Sukta 31
Rishi: Atharvanic seer tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras attribution for bhaiṣajya hymns; specific r̥ṣi for 2.31 varies by anukramaṇī tradition).
Devata: Kṛmi (worms) as the addressed adversary; vāc/mantra as operative power; implicitly the healing force allied with Atharvanic speech.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (predominant in AV healing charms; this verse conforms to anuṣṭubh-like cadence though AV metrics can be flexible).
Mantras
Mantra 1
क्रिमिजम्भनम्। इन्द्र॑स्य॒ या म॒ही दृ॒षत् क्रिमे॒र्विश्व॑स्य॒ तर्ह॑णी । तया॑ पिनष्मि॒ सं क्रिमी॑न् दृ॒षदा॒ खल्वाँ॑ इव
Worm-crushing. That mighty Indra’s press-stone which is the vanquisher of every worm—therewith I pound the worms all together, as (one pounds) in a mortar with the grinding-stone.
Mantra 2
दृ॒ष्टम॒दृष्ट॑मतृह॒मथो॑ कु॒रूरु॑मतृहम्। अ॒ल्गण्डू॒न्त्सर्वा॑न् छ॒लुना॒न् क्रिमी॒न् वच॑सा जम्भयामसि
The seen, the unseen—these we tear away; yea, the Kurūru too we tear away. All Algaṇḍus, all Chalunā-worms, the Krimís—by our uttered word we make them gape and crush them down.
Mantra 3
अ॒ल्गण्डू॑न् हन्मि मह॒ता व॒धेन॑ दू॒ना अदू॑ना अर॒सा अ॑भूवन्। शि॒ष्टानशि॑ष्टा॒न् नि ति॑रामि वा॒चा यथा॒ क्रिमी॑णां॒ नकि॑रु॒च्छिषा॑तै
The Algandús I smite with mighty slaughter: afflicted and unafflicted alike have they become sapless. The ordered and the disorderly I thrust away with Speech, so that of the worms not one at all may be left remaining.
Mantra 4
अन्वा॑न्त्र्यं शीर्ष॒ण्य॑१मथो॒ पार्ष्टे॑यं॒ क्रिमी॑न्। अ॒व॒स्क॒वं व्य॑ध्व॒रं क्रिमी॒न् वच॑सा जम्भयामसि
The intestinal worm, the worm that haunts the head, and also the worm that dwells in the flank—these worms; the Avaskava, the Vyadhvara worms—these worms we, by our sacred utterance, do crush and grind to ruin.
Mantra 5
ये क्रिम॑यः॒ पर्व॑तेशु॒ वने॒ष्वोष॑धीषु प॒शुष्व॒प्स्व॑१न्तः । ये अ॒स्माकं॑ त॒न्वऽमाविवि॒शुः सर्वं॒ तद्ध॑न्मि॒ जनि॑म॒ क्रिमी॑णाम्
What worms there be in mountains, in the forests, in the herbs, in cattle, in the waters—within; and what have entered into our body: all that do I smite, even the birth and breed of the worms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both. The hymn targets kṛmi as bodily parasites and also as hostile disease-agents; Atharvanic healing speech treats the infestation and the malevolent “grip” behind it.
They provide a concrete ritual model for the cure: just as grain is crushed by stone in a mortar, the worms are imagined as being crushed by Indra-like force and by the mantra’s pressure.
The hymn does not only expel present worms; it also attacks their janima—their birth/source—symbolically severing the line of reproduction so the condition does not return.
Ask anything about Sukta 31 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.