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 V IN FOCUS
To the war-drum
The loud-noised drum, warrior-like, of forest-tree, brought together (sámbhṛta) with the ruddy [kine], whetting the voice, dominating our rivals; thunder thou loudly against [them] like a lion, about to conquer.
Like a lion hath thundered the wooden one, stretched (vi-bandh), like a bull roaring at a longing cow; virile (vṛ́ṣan) [art] thou, impotent thy rivals; Indra-like [is] thy vehemence (çúṣma), overpowering hostile plotters.
Found (vidāná) suddenly (sáhasā) like a bull in a herd, do thou, seeking kine, bellow (ru) at [them], winning booty; pierce thou with pain the heart of our adversaries; let our foes, leaving their villages, go urged forth (pra-cyu).
Wholly conquering the fighters, shrill-crying, do thou, seizing those that are to be seized, look abroad on many sides; respond (? ā-gur), O drum, devout, to the voice of the gods; bring the possession of our foes.
Read the remaining 8 verses of V.20
Hearing the uttered (pra-yam) voice of the drum speaking, let the woman, suppliant, noise-wakened, run to her son, seizing his hand—our enemy, frightened in the conflict of deadly weapons.
Mayest thou first (pū́rva), O drum, speak forth thy voice; on the back of earth speak thou, shining (ruc); opening wide the jaws (jabh) on the army of our enemies, speak thou clearly, O drum, pleasantly (sūnṛ́tāvat).
Let there be noise between these two firmaments (nábhas); severally let thy sounds (dhvaní) go swiftly; roar at [them], thunder, truculent (?), resounding (çlokakṛ́t) unto the victory of our friends, a good partizan.
Made by devices (dhī́), may it speak forth its voice; excite thou the weapons of the warriors; allied with Indra, call in the warriors; by friends smite mightily down the enemies.
A vociferating herald (? pravadá), with bold army, making proclaim in many places, sounding through the villages, winning advantage, knowing the ways, do thou distribute (vi-hṛ) fame to many in the [battle] of two kings.
Aiming at advantage, conquering good things, very powerful, conquering a host, thou art sharpened by bráhman; as the pressing-stone on the [soma-] stalks in the press, do thou, O drum, dance on [their] possession, seeking booty (gavyán).
Overpowering foes, overpowering and putting down, overpowering hostile plotters, seeking kine, overpowering, up-shooting, bring forth thy voice as a speaker (vāgvín) his discourse (mántra); speak up force (? íṣ) here in order to the conquering of the host.
Stirring (cyu) the unstirred, going oftenest into contests, conquering scorners, going in front, unsubduable, made safe by Indra, noting counsels (? vidátha), burning the hearts of our adversaries, go thou quickly.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read V.20 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK V ALSO CITED
To the war-drum
Read comparison hymn V.21 (12 verses)
Division of hearts, division of minds speak thou among our enemies, O drum; mutual hate, confusion, fear, we put into our enemies: smite them down, O drum.
Quaking with mind, with sight, and with heart, let our enemies run fearing with alarm (pratrāsá) when the sacrificial butter is offered.
Made of forest-tree, brought together with the ruddy [kine], belonging to all the families (-gotrá-), speak thou alarm for our enemies, being smeared with sacrificial butter.
As the wild beasts of the forest are all in a tremble at man, so do thou, O drum, roar at [and] alarm our enemies, then confound their intents.
As the goats-and-sheep run greatly fearing the wolf, so do thou, O drum etc. etc.
As the birds (patatrín) are all in a tremble at the falcon, day by day; as at the thundering of the lion, so do thou, O drum etc. etc.
Away have all the gods alarmed our enemies by the drum and the skin of the gazelle—[the gods] who are masters of the host.
With what foot-noises Indra plays together with shadow, by those let our enemies be alarmed who go yonder in troops (anīkaçás).
Let the drums, with bow-string noises, yell toward all (yā́s) the quarters—the armies of our enemies going conquered in troops.
O Āditya, take [away their] sight; ye beams, run after; let them that have foot-fastenings fasten on, the arm-power (-vīryà) being gone away.
Do ye [who are] formidable, O Maruts, sons of the spotted mother, with Indra as ally, slaughter our foes.
Let these armies of the gods, sun-bannered, accordant, conquer our enemies: hail!
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read V.21 at Wikisource ↗
A made object receives an animal voice
Verse 1 introduces wood from a forest tree and the hide of a reddish cow, then calls on the drum to thunder like a lion. Verse 2 repeats the lion and adds a bull bellowing toward a cow. The material facts keep the sound grounded: this is an object assembled by people, yet the poem grants it the force of dangerous animals. The comparisons are not simply decorative adjectives. They make a percussive sound seem able to dominate a contested field and project virility toward the opposing side. Whitney notes that the Pāippalāda witness changes the order of some early verses, so the received buildup is one textual arrangement. The drum’s speaking role survives that variation.
The desired fear has a social scene
Verse 3 asks the drum to hurt the opponents’ hearts and make foes leave their villages. Verse 5 imagines an enemy woman startled by its voice and hurrying to her son. This detail pulls the consequences of battle beyond armed men. The poem wants noise to disturb the enemy’s household and make retreat feel urgent. Verse 6 then puts the drum’s speech on the broad earth and imagines it opening jaws toward an army. The image of a speaking mouth makes sound an assailant in its own right. These lines offer a dramatic picture of fear, not evidence that a particular community fled when a drum sounded.
The sound also organizes the speaker’s side
The drum is asked to call friendly warriors, excite their weapons, and support them alongside Indra. Verse 9 imagines its announcement travelling through villages in a contest between two kings. Later verses repeatedly request that it speak, proclaim, and drive advantage toward friends. The instrument thus performs two opposite social tasks at once: it scatters enemies and synchronizes allies. The comparison to a herald is revealing because the drum communicates a claim of victory before the outcome is secure. Its loudness makes the speaker’s side seem larger and more confident. That public communication is a more specific insight than calling the hymn a generic charm for courage.
V.21 changes the target of the sound
The adjacent drum hymn V.21 begins by asking for division of hearts and minds among the enemy. It spends less time making the drum a roaming herald and more time describing panic within opposing troops. V.20’s elaborate voice moves over earth and through villages; V.21 treats that same sound as a cause of internal disarray. Whitney records later battle use of V.20 with the much shorter VI.126, and the Pāippalāda order differs for several verses. Those connections show a portable drum tradition. They do not make every drum hymn equivalent: V.20’s distinctive feature is the way its instrument becomes a speaker, animal, messenger, and announcer of victory.
WORKED READING
From forest material to public voice
Read V.20.1 beside V.20.9. The first names the drum’s wood and hide and asks it to roar like a lion. By the ninth verse it sounds through villages and distributes fame in the battle of kings. A crafted object has become a public voice. Compare V.21.1, where the drum is told to divide the enemy’s minds. Both use sound, but one foregrounds a travelling herald while the other foregrounds confusion inside a formation. Wood and hide in verse one keep the drum materially specific even as the lion comparison and village scene magnify its public voice.