Sukta 6
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
Devata: Viṣaghna power; Soma as antidotal paradigm; Brahman as sacral agent
Chandas: Likely anuṣṭubh (Atharvanic; may be metrically loose)
AV 4.6 to zaklęcie neutralizujące truciznę (viṣaghna), które traktuje jad jako substancję dającą się usunąć i przenieść, oraz przeciwstawia mu pierwotny sakralny paradygmat antidotum: Somę, którą najpierw wypił pradawny Brahman. Akt mowy hymnu wielokrotnie „wypowiada” (wypędza) truciznę z każdego prawdopodobnego miejsca: żądła, maści, liściastej osłony, strzały, rogu, łupiny, jednocześnie wzmacniając zioło wiążące (Vadhri), aby unieruchomić i powstrzymać jad w jego wyobrażonym źródle w skale i górze.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
विषघ्नम्। ब्रा॒ह्म॒णो ज॑ज्ञे प्रथ॒मो दश॑शीर्षो॒ दशा॑स्यः । स सोमं॑ प्रथ॒मः प॑पौ॒ स चकारार॒सं वि॒षम्
Truciznę zabijająca (to jest). Brahman narodził się jako pierwszy, dziesięciogłowy, o dziesięciu ustach. On pierwszy pił Somę; on sprawił, że trucizna stała się pozbawiona soku i smaku.
Mantra 2
याव॑ती॒ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी व॑रि॒म्णा यावत् स॒प्त सिन्ध॑वो वितष्ठि॒रे। वाचं॑ वि॒षस्य॒ दूष॑णीं॒ तामि॒तो निर॑वादिषम्
Jak szerokie Niebo i Ziemia w swym rozległym zasięgu, jak daleko Siedem Rzek się rozpostarło, tak daleko wypowiedziałem i odsunąłem stąd mącącą mowę trucizny.
Mantra 3
सु॒प॒र्णस्त्वा॑ ग॒रुत्मा॒न्विष॑ प्रथ॒ममा॑वयत्। नामी॑मदो॒ नारू॑रुप उ॒तास्मा॑ अभवः पि॒तुः
Pięknoskrzydły Garutman pierwszy cię odsunął, O Trucizno. Nie zmyliłeś, nie zraniłeś; tak, dla tego człowieka stałeś się jak ojciec.
Mantra 4
यस्त॒ आस्य॒त् पञ्चा॑ङ्गुरिर्व॒क्राच्चि॒दधि॒ धन्व॑नः । अ॒प॒स्क॒म्भस्य॑ श॒ल्यान्निर॑वोचम॒हं वि॒षम्
Ktokolwiek cię wypuścił, pięciopalczastego, even z łuku wygiętego: z grota Apaskambhy wypowiedziałem truciznę.
Mantra 5
श॒ल्याद्वि॒षं निर॑वोचं प्राञ्ज॑नादु॒त प॒र्ण॒धेः । अ॒पा॒ष्ठाच्छृङ्गा॒त्कुल्म॑ला॒न्निर॑वोचमहं वि॒ष॑म्
Z grota wypowiedziałem truciznę; z namaszczenia, tak, i z pochwy liściowej. Z drzewca, z rogu, z osłony łuskowej, wypowiedziałem truciznę, ja.
Mantra 6
अ॒र॒सस्त॑ इषो श॒ल्योऽथो॑ ते अ॒र॒सं वि॒षम्। उ॒तार॒सस्य॑ वृ॒क्षस्य॒ धनु॑ष्टे अरसार॒सम्
Niech bezsokowy będzie grocik twojej strzały; a bezsokowa niech będzie twoja trucizna. Tak, bezsokowy niech będzie łuk z bezsokowego drzewa: bądź bezsokowa, bezsokowa zaprawdę.
Mantra 7
ये अपी॑ष॒न् ये अदि॑ह॒न् य आस्य॒न् ये अ॒वासृ॑जन्। सर्वे॒ ते वध्र॑यः कृ॒ता वध्रि॑र्विषगि॒रिः कृतः
Ci, którzy ją wyciskali, ci, którzy ją smarowali, ci, którzy ją rzucili, ci, którzy ją wypuścili, wszyscy oni stali się jak Wadhryowie; a Wadhri stał się górą trucizny.
Mantra 8
वध्र॑यस्ते खनि॒तारो॒ वध्रि॒स्त्वम॑स्योषधे । वध्रिः॒ स पर्व॑तो गि॒रिर्यतो॑ जा॒तमि॒दं वि॒षम्
Wadhryowie są twoimi wydobywaczami; ty jesteś Wadhri, o Zioło. Wadhri jest tą górą, tą skałą, skąd ta trucizna powstała.
Inside Sukta 6
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Begins by establishing ‘viṣaghna’ potency through a cosmogonic precedent: the primeval Brahman, ten-headed and ten-mouthed, first drinks Soma.
- What it asks
That poison be rendered ineffective and be driven out from every place it may lodge—wound, implements, containers, and medicinal applications.
- Where its power lies
The speaker’s mantra is performative: ‘I have spoken the poison forth,’ treating utterance as extraction and neutralization.
- How it closes
Concludes by empowering the herb as Vadhri (binder) and fixing poison’s origin to mountain/rock imagery—symbolic containment and final immobilization.
Famous verses
sa cakārāraṃsaṃ viṣam
nira̍vocamahaṃ viṣa̍m
vadhri̱stvama̍syoṣadhe
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Raksha (Protection)
What it is for
Rapid neutralization and expulsion of venom, plus containment of its source and prevention of recurrence by ritually naming and severing all routes of adhesion.
Who it is for
Healers (bhaiṣajika/vaidya-type practitioners), Atharvanic ritualists, and householders responding to stings, bites, or weapon-wounds with suspected poisoning.
Also used as
- Raksha
- Shantika
The deity
A functional, operative power rather than a single anthropomorphic deity: the mantra-force that neutralizes venom, modeled on Soma’s capacity to counteract toxicity and on Brahman’s primordial authority to transform harmful substances.
Powers of the deity
- Neutralizes poison by making it ‘arasa’ (devoid of sap/efficacy)
- Expels venom from named contact-points and carriers (sting, salve, containers, implements)
- Binds/immobilizes poison through the herb-as-Vadhri (binding force)
- Provides protective sealing against relapse or re-entry of toxin
Why the deity is called
To deactivate and drive out poison from the patient and from any medicinal media or instruments, grounding the cure in an archetypal precedent: Brahman first drinks Soma and thereby renders poison powerless.
The seer
- Atharvanic seer (anukramaṇī-variant attribution; often placed in Atharvan/Āṅgirasa milieu)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya and rakṣā charms: anti-venom, extraction/expulsion formulas, and consecratory speech that renders toxins ‘sapless’ (arasa) and non-operative.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 4.7 (adjacent viṣa/anti-harm material in the same kanda-context)
- AV 6.56 (viṣaghna/anti-poison charm cluster, tradition-dependent)
- AV 7.56 (rakṣā-style protective formulas, tradition-dependent)
Preparing for the rite
- Seat the patient facing east or north; calm breath and speech to maintain mantra-clarity.
- Identify the suspected locus (sting/bite/wound) and any applied salve or bandage that may ‘hold’ poison.
- Prepare clean water for sipping/sprinkling; ready an herb or herbal paste to be empowered as Vadhri (binding herb).
The rite
- Recite the sukta as a continuous charm over the patient and over the herb/water.
- At verses like 4.6.5, gesture outward (as if casting away) while verbally ‘speaking out’ poison from each named locus.
- Apply the empowered herb/paste to the affected site; sprinkle or give sips of consecrated water as supportive purification.
- If a foreign body (barb/splinter) is present, coordinate careful extraction with recitation, treating the removal as the physical counterpart of ‘nira-vac’ (expulsion by speech).
What it needs
- Water for sipping/sprinkling
- Medicinal herb (oṣadhi) empowered as Vadhri (binding agent)
- Optional: simple salve/unguent (prāñjana) and a leaf-container (parṇa-dhi) as ritual media
- Bandage or cord (symbolically ‘binding’ the poison)
When
As soon as possible after envenomation; also repeat at the next sunrise/sunset if symptoms persist.
The main substance
Oṣadhi (medicinal herb) empowered as Vadhri
Herbs
- Unspecified oṣadhi designated ‘Vadhri’ (binding/immobilizing herb; chosen locally for anti-venom use)
Amulets
- Binding cord/bandage used as a symbolic Vadhri (optional)
- Leaf-container (parṇa-dhi) as a protective carrier for the empowered herb (optional)
How it is prepared
Grind the chosen herb with clean water into a paste or infuse in water; recite the sukta over it, then apply to the wound and/or administer as consecrated water while ‘casting out’ gestures accompany the expulsion verses.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a healing and protection hymn used to neutralize and expel poison from stings, bites, or poisoned wounds, and to prevent the toxin from ‘staying’ in any medium like salve or bandage.
Soma functions as the archetypal antidote, and Brahman represents sacral authority: the hymn cites a primordial precedent where poison is made ‘arasa’—without potency—through consecrated power.
The text treats Vadhri as a ‘binding’ medicinal power; practitioners typically select a locally trusted anti-venom herb and consecrate it with recitation, using it to immobilize and contain the poison.
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