Sukta 23
Rishi: Uncertain (requires anukramaṇī verification for AVŚ 7.23.1).
Devata: Rakṣoghna-brahman (the mantra’s own power); implicitly Indra/Agni as destroyers of rakṣas in Atharvanic idiom.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (probable; requires scansion).
AVŚ 7.23 हा एक संक्षिप्त रक्षोघ्न मंत्र आहे. तो रात्री उद्भवणाऱ्या आणि मन–शरीराशी निगडित अशा सर्व बाधांचा समूह—वाईट स्वप्ने, “दुर्जिवन/अशुभ आचरण”, राक्षसी दडपण, आणि शत्रुत्वपूर्ण वाणी—यांना लक्ष्य करतो. एका अनुष्टुभ-शैलीतील उच्चारातच तो या धोक्यांची नावे घेऊन त्यांचे हाकलून देणे करतो; उद्देश सुरक्षित झोप, प्राणशक्ती, आणि सामाजिक–वाचिक कल्याण पुनर्स्थापित करणे हा आहे.
Mantras
Frequently Asked Questions
It protects against bad dreams and the forces believed to cause them—demonic oppression, life-wasting misfortune, deathward influences, and harmful/hostile speech.
No. The verse itself is designed as a self-sufficient rakṣoghna-brahman: the spoken mantra is the primary instrument, though simple cleansing or sprinkling water may be added optionally.
Before sleep is the most natural timing; it can also be recited right after a disturbing dream or whenever one feels pressured by misfortune, fear, or slander.
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