Shloka 30

Āloka-dāna (Dīpa-dāna), Sumanas–Dhūpa–Dīpa Phala: Manu–Suvarṇa and Śukra–Bali Exempla

Devanagari script

ओपषध्यो रक्तपुष्पाश्न कटुका: कण्टकान्विता: । शत्रूणामभिचारार्थमाथर्वेषु निदर्शिता:

Transliteration

oṣadhyo raktapuṣpāś ca kaṭukāḥ kaṇṭakānvitāḥ | śatrūṇām abhicārārtham ātharveṣu nidarśitāḥ ||

Translation

Śukra berkata: “Dalam tradisi Atharva ditunjukkan bahwa, untuk upacara abhichāra yang ditujukan mencelakakan musuh, hendaknya digunakan tumbuhan obat yang berbunga merah, berasa pahit, dan berduri.”

Word by Word

• ओषध्यः: medicinal herbs
• ओषध्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ओषधि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• रक्तपुष्पाः: having red flowers
• रक्तपुष्पाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्तपुष्प
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• कटुकाः: bitter/pungent
• कटुकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कटुक
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• कण्टकान्विताः: provided with thorns; thorny
• कण्टकान्विताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कण्टकान्वित
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• शत्रूणाम्: of enemies
• शत्रूणाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अभिचारार्थम्: for the purpose of hostile sorcery (abhicāra)
• अभिचारार्थम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिचारार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आथर्वेषु: in Atharvan texts (Atharvaveda passages)
• आथर्वेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आथर्व
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• निदर्शिताः: are indicated/prescribed
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + √दृश्
• Form: Past (PPP), Plural, Feminine

Speaker

शुक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śukra
• Atharvaveda
• oṣadhi (herbs/plants)
• abhicāra (hostile rite)
• śatru (enemies)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse records an Atharvavedic prescription: certain plant qualities (red flowers, bitterness, thorns) are associated with abhicāra—harm-intending rites against enemies—thereby highlighting that some ritual knowledge is explicitly oriented toward aggression rather than healing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śukra, speaking as an authority on policy and specialized knowledge, cites Atharvavedic indications about which kinds of herbs are used in enemy-directed hostile rites, describing their identifying features rather than narrating a specific event.