Sukta 32
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often treated as Atharvan/Angiras-type for such charms)
Devata: Darbha (personified as a power/implement); indirectly the cosmic order it spans (heavens/earths)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; many AV 19.x charms are in anuṣṭubh-like cadence)
AV 19.32 adalah himne tentang darbha (rumput kuśa) yang memandang rumput itu sebagai oṣadhi yang garang dan berdaulat; jangkauannya meliputi tiga langit dan tiga bumi, sehingga layak untuk “mengatasi” kekuatan-kekuatan yang memusuhi. Himne ini dipakai untuk mengikat perlindungan dan umur panjang, sekaligus menundukkan para pesaing—terutama dengan menekan lidah musuh dan meniadakan kutuk, fitnah, atau ujaran tuduhan. Sukta ini memadukan perlindungan jimat-herba dengan abhicārika pengikatan ujaran, menampilkan darbha sebagai perisai sekaligus senjata.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
दर्भः। श॒तका॑ण्डो दुश्च्यव॒नः स॒हस्र॑पर्ण उत्ति॒रः । द॒र्भो य उ॒ग्र ओष॑धि॒स्तं ते॑ बध्ना॒म्यायु॑षे
Darbha—berbatang seratus, sukar dicabut, berdaun seribu, melampaui yang lain. Darbha itu, yang merupakan herba yang garang, itulah yang kuikatkan padamu demi hayat.
Mantra 2
नास्य॒ केशा॒न् प्र वप॑न्ति॒ नोर॑सि॒ ताड॒मा घ्न॑ते । यस्मा॑ अछिन्नप॒र्णेन॑ द॒र्भेण॒ शर्म॑ यच्छति
Mereka tidak mencukur rambutnya; pada dadanya pun mereka tidak memukul—dia yang kepadanya, dengan bilah darbha yang tidak terpotong, (mantra/jimat) menganugerahkan perlindungan.
Mantra 3
दि॒वि ते॒ तूल॑मोषधे पृथि॒व्याम॑सि॒ निष्ठि॑तः । त्वया॑ स॒हस्र॑काण्डे॒नायुः॒ प्र व॑र्धयामहे
Di surga ada jambulmu, wahai tumbuhan obat; di bumi engkau ditegakkan kokoh. Denganmu, wahai yang bertangkai seribu, kami memperbesar umur dengan kuat.
Mantra 4
ति॒स्रो दि॒वो अत्य॑तृणत् ति॒स्र इ॒माः पृ॑थि॒वीरु॒त॑। त्व॑याहं दु॒र्हार्दो॑ जि॒ह्वां नि तृ॑णद्मि॒ वचां॑सि
Tiga langit telah ditaklukkannya, dan tiga bumi ini juga. Dengan engkau aku menekan lidah si berhati jahat; aku menginjak-injak kata-katanya.
Mantra 5
त्वम॑सि॒ सह॑मानो॒ऽहम॑स्मि॒ सह॑स्वान्। उ॒भौ सह॑स्वन्तौ भू॒त्वा स॒पत्ना॑न्सहिषीवहि
Engkau yang menundukkan; aku yang perkasa. Marilah kita berdua, sama-sama berdaya, bersama menaklukkan para pesaing kita.
Mantra 6
सह॑स्व नो अ॒भिमा॑तिं॒ सह॑स्व पृतनाय॒तः । सह॑स्व॒ सर्वा॑न् दु॒र्हार्दः॑ सु॒हार्दो॑ मे ब॒हून् कृ॑धि
Tundukkanlah untuk kami serbuan yang memusuhi; tundukkanlah musuh yang bertempur. Tundukkanlah semua yang berhati jahat; jadikan bagiku banyak yang berhati baik.
Mantra 7
द॒र्भेण॑ दे॒वजा॑तेन दि॒वि ष्ट॒म्भेन॒ शश्व॒दित्। तेना॒हं शश्व॑तो॒ जनाँ॒ अस॑नं॒ सन॑वानि च
Dengan darbha yang dilahirkan para dewa, penopang abadi di langit—dengan itu semoga aku meraih umat yang kekal, dan meraih pula suatu tempat duduk.
Mantra 8
प्रि॒यं मा॑ दर्भ कृणु ब्रह्मराज॒न्याऽभ्यां शू॒द्राय॒ चार्या॑य च । यस्मै॑ च का॒मया॑महे॒ सर्व॑स्मै च वि॒पश्य॑ते
Jadikan aku dicintai, wahai darbha, oleh Brahmana dan Rajanya, oleh Śūdra dan Ārya; dan oleh siapa pun yang ingin kami menangkan, dan oleh setiap penyaksi yang memandang.
Mantra 9
यो जाय॑मानः पृथि॒वीमदृं॑ह॒द् यो अस्त॑भ्नाद॒न्तरि॑क्षं॒ दिवं॑ च । यं बिभ्र॑तं न॒नु पा॒प्मा वि॑वेद॒ स नो॒ऽयं द॒र्भो वरु॑णो दि॒वा कः॑
Dia yang ketika lahir meneguhkan Bumi; yang menyangga Antarikṣa dan Langit. Dia yang, meski menjadi penopang, sungguh tidak ditemukan oleh Kejahatan—semoga Darbha ini bagi kami menjadi Varuṇa, dan Ka pada siang hari.
Mantra 10
स॒प॒त्न॒हा श॒तका॑ण्डः॒ सह॑स्वा॒नोष॑धीनां प्रथ॒मः सं ब॑भूव । स नो॒ऽयं द॒र्भः परि॑ पातु वि॒श्वत॒स्तेन॑ साक्षीय॒ पृत॑नाः पृतन्य॒तः
Pembunuh musuh, seratus-berbatang, perkasa—ia telah menjadi yang pertama di antara tumbuh-tumbuhan obat (oṣadhi). Semoga Darbha ini melindungi kami mengelilingi dari segala arah; dengannya semoga aku menaklukkan pertempuran melawan musuh yang berperang.
Inside Sukta 32
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by praising darbha through strong epithets (hundred-stemmed, hard to dislodge, thousand-leaved), immediately establishing it as a fierce oṣadhi fit to be ‘bound on’ for life.
- What it asks
May darbha be bound for āyus and serve as an encircling guard, while actively restraining the ill-hearted opponent—especially by trampling down his words and pressing down his tongue.
- Where its power lies
Darbha is declared cosmically expansive—overmastering three heavens and three earths—thereby legitimizing its capacity to dominate rivals and neutralize hostile speech.
- How it closes
The sukta culminates with darbha as ‘rival-slayer’ and ‘first of herbs,’ asking it to protect from all sides and to grant victory in battles against the battling foe.
Famous verses
śatakāṇḍo duścyavanaḥ sahasraparṇaḥ
jihvāṃ ni tṛṇadmi vacāṃsi
sapatna-hā… pari pātu viśvataḥ
Kind of hymn
Abhicarika (counter-sorcery / subjugation) with apotropaic speech-binding
What it is for
To establish darbha as a bound-on protective force that encircles the user, defeats rivals, and specifically suppresses hostile speech (slander, cursing, legal accusation) by ‘pressing down’ the enemy’s tongue and words.
Who it is for
Ritual specialists (Atharvanic practitioners) and householders facing rivalry, litigation, public slander, or spiritual attack; also those seeking reinforced protection and longevity through an herb-amulet.
Also used as
- Rakṣoghna (apotropaic protection)
- Paustika (strength/victory)
- Bhaiṣajya (life-supporting herb-amulet)
The deity
Darbha is invoked as a living, fierce medicinal power and ritual implement—‘hundred-stemmed’ and ‘thousand-leaved’—whose cosmic extension is said to span multiple heavens and earths. In Atharvanic idiom it functions as an oṣadhi-rāja (chief among herbs) and as a binding medium for apotropaic and subjugating speech-acts.
Powers of the deity
- Provides protective enclosure (pari-pātu) from all sides
- Binds on longevity and stabilizes life-force (āyus)
- Subjugates and defeats rivals (sapatna-han)
- Silences/presses down hostile speech, curses, and accusations
- Confers victory in conflicts (pṛtanāḥ) and wards off malefic influence
Why the deity is called
To empower darbha as an amulet and ritual binder that both protects the practitioner and restrains an enemy’s tongue and harmful words, ensuring safety, longevity, and triumph over rivals.
The seer
- Atharvanic (Atharvan/Āṅgirasa-type) tradition, r̥ṣi unspecifiedAtharvan. Protective and coercive charms (rakṣoghna/abhicārika), especially herb-and-amulet rites for binding, silencing hostile speech, and securing life/victory.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 19.31 (adjacent late Atharvanic charm stratum; thematic proximity)
- AV 19.33 (adjacent late Atharvanic charm stratum; thematic proximity)
- AV 6.137 (kuśa/darbha-related protective usage; tradition-level parallel)
Preparing for the rite
- Collect fresh darbha/kuśa from a clean place; select a firm tuft (symbolically ‘hard to dislodge’).
- Purify hands and space; arrange darbha on a clean cloth or altar area.
- Twist or braid darbha into a small band/amulet; prepare a cord/thread for tying (if used).
- Set intention: protection for the wearer and binding of the hostile speaker’s tongue/words.
The rite
- Recite the hymn while holding darbha; on binding-verses, tie the darbha band on the person (arm/waist/head per local practice).
- For speech-binding intent, touch darbha to the mouth/throat area of the practitioner (or symbolically toward the opponent’s direction) while reciting the tongue-pressing formulae (e.g., 19.32.4).
- Circle (pari-) the space/person with darbha or place darbha at the four directions to enact ‘guarding from every side’ (echoing 19.32.10).
- Conclude by fixing the darbha in place (knot/fastening) as the ritual ‘seal’ and by a final protective recitation.
What it needs
- Darbha/kuśa grass (Desmostachya bipinnata)
- Binding thread/cord (optional but implied by ‘badhnāmi’)
- Clean water for simple purification (optional)
When
As-needed before confrontation (debate, court, rivalry) or at the start of the day for protective wearing; ideally performed in a clean, calm setting.
The main substance
Darbha/Kuśa grass (Desmostachya bipinnata)
Herbs
- Darbha/Kuśa (treated as oṣadhi-rāja within the hymn)
Amulets
- Darbha band/tuft tied on the body (āyus-amulet)
- Darbha ring/encircling placement for directional protection
How it is prepared
Select a clean tuft; braid/twist into a band; optionally tie with a cord while reciting binding verses; keep it on the person or place it around/at the boundaries of the protected space.
Frequently Asked Questions
It empowers darbha (kuśa grass) as a bound-on protective force: it guards the user, supports longevity, and subjugates rivals—especially by restraining hostile speech such as curses, slander, or accusation.
In Atharvanic practice certain plants are personified as oṣadhis with agency. Darbha is praised as cosmically expansive and ‘first among herbs,’ so it can function as both protection and an instrument to bind or silence harm.
A clean tuft of darbha is braided or held while the verses are recited, then tied on as an amulet or placed around the person/space for encircling protection; for speech-binding intent, the recitation emphasizes pressing down the opponent’s tongue and words (not physical harm).
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