Atharva Veda 5.31.7: Kanda 5, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 31, Mantra 7
Sukta 31
यां ते॑ च॒क्रुः सेना॑यां॒ यां च॒क्रुरि॑ष्वायु॒धे। दु॒न्दु॒भौ कृ॒त्यां यां च॒क्रुः पुनः॒ प्रति॑ हरामि॒ ताम्
yā́m te cakrúḥ sénāyāṃ yā́ṃ cakrúr iṣvāyudhè | dundubhā́u kṛtyā́ṃ yā́ṃ cakrúḥ púnaḥ práti harāmi tā́m ||
What witchcraft they have wrought against thee in the army, what they have wrought in the arrow-weapon, what witchcraft they have wrought in the war-drum—this do I take and bear back again in return.
दुश्मनों ने तुम्हारे खिलाफ सेना में जादू किया है। उन्होंने तीर और हथियार पर भी जादू किया। उन्होंने दुंदुभी यानी युद्ध का ढोल भी जादू से भरा है। मैं अब उस सब को वापस ले जा रहा हूँ उनकी तरफ।
The meaning
What it says
Any kṛtyā (hostile witchcraft) made against the client in the army, in the arrow-weapon, or in the war-drum is seized and returned back upon the sender.
The inner meaning
Hostile projections embedded in instruments of conflict (weapons, group frenzy, martial noise) are recognized, detached from the self, and psychologically ‘sent back’—refusing internalization of fear or aggression.
The truth in it
Malice gains power when it is carried unknowingly through systems and tools; naming it and reversing its direction restores agency and breaks contagion.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Counter-sorcery / Reversal of kṛtyā)
Its aim
To detect, seize, and return hostile kṛtyā placed in martial instruments and settings, neutralizing its harm to the client.
Word by Word
Pada patha
याम् । ते । चक्रुः । सेनायाम् । याम् । चक्रुः । इषु-आयुधे । दुन्दुभौ । कृत्याम् । याम् । चक्रुः । पुनः । प्रति । हरामि । ताम् ।
- याम्
- which (f.)which (female; i.e., that witchcraft-act, kṛtyā)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / for youfor thee/against thee (dative; the victim addressed)Pronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक) अथवा चतुर्थी, एकवचन; अत्र प्रायः षष्ठीRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी) / सम्प्रदान (यदि चतुर्थी)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रुः
- they have done / madethey have made, fashioned, performed (the kṛtyā-rite)Verbलिट् (परस्मैपद), प्र.पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot कृ (धातु)
- सेनायाम्
- in the armyin the army; amid the host (as a locus of hostile magic)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot सेना (प्रातिपदिक)
- याम्
- which (f.)which (kṛtyā)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रुः
- they have done / madethey have made/performedVerbलिट् (परस्मैपद), प्र.पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot कृ (धातु)
- इष्वायुधे
- in missile-weaponry / among arrows and weaponsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot इष्वायुध (प्रातिपदिक; इषु + आयुध)
- दुन्दुभौ
- in/at the war-drumin the war-drum (dundubhi); as a resonant vessel for bewitchmentNounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप) अथवा लोक-रूपे पुं. सप्तमी एकवचनः; अर्थतः ‘दुन्दुभि-स्थाने/दुन्दुभौ’Role अधिकरणRoot दुन्दुभि (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृत्याम्
- witchcraft, harmful charmthe kṛtyā: a made, sent, personified act of sorcery/witchcraftNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot कृत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
- याम्
- which (f.)which (kṛtyā)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रुः
- they have done / madethey have made/performedVerbलिट् (परस्मैपद), प्र.पुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot कृ (धातु)
- पुनः
- back, againIndeclinableअव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot पुनः (अव्यय)
- प्रति
- towards, back againstback toward; in return (counter-sending)Indeclinableअव्ययRole दिशा/सम्बन्ध (क्रियाविशेषण)Root प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- हरामि
- I carry/bring awayI take away, I carry back (ritual reversion of the spell)Verbलट् (परस्मैपद), उ.पुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot हृ (धातु)
- ताम्
- that (f.), itthat (kṛtyā), her (the personified witchcraft)Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- याम् ते चक्रुः सेनायाम् | याम् चक्रुः इष्वायुधे | दुन्दुभौ कृत्याम् याम् चक्रुः | पुनः प्रति हरामि ताम् ||
- 1) ‘चक्रुरि॑ष्वायु॒धे’ = ‘चक्रुः इष्वायुधे’ (विसर्ग + इ-आदि स्वरः; पदपाठे विसर्गः स्पष्टः).
- 2) ‘हरामि॒ ताम्’ में सन्धि नहीं (स्वर-संधि नहीं, पृथक् पद).
- 3) ‘दुन्दुभौ’ वैदिक रूप—दुन्दुभि-शब्दस्य सप्तमी-एकवचन/स्थानीय-अधिकरणार्थे प्रयोगः
- मन्त्रभाषायां -औ अन्तः रूपं दृश्यते
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (often anonymous/Angiras-type attribution in this kṛtyā cycle; varies by anukramaṇī)
- Devata
- Kṛtyā (as hostile entity) and the counteracting Atharvanic power of reversal
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (predominant in AV counter-sorcery verses)
- Rasa
- Raudra and Vira
Sāyaṇa glosses kṛtyā as a ‘kṛtā’ (artificially constructed) hostile rite, often conceived as a sent entity. The loci—army, weapons, drum—are read as typical media by which enemies implant or convey bewitchment in martial contexts. ‘punaḥ prati harāmi’ is the formal Atharvanic reversal: the priest seizes the kṛtyā and redirects it to its maker.
Anonymous (Angirasic coloring within Atharvan corpus)
Abhicārika counter-sorcery: prati-haraṇa (reversal/return) of kṛtyā, especially in martial and public contexts.
Represents the fierce protective strand: the Atharvan priest neutralizes hostile ‘made’ forces by seizing and redirecting them.
Kṛtyā (hostile force) countered by Atharvanic prati-haraṇa
Kṛtyā embodies manufactured misfortune; the mantra invokes the counter-law of return and disentanglement, restoring order.
Removes psychosomatic harm from fear/curse-belief; restores mental integrity under threat.
Creates a boundary and ‘return-to-sender’ shield; protects in conflict zones and against targeted malice.
4×8
Strong formulaic repetition (‘yāṃ… yāṃ… yāṃ… punaḥ prati harāmi tām’) supports incantatory force over strict poetic novelty.
Hammering, juridical rhythm—like a verdict pronounced repeatedly.
Builds certainty and reversal; the repeated ‘punaḥ prati’ enacts turning-back.
The Atharvan priest seats the client facing the hostile quarter (direction of suspected enemy).
He performs ācamana and protective paridhi-like delimitation (domestic protective boundary).
With a taking/withdrawing gesture (ādāna), he symbolically ‘grasps’ the kṛtyā from the named loci (army, weapons, drum), often by touching a representative object (weapon, drum, or a substitute) or by sweeping motion over the client.
He recites the mantra, emphasizing ‘punaḥ prati harāmi’ while making a backward-casting motion.
He dismisses the kṛtyā toward the sender (prati-preṣa), sometimes accompanied by spitting/avakṣepa (apotropaic expulsion) and disposal of a used implement to a liminal place.
Kauśika Sūtra: kṛtyā-pratiharaṇa (counter-sorcery) section; applied with ‘pratiharaṇa’ mantras of AV 5.31 (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan/Brahman as apotropaic technician: identifies the ‘carrier’ of kṛtyā, ritually extracts it, and performs its juridical return (prati-haraṇa) to the perpetrator.
Recite for a family member facing hostility (legal conflict, workplace harassment, violent environment). Mark a protective boundary at the doorway; symbolically ‘return’ harm (e.g., sweeping outward).
At dusk/night (traditional apotropaic time) or before entering contested spaces.
Atharvan specialist (brahmán/atharvān) preferred; householder may recite in simplified form.
KauśS (general kṛtyā-prati-haraṇa procedures; exact sūtra varies by edition)
Use as a boundary-setting recitation; avoid escalating conflict—frame as disengagement and return of negativity.
dundubhi (war-drum); iṣu (arrow); āyudha (weaponry); senā (army/host)
Not medicines but ‘vectors’: objects and institutions that carry malice. The mantra treats them as conduits to be neutralized by reversal.
Affliction attributed to sorcery/evil influence; fear-induced distress
Apotropaic reversal: identifying loci of attack and ritually ‘extracting’ the kṛtyā; restoring perceived safety and coherence.
Comparable to bhūta/āgantuka frameworks (externally caused afflictions) addressed by rakṣoghna and mantrika measures.
Trauma/stressor containment; cognitive defusion from hostile narratives; reducing hypervigilance in threatening environments.
Kṛtyā directed at ‘thee’ (client)
To seize hostile kṛtyā embedded in martial settings/instruments and return it to its originator.
Prati-haraṇa (reversal/return), enumeration of attack-sites (army/arrow/drum) to cover domains, verbal seizure formula (‘harāmi’).
Curses, hostile magic, enemy stratagems, weapon-linked malefic rites
- कृत्या (kṛtyā)
- engineered harm: curse, manipulation, toxic influence, obsessive thought-form
- सेना (senā)
- collective pressure, mob-force, institutional aggression
- इष्वायुध (iṣvāyudha)
- targeted attack: words-as-arrows, focused hostility
- दुन्दुभि (dundubhi)
- amplification, propaganda, fear-inducing noise
- पुनः प्रति हरामि (punaḥ prati harāmi)
- ritual reversal; boundary-setting; karmic/energetic return to source
Protective boundary and reversal: ‘not mine; return to source’.
mūlādhāra (safety/boundary)
Forceful exhale (without strain) on ‘prati’; then settle into slow breathing.
A shield around the body; incoming arrows dissolve and reverse direction; drum-noise fades into silence at the boundary.
Alert, defended, unwavering.
Recite 3, 7, or 21 times while visualizing extraction from specific ‘vectors’ (group pressure, targeted messages, public shaming). End with a calming verse to avoid lingering raudra.
Incantatory, percussive; maintain steady beat to mirror ‘drum’ but dominate it.
Strike the repetition points: yāṃ… yāṃ… yāṃ…; emphasize ‘punaḥ prati harāmi tām’ as the juridical climax.
Firm, commanding, not shouted; ‘cutting’ diction.
Traditional counter-sorcery often pairs recitation with sweeping, spitting aside, or casting away (symbolic expulsion). Keep intention strictly protective to avoid spiraling into vendetta.
21 times
Feeling targeted by hostility, curses, envy, coordinated aggression, or ‘weaponized’ speech.
Before entering risky social spaces; after receiving threats; when nightmares/fear follow conflict.
Sense of protection, reduced fear, clearer boundaries; symbolic disengagement from hostile influence.
If in real danger, seek practical safety/legal help; do not use as justification for retaliation or paranoia.
No explicit herb appears in 5.31.7; the ‘substance’ is instead the martial material culture (weapons, drum) treated as a medium that can hold and transmit kṛtyā. The mantra functions as a verbal extraction and redirection technology rather than a pharmacological one.
It presumes specialist ritual expertise: the client is vulnerable to covert aggression embedded in public institutions (army) and elite technology (weapons). The Atharvan priest mediates invisible conflict, asserting a counter-juridical power (‘I take back in return’) that parallels social mechanisms of blame and retribution.
The prominence of kṛtyā as a technical term for constructed sorcery is characteristically Atharvanic and less central in the Rigvedic register. The repetitive relative construction ‘yām… yām… yām…’ with performative ‘harāmi’ foregrounds pragmatic speech-act force typical of AV charms.
Gopatha tends to rationalize Atharvanic rites as brahman (sacral speech) that binds and redirects harm; the efficacy is framed as the priest’s correct knowledge of names, loci, and reversal formulas. This verse exemplifies that model: naming the carriers (army/weapon/drum) enables extraction and return.
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