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 XI IN FOCUS
To conquer enemies: to Trishandhi
Stand ye up, equip yourselves, ye specters, together with ensigns; ye serpents, other-folks, demons, run after our enemies.
Your mastery I know, [your] kingdom, O Trishandhi, together with red ensigns; what in the atmosphere, what in the sky, and what men (mānavá) [are] on the earth, let those ill-named ones sit (? upa-ās) in the mind (cétas) of Trishandhi.
Iron-(áyas-)mouthed, needle-mouthed, likewise thorn-tree-(vikan̄kaṭī-)mouthed, let the flesh-eaters, of wind-swiftness, fasten on our enemies with the three-jointed (tríṣandhi) thunderbolt.
O Jatavedas, Aditya, put thou between much human flesh; let this army of Trishandhi be well-placed in my control.
Read the remaining 23 verses of XI.10
Stand thou up, O god-folk, O Arbudi, with the army; this tribute is offered (ā-hu) to you ⌊pl.⌋; the offering [is] dear to Trishandhi.
Let the white-footed one tie together, this shaft (çaravyā̀), four-footed; O witchcraft, be thou for our enemies, together with the army of Trishandhi.
Let the smoke-eyed (f.) one fall together, and the crop-eared one (f.) yell; it being conquered by the army of Trishandhi, let the ensigns be red.
Let the winged ones descend, the birds, they that go about in the atmosphere, in the sky; let the wild beasts, the flies, take hold together; let the raw-flesh-eating vultures scratch at the human carrion.
The agreement (saṁdhā) which thou hast agreed on with Indra and with the bráhman, O Brihaspati, by that Indra-agreement do I call hither all the gods: conquer ye on this side, not on that!
Brihaspati of the An̄giras race, the seers sharpened by the bráhman, set up (ā-çri) in the sky the Asura-destroying weapon, Trishandhi.
By whom yonder sun, and Indra, both stand protected—Trishandhi the gods shared, in order to both force and strength.
All worlds did the gods completely conquer by means of that offering (ā́huti)—the thunderbolt which Brihaspati of the An̄giras race poured, an Asura-destroying weapon.
The thunderbolt which Brihaspati of the An̄giras race poured, an Asura-destroying weapon—therewith do I blot out (ni-lip) yon army, O Brihaspati; I slay the enemies with force.
All the gods come over hither, who partake of [the offering] made with váṣat; enjoy ye this offering; conquer ye on this side, not on that!
Let all the gods come over hither; the offering [is] dear to Trishandhi; defend ye the great agreement by which in the beginning the Asuras were conquered.
Let Vāyu bend up the arrow-points of the enemies; let Indra break back their arms; let them not be able to set the arrow; let Āditya make their missile weapon (astrá) disappear; let the moon put (yu) them on the track of what is not gone.
If they have gone forward to the gods' strongholds, have made the bráhman their defenses; if (? yát) they have encouraged (? upa-vac) themselves, making a body-protection, a complete protection—all that do thou make sapless.
Causing to follow the puróhita with the flesh-eating [fire] and with death, O Trishandhi, go forth with the army; conquer the enemies; go forward.
O Trishandhi, do thou envelop our enemies with darkness; of them yonder, thrust forth by the speckled butter, let none soever be freed.
Let the white-footed one (f.) fall upon (? sam-pat) yonder lines of our enemies; let yonder armies of our enemies be confounded today, O Nyarbudi.
Confounded [be] our enemies, O Nyarbudi; slay thou of them each best man (vára); slay [them] with this army.
Whoever is mailed, and who without mail, and what enemy is in march (? ájman); by bowstring-fetters, by mail-fetters, smitten by the march let him lie.
Who have defenses, who have no defenses, and the enemies who have defenses—all those, O Arbudi, being slain, let dogs eat on the ground.
Who have chariots, who have no chariots, those without seats and they who have seats (sādá)—all those, being slain, let vultures, falcons, birds (patatrín) eat.
Let the army of our enemies lie with thousand corpses (-kúṇapa) in the conflict of weapons, pierced through, cut to pieces (?).
Let the eagles (suparṇá) eat him, pierced to the vitals, crying loudly, lying crushed, the evil-minded one—what enemy of ours wishes to fight against this opposing offering.
[The offering] which the gods follow (anu-sthā), of which there is no failure—with that let Indra, Vṛitra-slayer, slay, with the three-jointed thunderbolt.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read XI.10 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK XI ALSO CITED
To conquer enemies: to Arbudi
Read comparison hymn XI.9 (26 verses)
What arms (bāhú) [there are], what arrows, and the powers (vīryà) of bows, swords (así), axes (paraçú), weapon, and what thought-and-design in the heart—all that, O Arbudi, do thou make our enemies to see; and do thou show forth specters (udārá).
Stand up, equip ye yourselves (sam-nah), O friends, god-folk; beheld, concealed of you be [those] who are our friends, O Arbudi.
Stand ye (two) up, take ye hold; with tying up, with tying together, gird ye the armies of our enemies, O Arbudi.
The God that is Arbudi by name, and the lord (ī́çāna) Nyarbudi, by whom the atmosphere is involved (ā-vṛ), and this great earth—by those (two) who are allied with Indra, I go after what is conquered with an army.
Stand thou up, O god-folk, Arbudi, with the army; breaking (bhañj) the army of our enemies, envelop it with [thy] coils (bhogá).
Presenting to view, O Nyarbudi, the seven kinds of specters, with them all do thou stand up, when the butter is offered, with the army.
Smiting herself, tear-faced, and crop-eared (?), let her yell, with disheveled hair, when the man is slain, bitten (? rad), O Arbudi, of thee.
Drawing in her karū́kara, seeking with her mind her son, husband, brother, also her people (svá)—in case of thy bite, O Arbudi.
Let the buzzards, jāṣkamadás, vultures, falcons, winged ones, let the crows, the birds (çakúni), satisfy themselves—exhibiting among the enemies—in case of thy bite, O Arbudi.
Then let all wild beasts, let the fly, let the worm satisfy itself upon the carrion of men, bitten, O Arbudi, of thee.
Take ye (two) hold, tear out (sam-bṛh) [their] breath-and-expiration, O Nyarbudi; let groaning (? nivāçá) noises assemble—exhibiting among the enemies—in case of thy bite, O Arbudi.
Make thou [them] tremble; let them quake together; unite our enemies with fear; with broad-gripping arm-hooks pierce thou our enemies, O Nyarbudi.
Let their arms be confounded, and what thought-and-design is in their heart; let not anything of them be left—in case of thy bite, O Arbudi.
Smiting themselves let them (f.) run together, smiting on the breast, the thighs (? paṭāurá), not anointing, with disheveled hair, wailing when the man is slain, bitten, O Arbudi, of thee.
Dog-accompanied Apsarases, she-jackals (? rū́pakā) also, O Arbudi, the riçā́, licking much in the inner vessel, seeking what is ill-deposited—all these (f.), O Arbudi, do thou make our enemies to see, and do thou show forth specters;—
Her that strides upon the khaḍū́ra, mutilated, wearing what is mutilated (?); the specters that are concealed, and what Gandharvas-and-Apsarases [there are], serpents, other-folk, demons;—
The four-tusked ones, the black-toothed, the pot-testicled, the blood-faced; they that are self-frighting and frighting.
Do thou, O Arbudi, make to tremble yonder lines (síc) of our enemies; let both the conquering one and the conqueror, allied with Indra, conquer our enemies.
Let our enemy lie squelched, crushed, slain, O Nyarbudi; let tongues of fire, tufts of smoke, go conquering with the army.
Of our enemies, pushed forth by it, O Arbudi, let Indra, lord of might (çácīpáti), slay each best man (vára); let no one soever of them be freed.
Let their hearts burst open (ut-kas), their breath pass up aloft; let dryness of mouth follow after our enemies, ⌊and⌋ not those who are friendly.
Both they who are wise (dhī́ra) and they who are unwise, those going away and they who are deaf, they of darkness arid they who are hornless (tūpará), likewise those that smell of (?) the goat—all those (m.), O Arbudi, do thou make our enemies to see, and do thou show forth specters.
Let both Arbudi and Trishandhi pierce through our enemies, in order that, O Indra, Vṛitra-slayer, lord of might, we may slay of them, of our enemies, by thousands.
The forest-trees, them of the forest-trees, herbs and plants, Gandharvas-and-Apsarases, serpents, gods, pure-folk (puṇyajaná). Fathers—all those, O Arbudi, do thou make our enemies to see, and do thou show forth specters.
Mastery over you have the Maruts [gained], the heavenly Āditya, Brahmaṇaspati; mastery over you have both Indra and Agni, Dhātar, Mitra, Prajāpati; mastery over you have the seers gained (kṛ)—exhibiting among the enemies—in case of thy bite, O Arbudi.
Masters (ī́çāna) of them all, stand ye up, equip yourselves, ye friends, god-folks; having wholly conquered in this conflict, scatter ye to your several worlds.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read XI.9 at Wikisource ↗
The opening sends a retinue, not one solitary warrior
Verse 1 commands specters with ensigns, serpents, other beings, and demons to rise and run after enemies. Trishandhi enters in verse 2 with mastery and red banners. Rather than describe a historical troop formation, these lines build a supernatural army of pursuers. Their colors and flags make an invisible power visible in the imagination. The opening echoes XI.9's summons to allies, but the center has shifted to a named force whose army can be directed. The human speakers seek control of this fearful company; they do not themselves become the monsters they send.
The weapon binds terror to a divine history
Verse 3 brings iron, needle, and thorn-like mouths with flesh-eaters of wind speed, ending with a three-jointed thunderbolt. Verses 9 through 13 make the bolt part of an agreement with Indra and Brihaspati and connect it to a prior conquest of Asuras. This is an argument by precedent: an already victorious divine weapon should be turned against the present opposing army. The exact nature of Trishandhi is not fully resolved by translating the name 'three-jointed.' The hymn sometimes treats it as a powerful agent, sometimes as a bolt, and sometimes as the army's organizing force. Its shifting status is part of the poem's force.
Offerings and allegiance decide which side wins
Verses 14 and 15 call the gods to enjoy an offering and to conquer 'on this side, not on that.' The sharp contrast shows a central concern: a divine power might be imagined as available, but its loyalty must be secured. The poem is not content to invoke strength in the abstract. It repeatedly identifies the favored side and asks that the old agreement against Asuras be defended. Verse 16 then imagines enemy arrows bent, arms broken, and missiles disappearing. The last clause is difficult in Whitney's translation, so the attack's every detail should not be treated as certain. The clear movement is from offered allegiance to the disabling of opposing weapons.
Neighboring verses reveal shared but distinct design
XI.9 names Arbudi and Nyarbudi, emphasizes specters shown to enemies, and eventually introduces Trishandhi in verse 23. XI.10 takes that named power forward with banners, bolt, offerings, and a divine alliance. The hymns are linked in later Kauśikasūtra war use, yet neither is a report from a known battle. XI.10.19 also asks that foes be wrapped in darkness and not released, echoing the wider net-and-trap language of war hymns. Such repeated motifs do not settle every phrase or prove a fixed performance. A modern working built around Trishandhi would be newly composed, with no ancient guarantee of military or social victory.
WORKED READING
A worked comparison
Compare XI.10.1 with XI.9.2: both call a frightening company to rise. XI.9 spends many verses showing specters to an enemy, while XI.10.3 gives the company the three-jointed bolt and XI.10.14 asks the gods to conquer only on the speaker's side. The sequence from summons to weapon to allegiance explains the long hymn's structure. Trishandhi is not merely another word for an army; the poem uses the name to join fear, divine precedent, and a request for partisan support. The closing appeal for one side's victory reveals the poem's partisan speaker, despite its crowded cast of terrifying figures.