Atharva Veda 2.18.1: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 18, Mantra 1

Sukta 18

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

शत्रुनाशनम्। भ्रा॒तृ॒व्य॒क्षय॑णमसि भ्रातृव्य॒चात॑नं मे दाः॒ स्वाहा॑

IAST Transliteration

śatrunāśanam | bhrā́tṛvyakṣáyaṇam asi bhrātṛvyacā́tanaṃ me dā́ḥ svā́hā

English Translation (Griffith/Whitney)

A slayer of foes: thou art the wasting of the Rival; bestow on me the driving-forth of the Rival—svāhā.

Translation

Pembinasaan musuh: engkau adalah peluluhan sang lawan; anugerahkan kepadaku pengusiran sang lawan—svāhā.

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Word by Word

• शत्रुनाशनम्: enemy-destruction (destroyer of enemies)
• शत्रुनाशनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु- (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन- (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √नश् ‘नाशे’ से)

• भ्रातृव्यक्षयणम्: rival-destruction (causing the rival’s ruin)
• भ्रातृव्यक्षयणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृव्य- (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षयण- (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √क्षि/क्षय् ‘क्षये’ से)

• असि: you are
• असि: (सम्बन्ध/अस्तित्व-क्रिया; कर्तृ-सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् ‘भुवि’

• भ्रातृव्यचातनम्: driving-off/dispelling of the rival
• भ्रातृव्यचातनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृव्य- (प्रातिपदिक) + चातन- (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √चत्/चात् ‘हिंसायाम्/नाशने’—वैदिक प्रयोग)

• मे: for me / my
• मे: सम्बन्ध (सम्बन्ध-कारकः/षष्ठी)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)

• दाः: give (grant)
• दाः: (कर्तृ: त्वम्; कर्म: भ्रातृव्यचातनम्)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा ‘दाने’

• स्वाहा: svāhā (hail!; offering-formula)
• स्वाहा: (मन्त्र-समापन/आहुत्यनुज्ञा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वाहा (निपात/वैदिक उद्गार)

Attribution

Rishi: Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (individual r̥ṣi not specified in the provided excerpt; to be resolved via Anukramaṇī data).

Devata: Mantra as operative power (brahman); implicitly Agni as carrier due to svāhā.

Chandas: Likely Anuṣṭubh or a short pragmatic formula; exact meter requires full pada-count verification.

Mantra Rasa

Primary: raudra

Secondary: vira