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 X IN FOCUS
Preparation and use of water-thunderbolts
Indra's force are ye; Indra's power are ye; Indra's strength are ye; Indra's heroism are ye; Indra's manliness are ye; unto a conquering junction (yóga) with brahman-junctions I join you.
Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with kṣatrá-junctions I join you.
Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with Indra-junctions I join you.
Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with Soma-junctions I join you.
Read the remaining 46 verses of X.5
Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with water-junctions I join you.
Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction; let all existences wait upon (upa-sthā) me; joined to me are ye, O waters.
Agni's portion are ye, sperm (? çukrám) of the waters, O heavenly waters; put ye splendor in us; with the ordinance (dhā́man) of Prajāpati I set you for this world.
Indra's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
Soma's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
Varuṇa's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
Mitra-and-Varuṇa's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
Yama's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
The Fathers' portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
God Savitar's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
What of you, O waters, is the portion of waters within the waters, of the nature of sacrificial formula, sacrificing to the gods, that now I let go; that let me not wash down against myself; that do we let go against him who hates us, whom we hate; him may I slay (vadh), him may I lay low, with this spell (bráhman), with this act, with this weapon (mení).
What of you, O waters, is the wave of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
What of you, O waters, is the young (vatsá) of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
What of you, O waters, is the bull of the waters within the waters etc. etc.
What of you, O waters, is the golden embryo of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
What of you, O waters, is the heavenly spotted stone of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
What of you, O waters, are the fires of the waters within the waters, of the nature of sacrificial formula, sacrificing to the gods, them now I let go; them let me not wash down against myself; them we let go against him who hates us, etc. etc.
What untruth soever we have spoken since a three years' period,—let the waters protect me from all that difficulty, from distress.
I send you forth to the ocean; go ye unto your own lair; uninjured, of completed years (?); and let nothing whatever ail (am) us.
Free from defilement (-riprá) [are] the waters; [let them carry] away from us defilement, forth from us sin, mishap (duritá), they of good aspect; let them carry forth evil dreaming, forth filth.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, earth-sharpened (-sáṁçita), Agni-brightened; after earth I stride out; from earth we disportion him who hates us, whom we hate; let him not live; him let breath quit.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, atmosphere-sharpened, Vayu-brightened; after atmosphere I stride out; from atmosphere we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, sky-sharpened, sun-brightened; after the sky I stride out; from the sky we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, quarter-sharpened, mind-brightened; after the quarters I stride out; from the quarters we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, region-sharpened, wind-brightened; after the regions I stride out; from the regions we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, verse-(ṛ́c-)sharpened, chant-(sā́man-)brightened; after the verses I stride out; from the verses we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, sacrifice-sharpened, bráhman-brightened; after the sacrifice I stride out; from the sacrifice we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, herb-sharpened, sóma-brightened; after the herbs I stride out; from the herbs we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, water-sharpened, Varuṇa-brightened; after the waters I stride out; from the waters we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, plowing-sharpened, food-brightened; after plowing I stride out; from plowing we disportion him who etc. etc.
Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, breath-sharpened, man-(púruṣa-)brightened; after breath I stride out; from breath we disportion him who etc. etc.
Ours [is] what is conquered, ours what has shot up; I have withstood (abhi-sthā) all fighters, niggards; now do I involve (ni-veṣṭ) the splendor, brightness, breath, life-time of him of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such mother; now do I make him fall (pad) downward.
I turn after the sun's turn (āvṛ́t), after his turn to the right; let it yield (yam) me property; [let] it [yield] me Brahman-splendor.
I turn toward the quarters full of light; let them yield me property, let them etc. etc.
I turn toward the seven seers; let them yield etc. etc.
I turn toward the bráhman; let it yield etc. etc.
I turn toward the Brahmans; let them yield etc. etc.
Whom we hunt, him will we lay low with deadly weapons; by our spell (bráhman) have we made him fall (pad) into the opened mouth of the most exalted one.
The missile hath closed upon him with the two tusks of Vāiçvānara; let this offering (ā́huti) devour him, the very powerful divine fuel.
King Varuṇa's bond art thou; do thou bind so-and-so, of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such mother, in food, in breath.
What food of thine, O Lord of earth (bhū́), dwells upon the earth (pṛthivī́)—of that, O lord of earth, do thou furnish unto us, O Prajāpati.
The heavenly waters have I honored; with sap have we been mingled; rich in milk, O Agni, have I come; unite me here with splendor.
Unite me, O Agni, with splendor, with progeny, with life-time; may the gods know me as such; may Indra know, together with the seers.
What, O Agni, the pair utter in curses today, what harshness of speech the reciters produce: the shaft that is born of fury of the mind—with that pierce thou the sorcerers in the heart.
Crush away the sorcerers with heat; crush away, O Agni, the demon with flame; crush away with burning the false worshipers; crush away the greatly gleaming ones that feed on lives.
I, knowing, hurl at this man, to split his head, the four-pointed (-bhṛṣṭí) thunderbolt of the waters; let it crush all his limbs: to this on my part let all the gods assent.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read X.5 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK VIII ALSO CITED
To conquer enemies
Read comparison hymn VIII.8 (24 verses)
Let Indra the shaker shake (math) [them], he the mighty hero, stronghold-splitter, in order that we may slay by thousands the armies of our enemies.
Let the putrid rope, breathing on [it], make yonder army putrid; seeing afar smoke, fire, let our enemies set fear in their hearts.
Crush yonder men out, O açvattá; devour (khād) them speedily, O khadirá; let them be suddenly ⌊tājád⌋ broken ⌊bhāñj⌋ like hemp bhán̄ga⌋; let the slayer (vádhaka) slay (han) them with deadly weapons (vadhá).
Let the rough-called one make yonder men rough (paruṣá); let the slayer slay them with deadly weapons; let them be broken quickly like a reed (çará), tied together with a great net.
The atmosphere was the net; the great quarters [were] the net-stakes; therewith encircling [them], the mighty one (çakrá) scattered away the army of the barbarians (dásyu).
Since great [is] the net of the great mighty one, the vigorous (vājínīvant)—therewith do thou crowd (ubj) down upon all [our] foes, that no one soever of them may be released.
Great, O Indra, hero (çū́ra), is the net of thee that art great, that art worth a thousand, that hast hundred-fold heroism; therewith encircling the army of the barbarians, the mighty one slew a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million.
This great world was the net of the great mighty one; by that net of Indra do I encircle all yon men with darkness.
Debility, formidable ill-success, and mishap that is not to be exorcised away (an-apavācaná), toil, and weariness, and confusion—with these do I encircle all yon men.
To death do I deliver those yonder; with fetters of death [are] they bound (sā); the sad messengers that are death's—them I lead them to meet, having bound (bandh) [them].
Lead ye them, O messengers of death; O messengers of Yama, restrain (apa-umbh) [them]; be they slain to more than thousands; let Bhava's club (? matyà) shatter them.
The Perfectibles (sādhyá) go lifting with force one net-stake, the Rudras one, the Vasus one; by the Ādityas one is lifted.
Let all the gods from above go crowding with force; let the An̄girases go slaying midway the great army.
The forest trees, them of the forest trees, the herbs and the plants, what is biped, what is quadruped I despatch (iṣ), that they may slay yonder army.
The Gandharvas and Apsarases, the serpents, the gods, the pure-folks, the Fathers, those seen, those unseen I despatch, that they may slay yonder army.
Here are spread the fetters of death, which stepping into thou art not released; let this horn (kū́ṭa) slay of yonder army by thousands.
The hot drink (gharmá) [is] kindled with fire, this thousand-slaying oblation (hóma); both Bhava and the spotted-armed one—O Çarva, slay ye (two) yonder army.
Let them go unto death's burning (?), unto hunger, debility, the deadly weapon, fear; by snare (ákṣu) and net, O Çarva, [do thou] and Indra slay yonder army.
Flee (tras) forth, O enemies, being conquered; run, ⌊being⌋ thrust by the charm (bráhman); of them yonder, thrust forth by Brihaspati, let none soever be freed.
Let their weapons (ā́yudha) fall down; let them not be able to fit the arrow; then, of them fearing much let arrows strike in the vitals.
Together let heaven-and-earth yell at them; together let the atmosphere, along with the deities; let them not find a knower, nor a foundation; mutually destroying one another let them go unto death.
The four quarters [are] the she-mules of the god-chariot; the sacrificial cakes [are] the hoofs, the atmosphere the seat (? uddhí), heaven-and-earth the two sides, the seasons the reins, the intermediate directions the attendants, speech the rim (? párirathya).
The year (saṁvatsará) is the chariot, the complete year (parivatsará) the chariot-lap, virā́j the pole (īṣá), Agni the chariot-mouth, Indra the left-stander, the moon the charioteer.
On this side conquer thou; on this side conquer away, conquer completely, conquer; hail! let these here conquer, let those yonder be conquered; hail ⌊svā́hā⌋ to these! wail (duráhā) to those! with the blue-red one I stretch down upon them yonder.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VIII.8 at Wikisource ↗
A powerful substance is first addressed
The opening units address waters through a patterned series of attributes before directing their force. Whitney's editor describes a later rite involving water, heating, and directional casting, but the public reading can begin with the words themselves: ordinary water is elevated into a force capable of striking like a thunderbolt. The name 'water bolt' joins fluid movement with a hard weapon, producing an intentional paradox. The early repetitions do not simply waste space; they build the addressed substance as a manifold power. This makes the later hurling lines intelligible as the release of a force already named and magnified within the poem.
Seven forms are let go against a hater
Verses 15 through 21 enumerate a wave, a young one, a bull, a golden embryo, a heavenly spotted stone, and fiery powers within water. Each is released toward one who hates the speakers, while the voice also asks that the waters not recoil against itself. The concern with blowback is part of the text's logic: destructive force is imagined as needing direction and separation. Whitney reports Pāippalāda variants in the sequence of water images. The details of the list therefore vary across witnesses, but its movement from contained powers to projected force remains visible. The poem does not give a named opponent or a verified effect.
Cleansing interrupts the assault
Verses 22 through 24 ask protection from untruth, distress, sin, bad dreams, and defilement, then send the waters back toward the ocean. This change in register is important. Water can threaten an enemy and cleanse the speakers in close succession. The request to return the waters to their own dwelling places suggests a limit to the hostile release rather than endless aggression. Later verses 25 through 35 speak of Viṣṇu's strides across successive regions, again using spatial expansion against a foe. Verses 37 through 41 turn with the sun and seek property and sacred brilliance. The long hymn holds several ritual and poetic agendas in one transmitted unit.
The end is uneven across witnesses
Units 42 through 50 bring another hostile missile, Varuṇa's bond, requests for food and splendor, and a final four-pointed thunderbolt of waters. Whitney notes that the Śaunaka manuscripts treat the whole text as one hymn, while Pāippalāda has the first major divisions and only portions of the last in another location. Even the identification of the reused lines behind verses 48 and 49 is debated in the editorial note. Such complexity warns against extracting verse 50 as a self-contained ancient recipe. VIII.8 also enlarges a physical implement—the net—into a world-sized threat, but X.5 repeatedly turns back toward cleansing and prosperity. Any modern water working is a new composition rather than a recovered ancient operation.
WORKED READING
A worked reading
Follow X.5.15 to X.5.24. The waters' internal powers are sent toward a hater in the first group, with a request that they not wash back against the speakers. Then the waters remove the speakers' own defilement and are sent to the ocean. Compare VIII.8, where the net expands from material stakes to the world and holds an enemy in place. X.5's water is released and returned. The difference makes the poem's concern with direction, reversal, and purification much clearer than its 'water thunderbolt' title alone.