Sukta 32
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī; commonly treated as Atharvan/Angiras-type healing corpus).
Devata: Āditya (Sun) as kṛmi-slayer; raśmi as his operative power.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh tendency (fragmentary in the provided text; full metrical confirmation requires the complete mantra sequence).
Mantras
Mantra 1
क्रिमिनाशनम्। उद्यन्नादित्यः क्रिमीन् हन्तु निम्रोचन् हन्तु रश्मिभिः । ये अन्तः क्रिमयो गवि
Worm-slaying. Let the rising Āditya smite the worms; let the setting one smite them with his rays—those worms that are within, in the cow.
Mantra 2
विश्वरूपं चतुरक्षं क्रिमिं सारङ्गमर्जुनम्। शृणाम्यस्य पृष्टीरपि वृश्चामि यच्छिरः
The worm, all-formed, four-eyed, the speckled, the pale,—him I shatter: his ribs I break; yea, I cut away that head of his.
Mantra 3
अत्रिवद् वः क्रिमयो हन्मि कण्ववज्जमदग्निवत्। अगस्त्यस्य ब्रह्मणा सं पिनष्म्यहं क्रिमीन्
Like Atri I smite you, O ye worms; like Kaṇva, like Jamadagni. With Agastya’s holy spell I crush you utterly, I—ye worms—do crush you down.
Mantra 4
हतो राजा क्रिमीणामुतैषां स्थपतिर्हतः । हतो हतमाता क्रिमिर्हतभ्राता हतस्वसा
Slain is the King of the worms, and slain their very House-lord. Slain is the worm—its mother slain, its brother slain, its sister slain.
Mantra 5
हतासो अस्य वेशसो हतासः परिवेशसः । अथो ये क्षुल्लका इव सर्वे ते क्रिमयो हताः
Slain are his resident lodgers; slain are the encircling lodgers; yea, even those that are, as it were, but paltry—every one of those worms is slain.
Mantra 6
प्र ते शृणामि शृङ्गे याभ्यां वितुदायसि । भिनाद्मि ते कुषुम्भं यस्ते विषधानः
Forth—thy horns I shatter, wherewith thou dost pierce and wound. I cleave for thee the kushumbha, which is thy poison-receptacle.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a healing charm aimed at destroying and expelling kṛmi—‘worms’ or parasite-like disease agents—especially those believed to be inside cattle.
Because the Sun’s rays are imagined as a penetrating purifier: they reveal what is hidden, burn away impurities, and act like a divine weapon that reaches inside the body.
The hymn’s main ‘medicine’ is mantra plus solar power. Simple supports like sun-exposed water for sprinkling, kuśa grass, or a protective thread may be used, but the verses themselves emphasize rays and brahman as the decisive force.