Sukta 21
Devata: Sūrya (as punitive heat/śóciḥ).
AVŚ 2.21 é um hino compacto de contra‑hostilidade que arma o fulgor de Sūrya—haras (força ardente), arciṣ (raio) e śóciḥ (chama)—para fazer o ódio retornar à sua fonte. Repetindo o refrão «quem nos odeia, a quem odiamos», ele enquadra o calor solar como agente moral‑ritual de retribuição, que queima e repele o agressor enquanto protege o lado do recitador.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
शत्रुनाशनम्। सूर्य॒ यत् ते॒ तप॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ तप॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
Ó Sūrya, com o ardor (tapas) que é teu — com esse mesmo ardor queima-o de volta: aquele que nos odeia, a quem nós odiamos.
Mantra 2
सूर्य॒ यत् ते॒ हर॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ हर॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
Ó Sūrya, com esse fulgor ardente que é teu — com ele faze recuar, em retorno, aquele que nos odeia, aquele que nós odiamos.
Mantra 3
सूर्य॒ यत् ते॒ऽर्चिस्तेन॒ तं प्रत्य॑र्च॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
Ó Sūrya, com esse teu raio (arcis), faze brilhar de volta sobre ele: aquele que nos odeia, a quem nós odiamos.
Mantra 4
सूर्य॒ यत् ते॑ शो॒चिस्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ शोच॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
Ó Sūrya, com essa chama que é tua—com ela abrasa-o em retribuição—aquele que nos odeia, aquele a quem também nós odiamos.
Inside Sukta 21
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Direct address to Sūrya, immediately identifying his radiant implements (haras/arciṣ/śóciḥ).
- What it asks
“With that of yours, strike/shine/scorch him back”—a repeated demand to return hostility upon the hater.
- Where its power lies
The repeated ‘prati-’ (back/against) framing asserts automatic reversal: the sun’s force is inherently capable of retributive return.
- How it closes
A refrain-like closure that fixes the target: the one who hates us (and whom we oppose) is the recipient of Sūrya’s burning return.
Famous verses
yo ’smān dveṣṭi yaṃ vayaṃ dviṣmaḥ
tena taṃ pratya̍rca
tena taṃ prati̍ śoca
Kind of hymn
Abhicarika (Counter-sorcery / Enemy-subduing)
What it is for
Repel and return hatred/hostile intent to the aggressor by invoking Sūrya’s rays and heat as retributive force.
Who it is for
Householders, ritual specialists (Atharvanic practitioners), and communities seeking protection from enmity, slander, or magical attack.
Also used as
- Rakṣoghna (demon/evil-repelling)
- Apotropaic protection (hostile-reversal)
The deity
Sūrya here is not merely the visible sun but the personified force of tejas—radiant heat that exposes, judges, and burns away hostility. His rays become a directed weapon that returns malice to the sender.
Powers of the deity
- Scorching and consuming hostile forces (śóciḥ/haras)
- Illuminating and exposing hidden enmity
- Reversal/return (prati-) of aggression to its origin
- Protecting the allied community through solar guardianship
- Enforcing a cosmic-moral order by punishing the hater
Why the deity is called
To redirect Sūrya’s burning radiance onto the enemy/hater, making the aggressor receive the very hostility he projects and thereby neutralizing ongoing harm.
The seer
- Anukramaṇī-dependentAtharvan. Abhicārika and apotropaic charms that reverse harm (pratyāvartana), especially those using tejas (radiant heat) to repel enmity, curses, and hostile intent.
Other hymns of this seer
- AVŚ 2.20 (adjacent counter-hostility context; attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
- AVŚ 2.22 (adjacent protective/hostile-repulsion context; attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
Preparing for the rite
- Choose a clean, sun-facing place (eastward orientation).
- Perform basic purification (ācamana; mental resolve that the rite is defensive/repellent).
- Establish a simple boundary/space of protection (e.g., marked area or mentally ‘sealed’ perimeter).
The rite
- Recite the hymn’s verses (4 mantras) while facing Sūrya or the direction of sunlight.
- With each refrain (“yo ’smān dveṣṭi yaṃ vayaṃ dviṣmaḥ”), gesture outward as if sending back the hostility (prati-/returning motion).
- Conclude with a firm verbal intent: the hatred is returned; protection remains with the reciter’s side.
What it needs
- None required by the cited verses (solar tejas is the operative ‘weapon’).
When
Daytime, preferably at sunrise or when sunlight is strong (symbolically matching the hymn’s punitive heat).
Frequently Asked Questions
It is used to repel hostility and return harmful intent to the person who directs it, by invoking Sūrya’s scorching radiance as the agent of reversal.
Not in the cited verses. The hymn primarily treats Sūrya’s heat and rays (tejas) as the operative power, so recitation and intention are central.
During daylight—especially at sunrise or in strong sunlight—because the ritual logic depends on aligning the mantra’s action with Sūrya’s manifest radiance.
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