Atharva Veda 2.21.4: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 21, Mantra 4
Sukta 21
सूर्य॒ यत् ते॑ शो॒चिस्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ शोच॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
sū́rya yát te śóciḥ ténā táṃ práti śoca yó ’smā́n dvéṣṭi yáṃ vayáṃ dvíṣmaḥ
O Sūrya, with that flame of thine—therewith scorch him in requital—who hateth us, whom we ourselves do hate.
О Сūрья! Тем твоим пламенем опали в воздаяние того, кто нас ненавидит, — того, кого и мы ненавидим.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker asks Sūrya to use his śóciḥ (flame/heat) to scorch back the person who hates them.
The inner meaning
Sūrya’s heat stands for conscience and exposure: the sun reveals what is hidden and ‘dries up’ malice. It can also symbolize burning away one’s own reactive hatred.
The truth in it
Under the light of truth, hostility cannot remain concealed; what is unjust is naturally scorched by exposure.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Counter-sorcery / Enemy-subduing)
Its aim
To redirect the sun’s scorching power against a hater/enemy, returning hostility and neutralizing aggression.
Word by Word
Pada patha
सूर्य । यत् । ते । शोचिः । तेन । तम् । प्रति । शोच । यः । अस्मान् । द्वेष्टि । यम् । वयम् । द्विष्मः ।
- सूर्य
- O SunO Sūrya (Sun), invoked as a burning, punitive power and witnessNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा एकवचन (हे सूर्य)Role सम्बोधन (address)Root सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- that whichthat which; the specific (sun-)heat to be redirectedPronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (शोच्-क्रियायाः विषयः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourthy; belonging to theePronounषष्ठी एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- शोचिः
- glow, radianceflame, burning radiance; the scorching, afflictive heat (tapas) usable as a weaponNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (शोच्-क्रियायाः कर्ता)Root शोचिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेन
- with thatwith that; by means of that (very radiance)Pronounतृतीया एकवचन (नपुंसक/पुं)Role करणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- himhim; that person (the hostile party)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचन (पुं)Role कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towards, againstback against; in return, counter-directedIndeclinableअव्ययRole दिशा/प्रत्यभिमुख्य-निर्देशकRoot प्रति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- शोच
- burn! / scorch!burn thou; scorch, consume (imperative addressed to Sūrya)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole आज्ञा-क्रियाRoot शुच् (धातु) → शोच (लोट्)
- यः
- whowho; the one that (relative clause introducing the enemy)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole कर्तृ (द्वेष्टि-क्रियायाः कर्ता)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usus; the performer and his group/householdPronounद्वितीया बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- द्वेष्टि
- hateshates; bears malice, seeks harmVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole मुख्य-क्रियाRoot द्विष् (धातु) → द्वेष्टि
- यम्
- whomwhom; the one that (correlative object)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole कर्म (द्विष्मः-क्रियायाः)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wewe; the ritual agents/clientsPronounप्रथमा बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- द्विष्मः
- hatehate; regard as hostile (ritually acknowledged enmity)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole मुख्य-क्रियाRoot द्विष् (धातु) → द्विष्मः
Sandhi Notes
- सूर्य | यत् | ते | शोचिः | तेन | तम् | प्रति | शोच | यः | अस्मान् | द्वेष्टि | यम् | वयम् | द्विष्मः । विशेषम्:
- (1) ‘यो॒३स्मान्’ इति संहितायां ‘यः + अस्मान्’ → ‘योऽस्मान्’ (अवग्रह-लोप/स्वर-चिह्न सहित) ।
- (2) ‘यत् ते’ इत्यत्र संधिः न बाध्यते (त् + त्) — पदपाठे पृथक्।
- (3) ‘शोचिस्तेन’ इत्यत्र संहितायां ‘शोचिः + तेन’ (विसर्ग-सन्धिः) — पदपाठे ‘शोचिः | तेन’।
Seer, deity and metre
- Devata
- Sūrya (as punitive heat/śóciḥ).
- Chandas
- Likely a common Atharvanic meter (often Anuṣṭubh).
- Rasa
- Raudra and Shanta
Sāyaṇa takes śóciḥ as Sūrya’s burning splendour (tējasaḥ/arcis), capable of inflicting distress. The mantra is a pratyavāya/pratīkāra: the hostile intent (dveṣa) is met by a counter-burning directed ‘back’ (prati) upon the enemy. The relative-correlative construction (yo… yam…) specifies the target as the one who bears malice toward the sacrificer; the speaker’s ‘we hate’ is read as legitimate identification of an aggressor, not gratuitous violence.
Unknown (AVŚ 2.21 anukramaṇī-dependent)
Solar punitive-purificatory charms; enemy-repulsion via tejas and exposure.
Transfers the same Atharvanic reversal template from Vāyu to Sūrya—showing modular charm architecture across devatās.
Sūrya
Eye of the world; establishes day, visibility, and moral order; burns and purifies through light and heat.
Classically linked with vitality, eyesight, and dispelling darkness; here heat is punitive rather than therapeutic.
Exposure and scorching: hostile intent is revealed and neutralized.
4×8 (approx.)
Single-verse input prevents strict confirmation; formula matches common anuṣṭubh abhicāra cadence.
Bright, declarative, with a strong imperative pivot.
Feels like invoking daylight-force; psychologically ‘illuminates’ and strengthens resolve.
Identify the hostile person (dveṣṭṛ) by name or by symbolic substitute (e.g., a clod/effigy), as permitted in Atharvanic practice.
At sunrise (or facing the sun), the Atharvan recites the mantra, conceptually ‘turning back’ (prati) the heat upon the enemy.
Optionally accompany with a gesture of reversal: turning the right hand outward from the chest toward the sun and then ‘casting’ the heat away from the performer toward the enemy’s direction.
Conclude with a protective sealing act for the client (e.g., touching head/heart), to mark separation from the returned harm.
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as apotropaic specialist: identifies the adversary, times the recitation to solar presence, and performs the reversal-gesture to effect pratyāvartanam (turning-back).
Recited facing the sun for protection against enmity; can be integrated into sunrise domestic routines as a protective daily charm.
Sunrise (most congruent), or midday for maximum ‘tapas’ symbolism.
Householder can recite; atharvavedin if embedded in a formal rite.
Use at morning window/light exposure; follow with a brief intention of non-harm and clarity.
śóciḥ (solar flame) explicitly
The operative substance is solar tejas—light/heat as both purifier and punisher; no physical materia required.
Symbolic tejas increase; not a clinical solar therapy instruction.
Using ‘exposure’ (documentation, transparency) to neutralize harassment; restoring confidence via ‘sun’ imagery.
The hater/enemy
To return the sun’s scorching heat against the hater, neutralizing their hostility through punitive exposure.
Prati-karman via solar tejas; ‘burning’ as consequence and purification.
Malice, covert aggression, curse-like hostility.
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- Truth, visibility, order (ṛta); the witness that exposes harm
- शोचिः (śóciḥ)
- Moral/psychic heat; purifying exposure
- प्रति-शोच (prati-śoca)
- Reflective justice; consequences returning to the doer
Solar witness: clarity, truth, and protective exposure.
Maṇipūra (solar fire) and Ājñā (seeing)
Sūrya-bhedana (gentle, if suitable) or simply slow nasal breathing while visualizing sunlight.
A sun-disc at the navel radiates outward; hostile intent dries up and falls away as ash outside the aura.
Clear, confident, ethically aligned.
Pair with a vow of right speech and transparency; let the ‘sun’ be truth, not vengeance.
Lift slightly on ‘sūrya’ vocative; give ‘śóciḥ’ a clear, bright tone; emphasize ‘práti śóca’.
Make the imperative ‘śoca’ crisp; keep ‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi’ flowing as the identification clause.
Bright, steady, ‘daylight’ tone; not harsh.
Solar abhicāra is traditionally tempered by dharmic framing—invoke as exposure/justice, not cruelty.
12 times
When dealing with covert hostility, jealousy, or reputational attacks.
At sunrise before public engagement; when you need courage to act transparently.
Confidence, clarity, and a felt sense of being protected by truth/visibility.
If heat imagery increases irritability, reduce repetitions and end with cooling breath or a peace recitation.
No plant or materia medica is named in this verse; efficacy is grounded instead in a cosmological ‘substance’—Sūrya’s śóciḥ (burning radiance)—treated as a transferable, aimable force. This is typical of Atharvanic technology where heat/light functions analogously to a drug: it is invoked, directed, and made to ‘act upon’ a target.
The speaker’s ‘we’ presumes a protected in-group (household/patron) entitled to enlist a cosmic power against an aggressor. The Atharvan priest mediates this entitlement: he authorizes retaliation as ritual counter-measure rather than private vengeance, reflecting the specialist’s role in managing conflict within a sacral-legal frame.
The diction is broadly RV-compatible (śóciḥ, dveṣ-), but the pragmatic deployment is characteristically Atharvanic: an imperative to a deity for targeted harm with explicit enemy-identification (yo… dvéṣṭi). The tight pratyavartana logic (‘with that… back against him’) is a marked Atharvanic rhetorical-ritual style.
Without the specific Gopatha passage keyed to AVŚ 2.21, one can state the general Gopatha frame: Atharvanic mantras are efficacious when correctly applied (yathāvidhi) with proper identification of the object (viṣaya) and correct ritual performance; solar power is treated as a legitimate instrument of punishment and protection. Precise contextualization, however, requires mapping AVŚ 2.21 to the relevant Gopatha discussion by anukramaṇī/karman concordance.
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