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 VI IN FOCUS
Against enemies
Whatever godless one, O Brahmaṇaspati, plots against us—every such one mayest thou make subject to me the sacrificer, the soma-presser.
Whatever ill-famed one, O Soma, shall aim at us of good fame, smite upon his face with the thunderbolt; may he go away crushed (sam-piṣ).
Whoever, O Soma, shall assail us, of the same kindred and also a stranger—draw (tṛ) away his strength, like the great sky, even now (?).
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.6 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK VI ALSO CITED
For superiority
Read comparison hymn VI.15 (3 verses)
Thou art the highest of herbs; of thee the trees are subjects (upastí); let him be our subject who assails us.
Whoever, both kindred and not of kin, assails us, of them may I be highest, as this one of trees.
As of herbs soma is made highest of oblations, as the talā́çā of trees, [so] may I be highest.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.15 at Wikisource ↗
The speaker claims ritual identity
The first verse addresses Brahmaṇaspati and calls the opponent godless and plotting. Its answer is not yet bodily destruction: the plotter should become subject to the sacrificer who presses soma. That self-description matters because it positions the speaker within legitimate worship as he defines it. The rival’s alleged impiety and the speaker’s own ritual labor form a moral contrast. The hymn gives no independent account of the plot, nor does it tell us the person’s name. The verse’s force lies in making a religious distinction do political work. A person described as outside proper worship is imagined losing agency before the speaker.
Reputation becomes another battleground
Verse 2 speaks to Soma and opposes someone called ill-famed to a group described as well-famed. A thunderbolt is requested against that opponent’s face, followed by a wish that he leave crushed. The face is the visible social surface; the contrast in reputation makes the physical blow especially pointed. The poem moves from another person’s supposed private plot to public standing and public disgrace. Whitney notes a textual correction in the form translated as well-famed, supported by Pāippalāda and commentary. This is more than orthographic tidying, since the antithesis between bad and good reputation carries the verse’s argument. Without it, the sharp social contrast would weaken.
Kin and stranger are equally possible assailants
The third verse says that an assailant may come from the same kindred or from outside it. Soma is asked to draw away that person’s strength. Whitney finds the final wording difficult and discusses possible corruption in the Atharvavedic line. The verse also appears in Rigveda X.133.5, where Indra rather than Soma is named and other words differ. Thus the received hymn gives a clear target category but an uncertain image for precisely how strength is removed. Its social reach is striking: kinship offers no automatic exemption from conflict. The speaker’s worry is an assault on his side, whoever conducts it, and the desired reversal is diminished capacity.
Contrast with the herb of superiority
VI.15 also addresses a person who assails the speaker, whether related or unrelated, but its desired result is for the speaker to rank highest, like a plant or tree above others. VI.6 focuses on what the opponent loses: independence, standing, and strength. The two hymns share an elastic definition of assailant yet organize victory differently. One builds a hierarchy through comparison with vegetation; the other asks named gods to act directly against a plotter. Calling VI.6 a curse to strip strength is a useful shorthand only if its first two verses remain in view. The poem is just as concerned with subjection and the public contrast between good and bad repute.
WORKED READING
From subject to drained opponent
Read VI.6.1 beside VI.6.3. The first asks Brahmaṇaspati to make a plotter subject to the sacrificer; the third asks Soma to take an assailant’s strength, even if that person is kin. The target has moved from a supposedly godless schemer to any assailant. VI.15.2 gives another response to related or unrelated attack: the speaker seeks the highest place for himself. Together the lines separate making an enemy lower from making oneself higher, although both seek an advantage. Soma's kin-or-stranger clause widens possible antagonism without evidence against any named relative; the poem makes relationship irrelevant to its feared attack.