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
With an amulet
The head of the niggardly (arātīyú) cousin, of the evil-hearted hater, I cut off with force.
This amulet, born of the plow-share, shall make defense (várman) for me; it hath come to me filled with stir-about, with sap, together with splendor.
In that the skilful smith (tákṣan) hath smitten thee away with the hand by a knife, from that let the lively, bright (çúci) waters purify thee, that art bright.
Let this golden-garlanded amulet, bestowing (dhā) faith, sacrifice, greatness, dwell a guest in our house.
Read the remaining 31 verses of X.6
To it we distribute (kṣad) ghee, strong drink, honey, food after food; for us, as a father for his sons, let it provide (cikits-) what is better and better, more and more, morrow after morrow—the amulet, coming from the gods.
What amulet, plow-share, ghee-dripping, the formidable khadirá, Brihaspati bound on, in order to force—that Agni fastened on; it yields (duh) to him sacrificial butter, more and more, morrow after morrow; with that do thou slay thy haters.
What amulet etc. etc.—that Indra fastened on, in order to force, to heroism; it yields to him strength, more and more etc. etc.
What amulet etc. etc.—that Soma fastened on, in order to great hearing (çrótra) [and] sight (cákṣas); it yields to him splendor, more and more etc. etc.
What amulet etc. etc.—that the sun fastened on; therewith he conquered these quarters; it yields to him growth (bhū́ti), more and more etc. etc.
What amulet etc. etc.—bearing that amulet, the moon conquered the strongholds of the Asuras, the golden [strongholds] of the Dānavas; it yields to him fortune, more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, that yields him vigor (vā́jina), more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, with that amulet the Açvins defend this plowing (kṛṣí); it yields for the two physicians greatness, more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, Savitar, bearing that amulet, conquered with it this heaven (svàr); it yields to him pleasantness (sūnṛ́tā), more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, bearing that amulet the waters run always unexhausted; it yields to them immortality (amṛ́ta), more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, that healthful amulet king Varuṇa fastened on; it yields to him truth, more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, bearing that amulet, the gods conquered by fight all worlds; it yields to them conquest, more and more etc. etc.
What amulet Brihaspati bound on for the swift wind, that healthful amulet here the deities fastened on; it yields to them everything, more and more etc. etc.
The seasons bound it on; they of the seasons bound it on; the year, having bound it on, defends all existence.
The intermediate quarters bound on; the directions bound it on; the amulet created by Prajāpati hath made my haters beneath me (ádhard).
The Atharvans bound on; the descendants of Atharvan bound on; allied (medín) with them, the An̄girases split the strongholds of the barbarians; with it do thou slay thy haters.
Dhātar fastened it on; he disposed (vi-kḷp) [all] existence; with it do thou slay thy haters.
What [amulet] Brihaspati bound on for the gods, a destruction of Asuras—that amulet hath come here to me, together with sap, with splendor.
What [amulet] etc. etc., together with kine, with goats and sheep, together with food, with progeny.
What [amulet] etc. etc., together with rice and barley, together with greatness, growth.
What [amulet] etc. etc., with a stream of honey, of ghee, together with sweet drink—the amulet.
What [amulet] etc. etc., together with refreshment, with milk, together with property, with fortune.
What [amulet] etc. etc., together with brightness, with brilliance, together with glory, with fame.
What [amulet] etc. etc., together with all growths.
This amulet here let the deities give to me in order to prosperity—the overpowering, dominion-increasing, rival-damaging amulet.
Together with bráhman, with brightness, I fasten on myself the propitious one; free from rivals, rival-slaying, it hath made my rivals beneath me.
Let this god-born amulet make me superior to my hater; whose milked-out milk these three worlds worship, let that amulet mount here upon me, in order to supremacy, at the head.
What gods. Fathers, men, always subsist upon, let that amulet mount here upon me, in order to supremacy, at the head.
As seed in a cultivated field (urvárā) grows up in what is dragged with the plow-share, so in me let progeny, cattle, food upon food, grow up.
On whom, O sacrifice-increasing amulet, I have fastened thee, propitious, him do thou quicken unto supremacy, O amulet of a hundred sacrificial gifts.
This fuel, laid on together, do thou, O Agni, enjoying, welcome with oblations; in him may we find favor, welfare, progeny, sight, cattle—in Jātavedas kindled with worship (bráhman).
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read X.6 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK X ALSO CITED
With an amulet of varaṇá
Read comparison hymn X.3 (25 verses)
This varaṇá [is] my rival-destroying, virile (vṛ́ṣan) amulet; with it do thou take hold of thy foes, slaughter thy injurers (durasy-).
Crush them, slaughter, take hold; be the amulet thy forerunner in front; the gods by the varaṇá warded off the hostile practice (abhyācārá) of the Asuras from one morrow to another.
This amulet, the varaṇá, all-healing, thousand-eyed, yellow, golden—it shall make thy foes go downward; do thou, in front, damage them that hate thee.
This varaṇá [shall ward off] the witchcraft extended for thee; this shall shield thee against fear arising from men, this against all evil.
The varaṇá, this divine forest-tree, shall ward off; the yákṣma that has entered into this man—that have the gods warded off.
If, having slept, thou shalt see an evil dream; if a wild beast (mṛgá) shall run a disagreeable course—from overmuch (? pari-) sneezing, from the evil utterance of a bird (çakúni), this amulet, the varaṇá, shall shield thee.
From the niggard, from perdition, from sorcery, also from fear, from the more violent deadly weapon of death, the varaṇá shall shield thee.
What sin my mother, what my father, and what my own brothers, what we ourselves have done, from that shall this divine forest-tree shield us.
Driven (vyath) forth by the varaṇá, my enemies (bhrā́tṛvya) [who are my] kinsmen have gone unto unlighted (? asū́rta) space (rájas); let them go to lowest darkness.
Unharmed [am] I, with unharmed kine, long-lived, having all my men; let this amulet, the varaṇá, protect me, being such, from every quarter.
This varaṇá on my breast, king, divine forest-tree—let it drive (bādh) away my foes, as Indra the barbarians, the Asuras.
I bear this varaṇá being long-lived, one of a hundred autumns; may it assign to me both kingdom and authority, to me cattle and force.
As the wind breaks with force the trees, the forest-trees, so do thou break my rivals, those born before and after; let the varaṇá defend thee.
As both wind and fire devour (psā) the trees, the forest-trees, so do thou devour my rivals, those born etc. etc.
As, destroyed by the wind, the trees lie prostrate (nyàrpita), so do thou destroy, prostrate my rivals, those born etc. etc.
Them, O varaṇá, do thou cut off (pra-chid), before what is appointed (diṣṭá), before [the end of] their life-time—them who strive to damage him in respect to cattle, and who are intent to damage his kingdom.
As the sun shines exceedingly, as in it brilliancy is set, so let the varaṇá amulet fix (ni-yam) in me fame [and] growth; let it sprinkle me with brilliancy; let it anoint me with glory.
As glory [is] in the moon, and in the men-beholding Āditya, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As glory [is] in the earth, as in this Jātavedas, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As glory [is] in the maiden, as in this constructed (sámbhṛta) chariot, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As glory [is] in Soma-drink, as in honey-mixture [is] glory, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As glory [is] in the agnihotrá, as in the váṣaṭ-utterance [is] glory, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As glory [is] set in the sacrificer, as in this sacrifice, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As glory [is] in Prajāpati, as in this most exalted one, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
As in the gods [is] immortality (amṛ́ta), as in them is set truth, so let the varaṇá amulet etc. etc.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read X.3 at Wikisource ↗
An abrupt threat precedes the object
Verse 1 speaks violently against a niggardly cousin or hater. Verse 2 then introduces the plow-share-born amulet as armor filled with sap and splendor. This opening does not flow like a purely gentle prosperity blessing. It begins from intra-family antagonism and answers it with a protective object. Verse 3's washing of the fashioned item and verse 4's invitation to let the golden-garlanded amulet dwell as a guest in the house give the object a new social role. It is simultaneously equipment and honored visitor. That double identity prepares the later promises of provision without removing the initial adversarial edge.
Provision repeats across days
Verse 5 offers food, honey, and drink to the amulet and asks it to provide better things as a father provides for children. The refrain 'more and more' and 'morrow after morrow' recurs as Agni, Indra, Soma, sun, moon, wind, waters, Varuṇa, and other powers are connected to it. This repetition matters more than any one item of wealth. It asks for supply that renews rather than a single windfall. Verse 12 even associates the object with defense of plowing, keeping its agricultural origin in view. The poem expands from a household's dependence on cultivated provision to a chain of cosmic exemplars.
The hater is placed below the wearer
Several verses return to rivals, notably verse 19's claim that the amulet made haters beneath the speaker and verses 29 through 31's wish for superiority. Yet verse 23 names cattle, goats, and sheep; verse 24 names rice and barley; verse 33 compares growth to seed in a cultivated field. The poem therefore binds rank to provisioning. It imagines an opponent lowered partly so the favored household may flourish. There is no evidence within the verses that a named relative actually caused scarcity or suffered harm. The violent claims are part of the speaker's interest, while the agricultural imagery supplies a different, sustaining side of the argument.
The witnesses shorten the received abundance
Whitney reports that Pāippalāda lacks verses 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 33, and 35. That list includes both some prosperity items and some explicit rival-lowering lines. Its shorter form cannot simply be narrated as the same thirty-five-verse crescendo. X.3, by comparison, is a varaṇa tree hymn whose name itself plays on warding away harm; X.6 derives its authority from a plow-share origin and a growing refrain. A contemporary amulet inspired by either hymn would be invented. The source preserves attributed powers in poetic speech, not an independently demonstrated device for protecting against haters.
WORKED READING
A worked comparison
Compare X.6.2, which calls the plow-share amulet armor, with X.6.5, where it becomes a guest and father-like provider. Then move to X.6.19, where haters are beneath the speaker. Protection, hospitality, and superiority coexist within one object. X.3.4 also calls for warding hostile magic, but its named tree and repeated play on warding give it another logic. The contrast helps explain why the amulet in X.6 is more than a generic charm against an enemy. Calling the object a guest and provider makes the metal's alleged protection part of household reciprocity, not only a battle shield.