Sukta 113

Kind of hymn

Abhicārika (Sorcery) / Śatrunāśana (Enemy-destruction)

What it is for

Sever the foe’s capacity to harm, turn him back, and subject him to disgrace and powerlessness—conceptually through cutting and venom, ritually through a symbolic act of ‘cutting away.’

Who it is for

Atharvanic practitioner/householder seeking coercive protection in conflict—used in adversarial situations (legal, social, or personal hostility) where repulsion and subjugation of an opponent is desired.

Also used as

• Śatrunāśana (enemy-destruction)
• Stambhana/nirodha (disabling/impeding)
• Apakāraka-nivṛtti (repelling hostile acts)

The deity

Tṛṣṭikā is invoked as a sharp, cutting, and destructive potency—at once blade-like and venom-bearing—capable of severing an enemy’s force and turning him back into submission.

Powers of the deity

• Cuts/severs the targeted foe (ut… chindhi)
• Drives away and routs (parivṛkta, ‘turned back/driven round’)
• Poisons or renders toxic (viṣā, viṣātakī)
• Imposes disgrace/penal shame (śepyāvat-)
• Compels submission and loss of agency (vaśā iva)

Why the deity is called

To apply an irresistible ‘cutting/poisoning’ power against a specified enemy so he is disabled, shamed, and forced into retreat or submissive compliance.

The seer

• Atharvanic seer (Anukramaṇī attribution not supplied)Atharvan. Abhicārika charms for śatrunāśana—binding, cutting down, routing, and socially humiliating adversaries through coercive personified powers and weapon/poison symbolism.

Preparing for the rite

• Identify the target explicitly (name or clear mental designation implied by amūm ‘that yonder one’).
• Prepare a symbolic ‘cutting’ medium: a ritual blade/knife, reed-cutter, or sharp edge; optionally prepare a substitute/effigy or a marked object representing the foe.
• Establish a controlled, private space; maintain focused intent (saṅkalpa) toward ‘cutting away’ the foe’s strength and turning him back.

The rite

• Recite 7.113.1 while performing a cutting gesture outward (ut-) as if severing the enemy from one’s sphere; if using an effigy/substitute, make a decisive cut or notch to signify separation and disablement.
• Recite 7.113.2 while making a circling/turning-back motion (parivṛkta) to ‘drive round’ and rout the foe; conclude with a gesture of forcing submission (hand pressing down or lowering motion).

What it needs

• Ritual cutting implement (knife/axe/reed-cutter) or sharp-edged substitute
• Effigy/substitute target (optional; implied by demonstrative amūm)
• Poison as a conceptual adjunct; if used materially, only as a symbolic trace in strict traditional/controlled settings (not recommended outside textual-ritual context)

When

Preferably at a liminal time (dusk/night) or before confronting the adversary; perform when the practitioner can maintain secrecy and uninterrupted recitation.

The main substance

Ritual cutting implement (symbolic blade)

Amulets

• Sharp-edged token or notched twig used as a symbolic ‘cut’ against the foe (optional, tradition-dependent)

How it is prepared

Consecrate the implement by intent and brief purification; during recitation, enact a single decisive ‘cutting away’ motion (or notch an effigy/substitute) to externalize the mantra’s severing force.