenomation.
Word by Word
Pada patha
चक्षुषा । ते । चक्षुः । हन्मि । विषेण । हन्मि । ते । विषम् । अहे । म्रियस्व । मा । जीवीः । प्रत्यक् । अभि । एतु । त्वा । विषम्
- चक्षुषा
- with (your) eye / by the eyewith the eye; by sight (counter-magic: ‘eye against eye’—neutralizing the poison’s ‘gaze’)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot चक्षुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourthy (of the poison/serpent; or of the afflicted locus)Pronounषष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्षुः
- eyeeye, sight (the venom’s perceived agency; also the bite’s ‘look’/malign influence)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot चक्षुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- हन्मि
- I strike / I slayI smite, I strike down (direct killing formula)Verbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot हन् (धातु)
- विषेण
- with poisonNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole करणRoot विष (प्रातिपदिक)
- हन्मि
- I strike / I slayI smite (repetition for performative force)Verbलट् (वर्तमान); उत्तम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot हन् (धातु)
- ते
- of you / yourthy (belonging to the adversary)Pronounषष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विषम्
- poisonNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्मRoot विष (प्रातिपदिक)
- अहे
- O serpent!Nounपुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot अहि (प्रातिपदिक)
- म्रियस्व
- die!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot मृ (धातु)
- मा
- do notIndeclinableनिषेध (prohibitive particle)Role सम्बन्ध (with verb)Root मा (निषेध-अव्यय)
- जीवीः
- live!live! (in prohibitive: ‘do not live’)—total negation of the venom’s agencyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); मध्यम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot जीव् (धातु)
- प्रत्यक्
- back, backward; in reversebackward, back (reversal/returning the poison upon itself)Indeclinableअव्यय (directional adverb)Role क्रिया-विशेषणRoot प्रत्यञ्च् (अव्यय/दिशा-शब्द)
- अभि
- towards, upontoward, upon (directional intensifier)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (preverb)Role क्रिया-विशेषणRoot अभि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- एतु
- let it go / let it comelet it go/come (precative: movement of poison away from patient, back to source)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot इ (धातु)
- त्वा
- youthee (the serpent/poison as recipient of the returned venom)Pronounद्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (enclitic)Role कर्मRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विषम्
- the poisonpoison (as the returning projectile)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचनRole कर्ता (of एतु) / or कर्म (contextual)Root विष (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) चक्षु॑र् + हन्मि → चक्षुः हन्मि (visarga before h).
- (2) प्रत्यग् + अभि + एतु → प्रत्यक् अभि एतु (final -g of प्रत्यग् becomes -k before voiceless a-/in pada separation)
- (3) अभि + एतु → अभि एतु (written as अभ्येतु by sandhi: i + e → ye). Thus the continuous form प्र॒त्यग॒भ्येऽतु is segmented as प्रत्यक् | अभि | एतु. No other mandatory sandhi splits
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic (per anukramaṇī tradition).
- Devata
- Ahi/Sarpa (serpent) as addressed adversary; the counter-poison power as operative force.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable).
- Rasa
- Raudra and Vira
Sayana reads the verse as a direct serpent-charm: the ‘eye’ is the serpent’s baleful faculty (or the poison’s ‘perceiving’ power) countered by the priest’s controlled gaze/attention. ‘viṣeṇa viṣam’ is explained as counteracting poison by a poison-remedy (or by the poison’s own force turned against it). ‘pratyak’ marks reversal: the venom is sent back to its origin, a common Atharvanic logic of return (pratyāvartana).
Atharvanic (anonymous in many anukramaṇī listings for AV 5.13)
Bhaiṣajya and apotropaic serpent/poison charms; crisis-protection through reversal (pratyavartana) formulas.
Represents Atharvanic ‘beneficent force’ deployed as immediate protection: the healer’s gaze and word become a weapon that neutralizes and returns poison.
Ahi/Sarpa (serpent as addressed adversary) with operative counter-poison power (viṣa-pratyanīka)
Serpent/venom embodies sudden, liminal danger; the mantra installs a counter-current that restores r̥ta-like order by reversing disorder back to its origin.
Neutralization of envenomation through ‘binding and reversal’ speech; stabilizing the victim’s life-force (prāṇa) by expelling viṣa.
Immediate apotropaic shield: prevents venom’s spread and ‘turns away’ the serpent’s agency.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables (Atharvanic flexibility with sandhi and injunctive cadence)
Mantric compression: imperatives and repeated ‘hanmi’ create a punchy, spell-like anuṣṭubh rather than a narrative one.
Percussive, command-driven; repetition functions like striking blows.
Induces urgency and directed will; supports ‘turning back’ visualization and steadying of breath during emergency.
Fix the gaze upon the afflicted spot or toward the direction of the serpent (if known), reciting ‘cákṣuṣā te cákṣur hanmi’.
Touch the bite with a prepared antidote (or symbolically with a blade of grass/amulet) on ‘viṣeṇa hanmi te viṣam’.
Utter ‘áhe mriyásva’ as a direct command; optionally stamp the ground or strike a clod to enact ‘smite’.
Perform a reversal motion on ‘pratyak’: sweep or flick the hand away from the patient toward the outside, as if sending the venom back.
Kauśika Sūtra: sarpa/viṣa-pratikriyā (snake/poison counter-rites), typically involving gaze, touch, and reversal gestures (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan as exorcist-healer: performs direct address to the serpent/poison and executes reversal (pratyāvartana) through gesture and speech.
Recited at the bite-site or near the afflicted; often paired with protective gestures (circumambulation, boundary-marking) and practical measures.
Immediately upon suspected bite; repeated until help/relief arrives.
Atharvan healer (or household head) as authoritative speaker; may ‘fix’ the gaze and command the venom outward.
Kauśika: anti-viṣa/ahi rites are broadly associated with AVŚ 5.13 usage in later practice (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Use only as devotional/psychological support; never as replacement for emergency treatment.
eye/gaze (counter-gaze); poison-as-counteragent (viṣeṇa); reversal (pratyak)
The ‘substance’ is primarily functional: gaze (cakṣus) and word act as pharmakon. ‘Poison with poison’ encodes a counter-agent principle—matching the affliction’s form to unmake it.
Snakebite/envenomation (viṣa) and acute toxic shock
Eye (cakṣus) as locus of counter-force; implicitly the whole body threatened by venom.
Apotropaic reversal + binding of venom’s agency; psychophysiological stabilization via authoritative speech and focused gaze.
Viṣa-cikitsā logic: counteracting poison (prativiṣa/pratyanīka), arresting spread, calming vāta agitation from fear/pain.
First-aid crisis mantra used alongside urgent medical care for snakebite; psychologically akin to grounding/focus to reduce panic while seeking antivenom.
Serpent/venom (personified)
Kill/disable the serpent’s venom and reverse it back upon the source; protect the victim immediately.
Pratyavartana (reversal), dṛṣṭi-yuddha (counter-gaze), verbal ‘striking’ through repeated hanmi + imperative death command.
Envenomation, panic, perceived hostile presence
- चक्षुषा (cakṣuṣā)
- focused awareness; protective gaze; ‘seeing through’ danger
- हन्मि (hanmi)
- decisive psychic/ritual intervention; cutting through fear
- विषेण (viṣeṇa)
- homeopathic/counter-agent logic; using the enemy’s category against it
- विषम् (viṣam)
- intrusive affliction (toxin, dread, malign influence)
- अहे (ahe)
- personified threat; sudden crisis
- प्रत्यक् (pratyak)
- reversal/return spell; apotropaic ‘sending back’ technique
- अभि एतु (abhi etu)
- directed expulsion; re-targeting the harm
Reversal of intrusive force: ‘I see the danger clearly; it does not enter me.’
Ājñā (brow/seeing)
Short, steady nasal breaths; exhale-directed ‘sending back’ visualization on key imperatives.
Venom as dark stream turning around and flowing away from the body back into earth/its source.
Alert, unwavering (ekāgratā under stress)
Chant with firm intent, then shift to calm breath; cultivate non-panicked clarity as the primary ‘counter-poison’ of the mind.
Articulate retroflex ṣ in cakṣuṣā; do not reduce to ‘kshu’ indistinctly.; Hold vi-ṣe-ṇa with clear long ē where applicable by recitation tradition.; Keep pratyak as prat-yak (not ‘pratya’ merged).
Vedic udātta/anudātta/svarita as per Śaunaka pada tradition; emphasize the repeated verb ‘hanmi’ with clear udātta where marked.
Keep caKṢUṢĀ / caKṢUṚ / HANMI crisp; avoid slurring sandhi across imperative breaks.
Firm, commanding, steady volume (not shouted).
Atharvanic charms often pair recitation with directed gesture (pointing/warding) and ‘sending away’ on pratyak.
7 times
Suspected snake encounter/bite; intense fear of venomous threat.
Immediately during first response while arranging urgent medical care.
Psychological stabilization, protective resolve, traditional ‘turning back’ of harm; supports calm action.
Do not delay emergency services/antivenom; avoid harmful folk interventions (cutting/sucking/tourniquet).
Even when no herb is named, the verse encodes a therapeutic principle: ‘viṣeṇa viṣam’ legitimates counteragents (including plant antidotes) as ritually authorized ‘poison against poison’. The mantra supplies the reversal and killing intent that frames the substance’s action.
The priest’s command over dangerous beings (‘O serpent, die’) reflects a social valuation of Atharvanic specialists as controllers of liminal threats (wildlife, toxins) affecting household safety.
The blunt imperative/exorcistic address (‘áhe mriyásva’) is more typical of Atharvavedic charm-style than RV praise. The tight parallelism (‘X with X I smite’) is a performative formulaic device.
Gopatha’s emphasis on mantra as a weapon (āyudha) fits the repeated ‘hanmi’ and the reversal ‘pratyak’. Efficacy is construed as the correct redirection of harmful power back to its locus.
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