Sukta 22
Rishi: Traditionally Atharvanic/Angirasa attribution for this counter-hatred material (to be confirmed against the AVŚ anukramaṇī for 2.22)
Devata: Candra (Moon), as wielder of haras (burning potency)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh-type cadence (to be confirmed by full hymn metrical scan)
この六詩節から成るアタルヴァヴェーダの呪歌は、haras と tejas――灼熱し光り輝く威力――を担う月神チャンドラ（Candra）を呼び、敵意を反転させて加害者へ返すことを求める。詩は繰り返し、それを「われらを憎む者」への正当な報復として位置づけ、敵の光輝・力・有効な行為能力を奪うよう祈願する。その力は月的で移しうる力として構想され、反向の投射（prati-hara）によって敵対の意図や呪詛を無力化し、罰するために向けられる。
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
शत्रुनाशनम्। चन्द्र॒ यत् ते॒ तप॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ तप॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
（敵を滅する。）月よ、汝に属するタパス（tapas）の熱力をもって——その力で報いとして、その者を灼き尽くせ。われらを憎む者、われらもまた憎むその者を。
Mantra 2
चन्द्र॒ यत् ते॒ हर॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ हर॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
月よ、汝のその灼熱の力をもって——その力で報いとして、われらを憎む者、われらもまた憎むその者を押し返せ。
Mantra 3
चन्द्र॒ यत् ते॒ऽर्चिस्तेन॒ तं प्रत्य॑र्च॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
おお月よ、汝のその光焔（arciṣ）をもって、彼に返して照らせ――われらを憎む者、またわれらが憎むその者に。
Mantra 4
चन्द्र॒ यत् ते॒ शो॒चिस्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ शोच॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
月よ、汝が燃え立つ光焔をもって、その憎みて我らに敵する者――我らもまた憎むその者を、返し焼き焦がせ。
Mantra 5
चन्द्र॒ यत् ते॒ तेज॒स्तेन॒ तम॑ते॒जसं॑ कृणु॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
月よ、汝が有するその光輝をもって、我らを憎む者――我らもまた憎むその者を、光なき者となせ。
Inside Sukta 22
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Direct address to Candra, immediately identifying the Moon’s own haras/tejas as the operative instrument.
- What it asks
“With your burning force/splendour, return the attack; make the hater who hates us powerless and devoid of tejas.”
- Where its power lies
Efficacy is asserted through the logic of transfer: lunar potency is treated as a real, movable substance that can be aimed back and can strip the enemy’s radiance.
- How it closes
A sealing cadence reiterates the target formula—“he who hates us, whom we hate”—fixing the rite’s direction and completing the reversal.
Famous verses
yo ’smān dveṣṭi yaṃ vayaṃ dviṣmaḥ
tam atejasaṃ kṛṇu
Kind of hymn
Abhicarika (counter-sorcery / retaliatory apotropaic)
What it is for
Reversal of malice and/or hostile sorcery onto the aggressor; depletion of the enemy’s tejas so that their capacity to harm collapses.
Who it is for
Householders and ritual specialists (Atharvan priests) facing sustained enmity, slander, persecution, or suspected magical aggression.
Also used as
- Rakṣoghna/Apotropaic (repelling hostile forces)
- Stambhana (inhibiting an enemy’s efficacy)
- Dveṣa-pratīkāra (countering hatred)
The deity
Candra is invoked not merely as a luminary but as a reservoir of haras (burning, searing potency) and tejas (radiant power) that can be transferred, intensified, or withdrawn from persons. In Atharvavedic idiom, lunar force can “seize,” “return,” and “make splendourless,” functioning as a cosmic weapon for apotropaic retaliation.
Powers of the deity
- Haras: burning/searing force that can afflict or repel
- Tejas: radiance, prestige, and vital efficacy; can be bestowed or removed
- Prati-hara: capacity to turn back hostile intent/attack onto its source
- Stambhana/nirodha tendency: checking an enemy’s power by deprivation of brilliance
- Protective illumination: guarding the patron through a superior celestial tejas
Why the deity is called
To harness lunar haras/tejas as a morally framed retaliatory force that returns hatred and renders the hater powerless and “without splendour.”
The seer
- Atharvan/Āṅgiras (traditional, to be confirmed by the AVŚ Anukramaṇī for 2.22)Atharvan. Abhicārika counter-charms: reversal of hatred, repulsion of hostile magic, and deprivation of an enemy’s tejas (efficacy/prestige).
Other hymns of this seer
- AVŚ 1.16 (counter-hostility type material; general Atharvanic attribution in many recensions)
- AVŚ 2.7 (protective/repelling formulae; often transmitted in Atharvanic streams)
- AVŚ 6.45 (enemy-repulsion/counter-spell cluster; attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
Preparing for the rite
- Select a clean, quiet place with sight of the moon if possible (courtyard/roof/threshold).
- Perform basic purification: washing hands/face; rinsing mouth; mental saṃkalpa naming the protection sought.
- Prepare a small vessel of clean water for ācamana/sprinkling, and a simple lamp or white offering if customary in the local prayoga.
- If an enemy is known, keep their name/identifier mentally fixed; avoid public recitation meant to inflame social conflict.
The rite
- Face the moon (or its direction if obscured) and recite the hymn steadily in anuṣṭubh cadence.
- On verses emphasizing return (prati-hara), gesture outward then back toward the ground before you, symbolizing reversal to the sender.
- On verses emphasizing tejas-deprivation (e.g., 2.22.5), make a downward, “withdrawing” motion with the right hand as if drawing radiance away.
- Conclude with a brief silence, then sprinkle water around the perimeter as a boundary of protection.
What it needs
- Clean water for sprinkling/boundary marking
- Optional white offering (milk/rice) or a simple lamp as a lunar-aligned support
- Optional white cloth/thread as a symbolic ‘lunar’ band (regional practice-dependent)
When
Night-time; ideally during bright fortnight (śukla pakṣa) with the moon visible; perform when hostility is active or before entering a contested encounter.
The main substance
Clean water (for boundary sprinkling) as a practical carrier of the invoked lunar protection; the main ‘substance’ in the text is conceptual—haras/tejas of Candra.
Amulets
- Optional white thread/cloth band (symbolic lunar support; not mandated by the text)
How it is prepared
Keep water in a clean vessel; after recitation, sprinkle in the four directions and at the threshold/perimeter while maintaining the intention of reversal and protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
It asks Candra to use his burning force (haras) and radiance (tejas) to turn back hostility onto the aggressor and to make the enemy ‘without tejas,’ i.e., ineffective and unable to harm.
In Atharvavedic terms it is retaliatory-apotropaic: it protects by reversal (prati-hara). The hymn’s language targets “the one who hates us,” framing the act as requital rather than unprovoked aggression.
The verses themselves emphasize lunar haras/tejas rather than naming specific plants. In practice, simple supports like clean water for sprinkling or a white thread/cloth may be used, but they are ancillary to the recitation and intention.
Ask anything about Sukta 22 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
