Atharva Veda 2.21.1: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 21, Mantra 1
Sukta 21
शत्रुनाशनम्। सूर्य॒ यत् ते॒ तप॒स्तेन॒ तं प्रति॑ तप॒ यो॒३स्मान् द्वेष्टि॒ यं व॒यं द्वि॒ष्मः
sū́rya yát te tápaḥ téna táṃ práti tapa yó ’smā́n dvéṣṭi yáṃ vayáṃ dvíṣmaḥ
O Sūrya, with what burning power is thine—therewith do thou scorch him back again, who hateth us, whom we do hate.
O Sūrya, sa iyong kapangyarihang nagniningning, sa pamamagitan nito ay sunugin mo siya pabalik, ang sumasakit sa amin, na aming kinapopootan.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker invokes Sūrya’s tapas (burning heat/austerity-power) to scorch back the person who hates the speaker—i.e., to reverse hostility onto its source.
The inner meaning
Psychologically, the mantra externalizes corrosive anger into a disciplined, impersonal force (solar tapas) so that reactive hatred is “returned” without inner collapse; it is a ritualized boundary against intrusive malice.
The truth in it
Hostility is a self-consuming fire: when met with clarity and lawful force (tapas as moral-energetic heat), harmful intent rebounds upon the one who sustains it.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Counter-sorcery / Enemy-destruction; śatrunāśana)
Its aim
To repel and burn down an enemy’s hatred/hostile magic by redirecting solar tapas back upon the hater
Word by Word
Pada patha
सूर्य । यत् । ते । तपः । तेन । तम् । प्रति । तप । यः । अस्मान् । द्वेष्टि । यम् । वयम् । द्विष्मः ।
- शत्रुनाशनम्
- enemy-destruction; a charm/means that destroys enemiesNoun (compound) / Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (implied: ‘(इदं) शत्रुनाशनम्’ / ‘(इमं) शत्रुनाशनम्’)Root शत्रु-नाशन (प्रातिपदिक; नाशन < √नश्/नाश् ‘नाशयति’)
- सूर्य
- O SunO Sūrya (Sun), the all-seeing burner; invoked as punitive heat and witnessNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन (address)Root सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- that which; whateverwhatever/that which; introducing the specific power to be redirectedPronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (of तपः/तपस् understood as ‘that (austerity/heat)’)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- your; of youthy/your; belonging to the Sun as possessor of tapasPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of you’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- तपः
- heat; austerity; sacred powerheat, ardour, burning power (tapas) as a coercive, enemy-consuming forceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म/विषय (that ‘heat/austerity’ as the thing referred to)Root तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तेन
- by that; with thatwith that (instrumental); by means of that very solar burningPronounतृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- तम्
- him; that onehim; the hostile person as target of the ritePronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- प्रति
- towards; againstback against, in return; reversal/retaliation marker (pratyavāya, ‘turning back’)Indeclinable (preverb/preposition)अव्ययRole दिशा/प्रत्यवस्थान (governing the action ‘towards/against’)Root प्रति
- तप
- burn! scorch!burn! scorch! (imperative); perform punitive heating upon the enemyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (imperative addressed to सूर्य)Root √तप् (तपँ) ‘तपते/तापयति’
- यः
- whowho; relative pronoun specifying the offenderPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अस्मान्
- usus; the ritual patron and his group/household under protectionPronounद्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- द्वेष्टि
- hateshates, bears malice; hostile intent construed as actionable harmVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √द्विष् (द्विषँ) ‘द्वेष्टि’
- यम्
- whomwhom; correlating with ‘him’ as the object of our counteractionPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वयम्
- wewe; the performers/patron asserting agency in the counter-cursePronounप्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्तृRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
- द्विष्मः
- hatewe hate/are hostile to; formal declaration enabling lawful ritual retaliationVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √द्विष् (द्विषँ) ‘द्वेष्टि’
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): सूर्य | यत् | ते | तपः | तेन | तम् | प्रति | तप | यः | अस्मान् | द्वेष्टि | यम् | वयम् | द्विष्मः
- 1) ‘सूर्य॒ यत्’ = सूर्य + यत् (no change)
- 2) ‘ते॒ तप॒ः’ = ते + तपः (no change)
- 3) ‘तं प्रति॑’ = तम् + प्रति (anusvāra/म् before प)
- 4) ‘यो॒३स्मान्’ = यः + अस्मान् → योऽस्मान् (अः + अ → ओऽ; avagraha; Vedic pluti-marking shown as ३ in the text)
- 5) ‘यं व॒यं’ = यम् + वयम् (no change)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic/Angirasa tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution depends on the anukramaṇī for AVŚ 2.21)
- Devata
- Sūrya (as tapas-bearing punitive witness)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (to be confirmed against pada count in the anukramaṇī tradition)
- Rasa
- Raudra and Vira
Sāyaṇa glosses tapas as Sūrya’s dahana-śakti (‘power of burning’) and takes prati as ‘in return/turned back’ (pratyavartya), making the mantra a reversal of enmity: the Sun is entreated to transfer the heat that might touch the sacrificer onto the hater. The explicit ‘whom we hate’ is treated as a sanctioned identification of the adversary, not mere emotion, establishing the rite’s target (abhidheyatā) and efficacy (sāmarthya) through precise designation.
AVŚ 2.21 (hymn cluster: solar reversal formulas); AVŚ 2.20–2.22 (adjacent reversal/neutralization series with Vāyu/Candra/Sūrya)
Counter-hostility and reversal charms (abhicārika-apotropaic) using solar tejas/tapas as the operative force.
Represents the Atharvanic technique of harnessing a cosmic regulator (Sūrya) to restore social-energetic order by returning aggression to its origin.
Sūrya
Daily regulator of time and visibility; the moral witness whose light exposes hidden harm and whose heat enforces consequence.
Burns away contagion/impurity conceptually; supports vitality (ojas/tejas) when invoked protectively.
Apotropaic reversal: turns back curses, hatred, and hostile intent by “reflecting” them in solar fire.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables (with Atharvanic sandhi/word-boundary flexibility)
Formulaic repetition across verses; cadence driven more by charm-structure than strict classical metrical regularity.
Hammering, juridical rhythm—well-suited to ‘return’ (prati-) spells.
Creates a sense of inexorable recoil: the repeated relative clause (‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi…’) functions like a verbal hook catching the aggressor.
Identify the adversary (dveṣṭṛ) by name or by a substitute token (e.g., a clod/effigy), maintaining ritual secrecy where prescribed.
At sunrise (or facing the sun), the Atharvan priest recites the mantra while performing a ‘turning back’ gesture (prati): a forward offering/gesture followed by a reversal toward the enemy’s direction.
Optionally (per common Kauśika patterns for such mantras), accompany recitation with heating symbolism: exposure to sunlight, warming a stone/metal, or touching a warmed implement to the token, to materialize ‘tapas’ as operative force.
Conclude by dismissing the hostile influence away from the patron’s boundary (house/village line), reinforcing the ‘back-against-him’ semantics of prati.
Kauśika Sūtra: śatrunāśana / dveṣa-pratyāvartana karmāṇi
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as apotropaic technician: he identifies the target, times the act to solar presence, and enacts pratyāvartana (reversal) through gesture and directed recitation.
Recited as a home-protective counterspell when facing persistent hostility, slander, or suspected bewitchment; often paired with sun-facing posture at dawn.
Sunrise or when the sun is visible (sūryodaya preferred for solar charms).
Householder may perform; a specialist Atharvan priest may be sought for intensified abhicāra contexts.
Used as a ‘protective affirmation’ with ethical caution—aimed at neutralization/reversal rather than obsessive harm.
तपस् (tapas) as ‘fire/heat’—non-material fiery substance.
The mantra treats cosmic heat as a transferable pharmakon: an energetic ‘burn’ that can cauterize social-spiritual infection by forcing it back to its source.
Indirect: tapas/tejas language maps to Ayurvedic ‘tejas’ and the management of aggressive heat (pitta) when disciplined rather than reactive.
Stress-boundary practice against harassment; cognitive ‘return to sender’ framing to reduce rumination and fear.
A known hater/enemy (explicitly named by function, not by personal name).
To reverse and scorch the aggressor’s hateful force, neutralizing harm by punitive return.
Pratyāvartana (reversal) through identification of a deity’s weapon-quality (tapas) and command-form imperative (tapa).
Hatred, hostile speech, and implied hostile magic (kṛtyā-like intent).
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- witness, sovereign clarity, punitive illumination that reveals and burns impurities
- तपस् (tapas)
- concentrated will/discipline; transformative fire that can purify or punish
- प्रति-तप (prati-tap)
- reversal/boomerang of hostile force; reflective justice
- द्वेष्टि / द्विष्मः (dveṣṭi / dviṣmaḥ)
- acknowledged enmity; naming the affect so it can be ritually handled rather than repressed
- शत्रुनाशनम् (śatrunāśanam)
- severing of harmful relational bonds; cutting off malign influence
Solar clarity as a shield: visualize hostile intent hitting a field of light and returning harmlessly to its origin.
Maṇipūra (solar plexus)
Sūrya-bhedana (right-nostril emphasis) in mild form; steady exhale on ‘prati tap’ phrase.
A golden disc at the navel radiating outward, cauterizing cords of resentment.
Alert, boundary-set, non-fearful vigilance.
Chant facing the sun; keep intention on protection and restoration of ṛta, not personal cruelty. End with a brief śānti recitation to cool residual agitation.
Śaunaka accentual style: preserve udātta on key nominals (sūryá, tapás) and the imperative (táp(a)); avoid flattening the ‘prati’ compound.
Give a slight lift on udātta syllables; keep the repeated relative clause (‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi…’) even and emphatic.
Firm, bright, forward-placed (as if projecting sunlight).
Abhicāra-context: traditionally paired with protective sealing gestures (dik-bandha) and concluded with cooling/śānti to prevent residual raudra.
21 times
Facing harassment, envy, repeated antagonism, or suspected ‘evil eye’/hostile intent.
At sunrise or before entering a contested social space; also after receiving threatening messages to reset composure.
Restored confidence and energetic boundary; sense that hostility is neutralized and cannot ‘stick’.
Avoid escalating obsession or personal vengeance; if anger spikes, follow with calming breath or a śānti mantra.
No plant or drug is named in this verse; the operative ‘substance’ is solar tapas itself, conceptualized as a transferable, weaponized heat. In Atharvanic technics, such non-botanical agencies (fire/heat/light) function analogously to herbs: they are invoked as tangible forces that can be directed, intensified, and reassigned to a target.
The verse presumes access to a specialist who can legitimately name an enemy and mobilize a cosmic power (Sūrya’s tapas) for household protection. The explicit ‘whom we hate’ frames retaliation as ritually authorized, implying a social world where conflict is managed through priestly mediation and sanctioned counteraction rather than private violence alone.
The diction is largely common Vedic: tapas, dveṣ-, and imperative tapa are RV-attested. The Atharvanic coloration lies in pragmatic syntax and function: the relative clause ‘yo ’smān dveṣṭi’ plus the correlative target ‘taṃ…’ is deployed as a direct operational specification (a ‘targeting formula’) typical of AV counter-sorcery, with prati emphasizing reversal as a technical ritual operator.
Gopatha’s general Atharvanic theory treats mantras as efficacious through correct application (yukti) and identification (abhisandhi) of the target, often grounding power in cosmic correspondences (āditya/sūrya as heat and overseer). While a verse-specific Gopatha citation must be matched to chapter/section in a critical index, the conceptual fit is clear: solar heat is a cosmic instrument that, when properly ‘turned’ (prati), becomes a juridical-ritual punishment of the hostile party.
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