# Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VIII/Hymn 3

3. To Agni: against sorcerers and demons.
[Cātana.—ṣaḍviṅçam. āgneyam. trāiṣṭubham: 7, I2, 14, 15, 17, 21. bhurij; 25. 5-p. bṛhatīgarbhā jagatī; 22, 23. anuṣṭubh; 26. gāyatrī.]
Found also in Pāipp. xvi. (in the verse-order 1-4, 6, 5, 7-14, 18, 15, 17, 16, 19-22, 24, 26, 25, 23). The first 23 verses are (in slightly different order*) vss. 1-23 of RV. x. 87, and most of them are found in no other text. ⌊Cf. Oldenberg, Die Hymnen des RV. i. 246.⌋ *⌊Namely, with 4 after 6, with 17 and 18 inverted, and with 12 between 21 and 22.⌋
⌊Kāuç. reckons the hymn to the cātana hymns (8. 25). The comm. says (p. 587, l. 18 ff.) that the whole anuvāka, that is hymn 4 as well as 3, is to be used in a variety of practices, which he details. In the vaçāçamana ceremony (44. 16), after the victim's "breath has been stopped" with ii. 34. 5, the performer takes his place at her right and mutters this hymn. Vs. 22 (not 21) is identical with vii. 71. 1, which was prescribed at 2. 10 for use in the parvan sacrifices, to accompany the carrying of fire thrice about the offering. Moreover, verses of this hymn are used in four expiatory rites as follows: vss. 15-18 accompany an oblation (112. 1) made when the cows give bloody milk; vs. 26 is used with vi. 63. 4 if spontaneous combustion occurs (46. 23); and the same vs. is used (130. 3) when there appears a bright glow without any fire; and yet again (131. 3), when the fire puffs (çvasati). Finally, the same vs. is used by Vāit. (6. 11) in the agnyādheya (with vi. 19. 2 etc.) with an offering to Agni Çuci.⌋
Translated: Henry, 7, 43; Griffith, i. 392.
1. I pour ghee upon (a-ghṛ) the vigorous (vājín) demon-slayer; I go for broadest protection to the friend; Agni, sharpened, [is] kindled with acts of skill (? krátu); let him by day, let him by night, protect us from harm.
This verse is found further in TS. (i. 2. 14$^6$); neither RV. nor TS. offers a variant reading.
2. Do thou, of iron tusks, O Jātavedas, kindled, touch the sorcerers with thy flame (arcís); take hold of the false-worshipers with thy tongue; cutting off (?) the flesh-eaters, shut them in thy mouth.
The comm. reads dhṛṣṭvā in d, paraphrasing it only with dharṣitvā. RV. has vṛkivī́, which is most probably to be referred to root vṛj. Ppp. has datsvā (for dhatsva).
3. Apply both thy tusks, thou that hast them in both jaws (ubhayāvín), the lower one and the upper, being harmful, sharpened; also in the atmosphere go about, O Agni; put together thy grinders upon the sorcerers.
RV. reads dáṅṣṭrā at end of a, and rājan for agne at end of c. Ppp. has dehy ⌊in a, apparently⌋ and api for abhi in d.
​4. O Agni, split the skin of the sorcerer; let the harmful thunderbolt smite him with flame (háras); crush his joints, O Jātavedas; let the flesh-eating, flesh-craving ⌊one⌋ divide him.
RV. (vs. 5; its vs. 4 is our 6) reads vṛkṇám for enam at the end. The comm. understands 'a wolf or the like' in d, and takes vi-ci as 'scatter about, dragging him to and fro to eat him.' It more probably refers to the flesh-eating Agni.
5. Wherever now, O Jātavedas, thou seest a sorcerer standing, O Agni, or also moving, also flying in the atmosphere, him [as] archer, pierce with a shaft, being sharpened.
RV. (vs. 6) has a quite different c, yád vā ’ntárikṣe pathíbhiḥ pátantam. Ppp. (vs. 6) reads in d viddhi çarvā. Many mss. (including our Bp.W.E.O.T.) have sárvā in d.
6. By sacrifices, O Agni, straightening (sam-nam) thine arrows, by speech smearing their tips with thunderbolts—with them pierce in the heart the sorcerers; break back (pratīcás) their arms.
'By sacrifices,' 'by speech'—i.e. in virtue of our offerings and praise. RV. (vs. 4) offers no variant; Ppp. (vs. 5) reads çalyam in b.
7. Both those that are seized do thou win (spṛ), O Jātavedas, and also the sorcerers that have seized with spears; do thou, O Agni, first, greatly gleaming, smite [him] down; let the variegated raw-flesh-eating kṣvín̄kās eat him.
This verse differs somewhat, and inconsistently, from RV., which has ā́labdham in a, and, without utá, ālebhānā́t...yātudhā́nāt in b, giving the clear sense 'win away him that is seized from the sorcerer that has seized him,' and agreeing with the sing. tám in d. The AV. version yields no acceptable meaning; and most of the saṁhitā-mss. read ārabdhāṁ in a (including our P.M.W.I.: some of the others not noted), as if the word were after all a singular. The comm. reads kṣvan̄kās in d, and explains it simply as pakṣiviçeṣās. He gives a most absurd version of a, b: 'protect (us) who have begun (to praise thee) and (slay) with spears the sorcerers who have made a noise'! ⌊Comm. seems to read rebhāṇān and to take it from root ribh: cf. note to vs. 21.⌋ Ppp. has our version of a, b, except that it reads utā ”lab- in a, and omits uta in b ⌊i.e., if I understand R., it appears to begin b with ārebhāṇāṅ⌋.
8. Proclaim thou here which that [is], O Agni—the sorcerer that is doing this; him take hold of with the fuel, O youngest [god]; subject him to the eye of the men-watcher.
RV. inserts another yás at beginning of b, and Ppp. has the same. The comm. reads kṛṇoṣi (explaining it ⌊alternatively⌋ as = kṛṇoti) at end of b, and yaviṣṭhya at end of c. ⌊Better, perhaps, in a, 'Proclaim which one he [is]' etc.⌋
9. With sharp eye, O Agni, defend thou the sacrifice; conduct it forward to the Vasus, O forethoughtful one; thee that art harmful, greatly gleaming against the demons, let not the sorcerers injure, O men-watcher.
Ppp. reads hiṅsrā at beginning of c. The comm. appears to regard abhiçoçucānam as a compound.
10. A men-watcher, do thou look around for the demon among the people (vikṣú); crush back his three points (ágra); crush, O Agni, his ribs with flame (háras); cut up threefold the root of the sorcerer.
The comm. attempts no explanation of the 'three points,' but simply glosses agra with uparibhāga.
11. Let the sorcerer thrice come within thy reach (? prásiti), who, O Agni, slays truth (ṛtá) with untruth; roaring [at] him with thy flame (arcís), O Jātavedas, do thou put him down (ni-yuj) before the eyes of the singer.
Our ní yun̄dhi at the end is a weakened corruption of RV. ni vṛn̄dhi, which is read also by Ppp., the comm., and one of SPP's authorities. SPP. reads yun̄gdhi, not heeding the rule of the Prāt. (ii. 20) to the contrary. ⌊Cf. his bhan̄gdhi in vs. 6. And in his "Corrections" to vol. ii., he is at pains thrice to correct vṛn̄dhi of p. 71-2 to vṛn̄gdhi.⌋ The majority of the mss. (including all ours save D.R.p.m.K.) accent ágne in b; both editions, of course, emend to agne. The comm. paraphrases prásitim with jvālām; he does not deign to add any explanation to sphūrjáyan. The occurrence of enam in d seems to require us to regard tám as object of sphūrjáyan.
12. What, O Agni, the pair utter in curses today, what harshness (tṛṣṭá) of speech the reciters (rebhá) produce: the shaft that is born of fury of the mind—with that pierce thou the sorcerers in the heart.
'That' in d is fem., as if referring to the 'shaft' alone; and the comm. regards a and b as describing faults caused by the sorcerers, which Agni is to requite—which is doubtless the true connection. Mithunā is explained as = strīpuṅsāu, and çapātas as = parasparam ākroçatas. The verse is RV. vs. 13, its vs. 12 being found much further on, as our vs. 21. Ppp. again reads viddhi for vidhya in d.
13. Crush away the sorcerers with heat; crush away, O Agni, the demon with flame (háras); crush away with burning (arcís) the false-worshipers; crush away the greatly gleaming ones that feed on lives (? asutṛ́p).
RV. (vs. 14) is quite different in d: párā ’sutṛ́po abhí çóçucānaḥ. The comm. paraphrases asutṛpas with paraprāṇāir ātmānaṁ tarpayantaḥ.
14. Let the gods crush away today the wicked one (vṛjiná); let [his] curses sent forth go back upon him; let shafts strike (ṛch) in the vitals him who steals by [magic] speech; let the sorcerer come within every one's reach.
RV. (vs. 15) reads tṛṣṭā́s (for sṛṣṭā́s) at end of b, and the comm. and one of SPP's authorities have the same. The comm. this time paraphrases prásitim with prakarṣeṇa abhibhavitrīṁ hetim, adding as alternative agner jvālām.
15. The sorcerer that smears himself (sam-añj) with the flesh of men, who with that of horses, with cattle, who bears [off] the milk of the inviolable [cow], O Agni—their heads cut thou into with flame.
Ppp. reads bharata in c. ⌊The áçveyena of Aufrecht's RV.$^2$ seems to be a misprint.⌋
​16. Let the sorcerers bear [off] poison of the kine; let them of evil courses fall under the wrath of Aditi; let god Savitar abandon them; let them lose their share of the herbs.
'Lose': lit. 'have it conquered from them.' RV. (vs. 18: RV. inverts the order of our vss. 16 and 17) reads pibantu for bharantām (with Ppp.) in a, has the proper passive form vṛçcyantām in b (Ppp. has mṛddhyantām), and leaves enān unlingualized in c; the lingualization in our text is by Prāt. iii. 80, where the commentary quotes this passage.
17. Yearly [is] the milk of the ruddy [cow]; of that let not the sorcerer partake (aç), O men-watcher; whatever one [of them], O Agni, would fain enjoy (tṛp) the beestings, him do thou pierce back in the vitals with thy burning (arcís).
Our pada-text divides wrongly mā́: āçīt in b; RV. has the true reading, mā́: açīt. RV. also has márman at the end, making the triṣṭubh verse regular. Ppp. once more reads vidhi (not viddhi this time) for vidhya in d, and marman after it.
18. From of old, O Agni, thou killest the sorcerers; the demons have not conquered thee in fights; burn up the flesh-eaters together with their dupes (? mūrá); let them not be freed from thy heavenly missile.
We had this verse above, as v. 29. 11. The only variant in the version of RV. (vs. 19) is that, in c, sahámūrān is put after ánu daha; ⌊so also SV. i. 80, which has besides kayā́das for kravyā́das. The comm. regards -mūrān as for -mūlān, and renders it mūlasahitān 'together with their roots,' and it is perhaps one of the cases contemplated by Prāt. i. 66—at least, the commentary there quotes this passage as one of the instances of substitution of r for l; and it is very likely that the tradition is right.
19. Do thou, O Agni, from below, from above, do thou defend us from behind and from in front; let those [flames] of thine, unaging, extremely hot, greatly paining, burn against the evil-plotter.
RV. (vs. 20) reads údaktāt at end of a, and té for tyé in c; in the latter case, the comm. does the same; he supplies sphulin̄gas as the missing noun in c, d. An accent-mark has dropped out in our edition under the -du- of paçcā́d utá in b.
20. From behind, in front, below, and above, do thou, O Agni, a poet, protect us about with poesy; [as] friend a friend, [as] unaging in order to old age, [as] an immortal mortals, do thou [protect] us, O Agni.
RV. (vs. 21) reads again údaktāt for utó ’ttarā́t in a, also rājan for agne at end of b, and sákhe at beginning of c; and it combines -mṇé ‘gne between c and d. The comm. has martyān in d.
21. Set thou in the reciter, O Agni, that eye with which thou seest the hoof-breaking sorcerers; Atharvan-like, with brightness of the gods, scorch (uṣ) down the truth-damaging fool (acít).
22. Thee the devout, O Agni, powerful one, would we fain put about us [as] a stronghold, [thee] of daring color, day by day, slayer of the destructive one.
We have had this verse above, as vii. 71. 1; for its different correspondences and variants, see the note at that place; ⌊but Ppp. here ends with bhan̄gurāvatām⌋. The comm., though he notes it as 'explained above,' goes on to give a new explanation, curiously accordant with and yet not a little different from the other; the most important point of difference is that, in explaining pari dhīmahi, he there gave us our choice between parito dhārayāmaḥ and paridhiṁ kurmaḥ, while here he gives us our choice between the latter and dhyāyemahi. The real reason of the repetition probably is that he this time reads at the end bhan̄gurāvatām, with RV. ⌊and Ppp.⌋, while before he had no variant from our AV. text. ⌊Here and in vs. 23, W. queries his version of bhan̄g- as he did at vii. 71, which see.⌋
23. With poison smite thou back the destructive ones, the demoniacs, O Agni, with keen brightness (çocís), with heat-pointed flames (arcí).
RV. in b lingualizes the particle to ṣma, and reads daha for jahi; and it ends d with ṛṣṭíbhis instead of the anomalous arcíbhis. Ppp. has in c çukrena instead of tigména.
The RV. hymn ends with four anuṣṭubh verses, of which only the first two find place thus in our text.
24. With great light Agni shineth out; he maketh all things manifest by his greatness; he forceth away the ill-conditioned ungodly wiles; he sharpeneth his two horns to gore the demons.
All the authorities read at the end viníkṣve, and even the comm. is with them, calling the v a Vedic accretion (vakāropajanaç chāndasaḥ). RV., in the corresponding verse (v. 2. 9: repeated without variant in TS. i. 2. 14$^7$), has viníkṣe, which our edition reads by emendation, SPP. retaining the totally inadmissible v, which seems to have blundered into the word out of ví nikṣva in the following verse. RV. (and TS.) has before it rákṣase (sing.).
25. The two horns that thou hast, O Jātavedas, unaging, of keen thrust, sharpened by devotion (bráhman)—with them do thou gore, O Jātavedas, the attacking enemy (durhā́rd), the advancing kimīdín with thy flame (arcís).
26. Agni drives off the demons, he of bright brightness, immortal, bright, purifying, laudable.
This verse is RV. vii. 15. 10, and is found also in TB. (ii. 4. 1$^6$) and MS. (iv. 11. 5); the text is the same in all. ⌊Ritual uses, above.⌋
⌊Here ends the third artka-sūkta and the quoted Anukr. says tṛtīyaṁ tu.⌋