Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 7 1
IV, 19. Mystic power of the apamarga-plant, against demons and sorcerers.
1. On the one hand thou deprivest of kin, on the
other thou now procurest kinfolk. Do thou, more-
over, cut the offspring of him that practises spells,
as a reed that springs up in the rain !
2. By a Brahma^a thou hast been blest, by
Ka/zva, the descendant of Nrzshad. Thou goest
like a strong army ; where thou hast arrived, O
plant, there there is no fear.
3. Thou goest at the head of the plants, spread-
ing lustre, as if with a light. Thou art on the one
hand the protector of the weak, on the other the
slayer of the Rakshas.
4. When of yore, in the beginning, the gods drove
out the Asuras with thee, then, O plant, thou wast
begotten as apimarga (' wiping out ').
5. Thou cuttest to pieces (vibhindatl), and hast
a hundred branches; vibhindant ('cutting to pieces')
is thy fathers name. Do thou (turn) against, and
cut to pieces (vi bhindhi) him that is hostile to-
wards us !
6. Non-being arose from the earth, that goes to
heaven, (as) a great expansion. Thence, verily,
that, spreading vapours, shall turn against the per-
former (of spells) !
7. Thou didst grow backward, thou hast fruit
which is turned backward. Ward off from me all
curses, ward off very far destructive weapons !
8. Protect me with a hundredfold, guard me with
a thousandfold (strength)! Indra, the strong, shall
put strength into thee, O prince of plants !
72 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
VII, 65. Charm with the apam&rga-plant, against curses, and the consequences of sinful deeds.
1. With fruit turned backward thou verily didst
grow, O ap&marga : do thou drive all curses quite
far away from here !
2. The evil deeds and foul, or the sinful acts
which we have committed, with thee, O apamarga,
whose face is turned to every side, do we wipe them
out (apa m^mahe).
3. If we have sat together with one who has
black teeth, or diseased nails, or one who is de-
formed, with thee, O apamdrga, we wipe all that
out (apa mrigmahe).
X, 1. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. The (spell) which they skilfully prepare, as
a bride for the wedding, the multiform (spell),
fashioned by hand, shall go to a distance : we drive
it away !
2. The (spell) that has been brought forward by
the fashioner of the spell, that is endowed with
head, endowed with nose, endowed with ears, and
multiform, shall go to a distance : we drive it away !
3. (The spell) that has been prepared by a 6udra,
prepared by a Ra^a, prepared by a woman, prepared
by Brahmans, as a wife rejected by her husband,
shall recoil upon her fabricator, (and) his kin !
4. With this herb have I destroyed all spells, that
which they have put into thy field, into thy cattle,
and into thy men.
5. Evil be to him that prepares evil, the curse shall recoil upon him that utters curses : back do we hurl
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. J$
it against him, that it may slay him that fashions the spell.
6. Prati^tna (' Back-hurler '), the descendant of
Angiras, is our overseer and officiator (purohita) :
do thou drive back again (prati/£i>£) the spells, and
slay yonder fashioners of the spells !
7. He that has said to thee (the spell) : ' go on'!
upon that enemy, that antagonist do thou turn,
O spell : do not seek out us, that are harmless !
8. He that has fitted together thy joints with
skill, as the wagoner (Ribhu) the joints of a chariot,
to him go, there is thy course : this person here
shall remain unknown to thee !
9. They that have prepared thee and taken hold
of thee, the cunning wizards — this is what cures it,
destroys the spell, drives it back the opposite way :
with it do we bathe thee.
10. Since wre have come upon the wretched (spell),
as upon (a cow) with a dead calf, flooded away (by
a river), may all evil go away from me, and may
possessions come to me !
11. If (thy enemies) have made (offerings) to thy
Fathers, or have called thy name at the sacrifice,
may these herbs free thee from every indigenous
evil !
12. From the sin of the gods, and that of the
fathers, from mentions of (thy) name, from (evil
schemes) concocted at home, may the herbs free
thee with might, through (this) charm, (and these)
stanzas, (that are) the milk of the Rishis !
13. As the wind stirs up the dust from the earth,
and the cloud from the atmosphere, thus may all
misfortune, driven by my charm, go away from me !
14. Stride away (O spell), like a loudly braying
74 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
she-ass, that has been loosened (from the tether) ;
reach those that have fabricated thee, driven from
here by (my) forceful charm !
15. ' This is the way, O spell/ with these words
do we lead thee. Thee that hast been sent out
against us do we send back again. Go this way
like a crushing army, with heavy carts, thou that art
multiform, and crowned by a crest (?) !
16. In the distance there is light for thee, hither-
ward there is no road for thee ; away from us take
thy course ! By another road cross thou ninety
navigable streams, hard to cross! Do not injure,
go away !
17. As the wind the trees, crush down and fell
(the enemy), leave them neither cow, nor horse, nor
serving-man ! Turn from here upon those that
have fabricated thee, O spell, awaken them to
childlessness !
18. The spell or the magic which they have
buried against thee in the sacrificial straw (barhis),
in the field, (or) in the burial-ground, or if with
superior skill they have practised sorcery against
thee, that art simple and innocent, in thy house-
hold fire, —
19. The hostile, insidious instrument which they
have brought hither has been discovered ; that which
has been dug in we have detected. It shall go
whence it has been brought hither; there, like a
horse, it shall disport itself, and slay the offspring of
him that has fashioned the spell !
20. Swords of good brass are in our house : we
know how many joints thou hast, O spell ! Be sure
to rise, go away from hence! O stranger, what
seekest thou here ?
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 75
21. I shall hew off, O spell, thy neck, and thy
feet : run away ! May Indra and Agni, to whom
belong the children (of men), protect us !
22. King Soma, who guards and pities us, and the lords of the beings shall take pity on us !
23. May Bhava and 6arva cast the lightning, the
divine missile, upon him that performs evil, fashions
a spell, and does wrong !
24. If thou art come two-footed, (or) four-footed,
prepared by the fashioner of the spell, multiform,
do thou, having become eight-footed, again go away
from here, O misfortune !
25. Anointed, ornamented, and well equipped, go
away, carrying every misfortune ! Know, O spell,
thy maker, as a daughter her own father !
26. Go away, O spell, do not stand still, track
(the enemy) as a wounded (animal) ! He is the
game, thou the hunter : he is not able to put thee
down.
27. Him that first hurls (the arrow), the other,
laying on in defence, slays with the arrow, and while
the first deals the blow, the other returns the blow.
28. Hear, verily, this speech of mine, and then
return whence thou earnest, against the one that
fashioned thee !
29. Slaughter of an innocent is heinous, O spell :
do not slay our cow, horse, or serving-man!
Wherever thou hast been put down, thence thee do
we remove. Be lighter than a leaf!
30. If ye are enveloped in darkness, covered as if
by a net — we tear all spells out from here, send them
back again to him that fashioned them.
31. The offspring of them that fashion the spell, practise magic, or plot against us, crush thou, O spell,
j6 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
leave none of them ! Slay those that fashion the spell !
32. As the sun is released from darkness, abandons
the night, and the streaks of the dawn, thus every
misery, (every) device prepared by the fashioner of
the spell, (every) misfortune, do I leave behind, as
an elephant the dust.
V, 31. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. The spell which they have put for thee into an
unburned vessel, that which they have put into
mixed grain, that which they have put into raw
meat, that do I hurl back again.
2. The spell which they have put for thee into
a cock, or that which (they have put) into a goat,
into a crested animal, that which they have put into
a sheep, that do I hurl back again.
3. The spell which they have put for thee into
solipeds, into animals with teeth on both sides, that
which they have put into an ass, that do I hurl back
again.
4. The magic which they have put for thee into
moveable property, or into personal possession, the
spell which they have put into the field, that do
I hurl back again.
5. The spell which evil-scheming persons have put
for thee into the garhapatya-fire, or into the house-
fire, that which they have put into the house, that
do I hurl back again.
6. The spell which they have put for thee into
the assembly-hall, that which (they have put) into
the gaming-place, that which they have put into the
dice, that do I hurl back again.
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 77
7. The spell which they have put for thee into
the army, that which they have put into the arrow
and the weapon, that which they have put into the
drum, that do I hurl back again.
8. The spell which they have placed down for
thee in the well, or have buried in the burial-ground,
that which they have put into (thy) home, that do
I hurl back again.
9. That which they have put for thee into human
bones, that which (they have put) into the funeral
fire, to the consuming, burning, flesh-eating fire do
I hurl that back again.
10. By an unbeaten path he has brought it (the
spell) hither, by a (beaten) path we drive it out from
here. The fool in his folly has prepared (the spell)
against those that are surely wise.
11. He that has undertaken it has not been able
to accomplish it : he broke his foot, his toe. He,
luckless, performed an auspicious act for us, that
are lucky.
12. Him that fashions spells, practises magic, digs
after roots, sends out curses, Indra shall slay with
his mighty weapon, Agni shall pierce with his hurled
(arrow) !
V, 14. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. An eagle found thee out, a boar dug thee out
with his snout. Seek thou, O plant, to injure him
that seeks to injure (us), strike down him that pre-
pares spells (against us) !
2. Strike down the wizards, strike down him that
prepares spells (against us) ; slay thou, moreover,
O plant, him that seeks to injure us !
78 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
3. Cutting out from the skin (of the enemy) as
if (from the skin) of an antelope, do ye, O gods,
fasten the spell upon him that prepares it, as (one
fastens) an ornament !
4. Take hold by the hand and lead away the
spell back to him that prepares it ! Place it in his
very presence, so that it shall slay him that prepares
the spell !
5. The spells shall take effect upon him that
prepares the spells, the curse upon him that pro-
nounces the curse ! As a chariot with easy-going
wheels, the spell shall turn back upon him that
prepares the spell !
6. Whether a woman, or whether a man has pre-
pared the spell for evil, we lead that spell to him as
a horse with the halter.
7. Whether thou hast been prepared by the gods,
or hast been prepared by men, we lead thee back
with the help of Indra as an ally.
8. O Agni, gainer of battles, do thou gain the
battles ! With a counter-charm do we hurl back the
spell upon him that prepares the spell.
9. Hold ready, (O plant,) thy weapon, and strike
him, slay the very one that has prepared (the spell) !
We do not whet thee for the destruction of him that
has not practised (spells).
10. Go as a son to his father, bite like an adder
that has been stepped upon. Return thou, O spell,
to him that prepares the spell, as one who over-
comes his fetters !
11. As the shy deer, the antelope, goes out to
the mating (buck), thus the spell shall reach him that
prepares it !