THE TEXT · ATHARVAVEDA
Hymns discussed in this article
Begin with the verses shown here. Open the other cited hymns to compare their images and aims.
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK IV IN FOCUS
Against various evils: with a plant
Thee, the mistress of remedies, O conquering one (ujjeṣá), we take hold of; I have made thee a thing of thousand-fold energy (-vīryà) for every one, O herb.
The truly-conquering, the curse-repelling, the overcoming, the reverted one (punaḥsará)—all the herbs have I called together, saying "may they (?) save us from this."
She that hath cursed with cursing, that hath taken malignity as her root, that hath seized on [our] young to take [its] sap—let her eat [her own] offspring.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in the raw vessel (pā́tra), what they have made in the blue-red one, in raw flesh what witchcraft they have made—with that do thou smite the witchcraft-makers.
Read the remaining 4 verses of IV.17
Evil-dreaming, evil-living, demon, monster (abhvà), hags, all the ill-named (f.), ill-voiced—them we make disappear from us.
Death by hunger, death by thirst, kinelessness, childlessness—through thee, O off-wiper (apāmārgá), we wipe off all that.
Death by thirst, death by hunger, likewise defeat at dice—through thee, O off-wiper, we wipe off all that.
The off-wiper is indeed of all herbs the sole controller (vaçín); with it we wipe [off] what has befallen (ā́sthita) thee; then do thou go about free from disease.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read IV.17 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK V ALSO CITED
Against witchcraft
Read comparison hymn V.31 (12 verses)
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in a raw vessel, what they have made in one of mixed grains; in raw flesh what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in a cock, or what in a kurī́ra-wearing goat; in a ewe what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in the one-hoofed, in the one with teeth in both jaws, among cattle; in a donkey what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in a rootless [plant], or [what] secret spell (? valagá) in a narācī́; in thy field what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in the householder's fire, also, malevolent (duçcít), in the eastern fire; in the dwelling what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in the assembly (sabhá), what they have made at the gambling-board; in the dice what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in the army (sénā), what they have made in arrow-and-weapon; in the drum what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What witchcraft they have put down for thee in the well, or have dug in at the cemetery; in the seat (sádman) what witchcraft they have made—I take that back again.
What [witchcraft] they have made for thee in the human-bone, and what in the destroying (? sáṁkasuka) fire, [what] dimming, out-burning, flesh-eating one—I take that back again.
He hath brought it by what was not the road; we send it forth from here by the road; he unwise, O men, hath brought [it] together, out of thoughtlessness, for the wise (dhī́ra).
He who hath made hath not been able to make; he hath crushed a foot, a finger; he, fortuneless, hath made what is excellent for us [who are] fortunate ones.
The witchcraft-maker, spell-hider, root-possessor, worthy of cursing—let Indra smite him with his great deadly weapon; let Agni pierce him with a hurled [arrow].
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read V.31 at Wikisource ↗
The herb is given a group of powers
Verse 1 addresses a mistress of remedies, calling the herb conquering and full of enormous energy. Verse 2 summons other herbs under names such as curse-repelling, overcoming, and “reverted.” The speaker is not describing one isolated botanical effect. The plants are recruited as a coalition of protective qualities. Whitney explains that “reverted” may refer to a physical feature such as backward-turning leaves or fruit, while the commentator reads it as repeated application. That disagreement changes whether a plant name points to shape or use. The hymn’s first step is to attach force to the herb before any particular suspected object is introduced.
The hidden object is not identified securely
Verse 4 asks about witchcraft made in a raw vessel, a blue-red object, and raw flesh, then turns the alleged working against its makers. Whitney notes that a raw vessel means unbaked clay in commentary, while the blue-red item is contested. The commentator takes it as fire colored by smoke and flame. Bloomfield’s reading of a two-colored thread is supported by a Pāippalāda word meaning “in a thread.” This is a material difference, not a trivial spelling choice: an article that confidently describes a blue-red fire would suppress evidence for a colored cord. The hymn articulates suspicion about a harmful construction; it does not show a recovered object at an actual site.
The ending shifts to wiping away misfortune
After a violent verse against a curser and a line dismissing bad dreams and ill-named beings, verse 6 explicitly addresses apāmārga, the “off-wiper,” to remove hunger, thirst, kinlessness, and childlessness. Verse 7 adds defeat at dice; verse 8 asks to wipe off what has befallen a person so that the person may go free of illness. The vocabulary of removal links these concerns to the earlier curse-repelling language, but the targets are not identical. Whitney notes that the commentator does not explain the sudden naming of apāmārga after discussion of another herb. The received hymn’s change of plant or plant-name should remain visible.
V.31 develops the object list in another direction
V.31.1 parallels IV.17.4 in its raw vessel and flesh imagery, then extends suspicion through a long list of animals, home, assembly, army, well, and cemetery. IV.17 instead moves toward a broader “wiping off” of misfortune. Whitney reports that IV.17’s first six verses form a Pāippalāda unit, with verse 8 elsewhere, while the neighboring IV.18 and IV.19 are mixed differently there. That witness pattern limits a claim that the familiar eight-verse progression always stood alone as printed. The comparison makes each poem’s distinctive strategy clearer: V.31 surveys locations; IV.17 makes the plant’s removing power cover both hostile craft and everyday affliction.
WORKED READING
What the blue-red phrase changes
Read IV.17.4 beside V.31.1. Both suspect a working associated with a raw vessel and flesh, but IV.17 includes a blue-red item. In one explanation that means colored fire; the Pāippalāda wording supports a colored thread. The same verse thus admits different material pictures while keeping the fear of a constructed threat. Then read IV.17.6: the plant’s action is no longer aimed only at alleged makers but at hunger, thirst, and family loss. The poem widens its requested removal. The uncertain blue-red material is precisely where a confident reconstruction would mislead; the hymn's wider concern survives either proposed reading.