Sukta 32
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī; commonly treated as Atharvan/Angiras-type healing corpus).
Devata: Āditya (Sun) as kṛmi-slayer; raśmi as his operative power.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh tendency (fragmentary in the provided text; full metrical confirmation requires the complete mantra sequence).
Mantras
Mantra 1
क्रिमिनाशनम्। उ॒द्यन्ना॑दि॒त्यः क्रिमी॑न् हन्तु नि॒म्रोच॑न् हन्तु र॒श्मिभिः॑ । ये अ॒न्तः क्रिम॑यो॒ गवि॑
Worm-slaying. Let the rising Āditya smite the worms; let the setting one smite them with his rays—those worms that are within, in the cow.
Mantra 2
वि॒श्वरू॑पं चतुर॒क्षं क्रिमिं॑ सा॒रङ्ग॒मर्जु॑नम्। शृ॒णाम्य॑स्य पृ॒ष्टीरपि॑ वृश्चामि॒ यच्छिरः॑
The worm, all-formed, four-eyed, the speckled, the pale,—him I shatter: his ribs I break; yea, I cut away that head of his.
Mantra 3
अ॒त्रि॒वद् वः॑ क्रिमयो हन्मि कण्व॒वज्ज॑मदग्नि॒वत्। अ॒गस्त्य॑स्य॒ ब्रह्म॑णा॒ सं पि॑नष्म्य॒हं क्रिमी॑न्
Like Atri I smite you, O ye worms; like Kaṇva, like Jamadagni. With Agastya’s holy spell I crush you utterly, I—ye worms—do crush you down.
Mantra 4
ह॒तो राजा॒ क्रिमी॑णामु॒तैषां॑ स्थ॒पति॑र्ह॒तः । ह॒तो ह॒तमा॑ता॒ क्रिमि॑र्ह॒तभ्रा॑ता ह॒तस्व॑सा
Slain is the King of the worms, and slain their very House-lord. Slain is the worm—its mother slain, its brother slain, its sister slain.
Mantra 5
ह॒तासो॑ अस्य वे॒शसो॑ ह॒तासः॒ परि॑वेशसः । अथो॒ ये क्षु॑ल्ल॒का इ॑व॒ सर्वे॒ ते क्रिम॑यो ह॒ताः
Slain are his resident lodgers; slain are the encircling lodgers; yea, even those that are, as it were, but paltry—every one of those worms is slain.
Mantra 6
प्र ते॑ शृणामि॒ शृङ्गे॒ याभ्यां॑ वितुदा॒यसि॑ । भि॒नाद्मि॑ ते कु॒षुम्भं॒ यस्ते॑ विष॒धानः॑
Forth—thy horns I shatter, wherewith thou dost pierce and wound. I cleave for thee the kushumbha, which is thy poison-receptacle.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a healing charm aimed at destroying and expelling kṛmi—‘worms’ or parasite-like disease agents—especially those believed to be inside cattle.
Because the Sun’s rays are imagined as a penetrating purifier: they reveal what is hidden, burn away impurities, and act like a divine weapon that reaches inside the body.
The hymn’s main ‘medicine’ is mantra plus solar power. Simple supports like sun-exposed water for sprinkling, kuśa grass, or a protective thread may be used, but the verses themselves emphasize rays and brahman as the decisive force.
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