Atharva Veda: Book 11: Hymn 9: An incantation for the destruction of a hostile army
Hymns of the Atharva Veda, by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1895]
1All arms and every arrow, all the power and might that bows
possess,
The warlike weapon, axes, swords, the plan and purpose in the
heart,
All this, O Arbudi, make thou visible to our enemies, and let
them look on mist and fog.
2Arise ye and prepare yourselves: ye, the celestial hosts, are
friends.
Let your mysterious natures be seen by our friends O Arbudi.
3Rise both of you: begin your work with fettering and binding.
fast,
Assail, both of you, Arbudi, the armies of our enemies.
4The God whose name is Arbudi, and Nyarbudi the Mighty
One,
The two by whom the air and this great earth are compassed
and possessed,
With these two friends of Indra I go forth to conquer with the
host.
5Rise with our army stand thou up. O Godlike Being, Arbudi.
Breaking the hosts of enemies, surround them with thy winding
coils.
6Exhibiting, O Arbudi, seven children of the mist and fog,
When butter hath been offered, rise with all of these and with
the host.
7Beating her breast, with tearful face, let the short-earned, the
wild-haired hag. p. 69
Shriek loudly when a man is slain, pierced through by thee, O
Arbudi;
8Snatching away the vertebra, while with her thought she seeks
her son,
Her husband, brother, kin, when one, Arbudi! hath been pierc-
ed by thee.
9Let vultures, ravens, kites, and crows, and every carrion-eating
bird.
Feast on our foes, and show where one, Arbudi! hath been
pierced by thee.
10Then let each greedy beast of prey, and fly and worm regale
itself
Upon the human corpse where one, Arbudi, hath been pierced
by thee.
11Attack them, both of you; bear off their vital breath O Nyar-
budi.
Let mingled shouts and echoing cries of woe amid our foemen
show where thou, O Arbudi, hast pierced
12Shake them, and let them sink with fear: e'erwhelm our enemies
with dread.
With widely-grasping bends of arm, O Arbudi, crush down our
foes.
13Let those mens' arms grow faint and weak, dull be the purpose
of their heart;
And let not aught of them be left when thou, O Arbudi, hast
pierced.
14Self-smiting, beating breast and thigh, careless of unguent, with
their hair dishevelled, weeping,
hags shall run together, when a man is slain, when thou, O
Arbudi, hast pierced.
15Apsarases with dog-like mates, and Rūpakās, O Arbudi,
And her who licks the cup inside, and seeks to wound in ill-
kept place,
All these, O Arbudi, do thou make visible to our enemies and
let them look on mists and fog.
16The fiend who creeps upon the sword, maimed, dwelling where
Lthe wounded lie,
The misty shapes that lurk concealed, Gandharvas and Apsara-
ses, demons, and snakes and Other Folk; p. 70
17Armed with four fangs and yellow teeth, deformed, with faces
smeared with blood, the terrible and fearless ones,
18Make thou, O Arbudi, those wings of hostile armies quake with
dread.
Let Conqueror and Victor, friends of Indra, overcome our foes.
19Stifled and crushed, O Nyarbudi, low let the smitten foeman lie.
With tongue of fire and crest of smoke go conquering maidens
with our host!
20May Indra, Lord of Might, strike down each bravest warrior of
the foes,
Whom this our band hath put to flight: let not one man of
those escape.
21Let their hearts burst asunder, let their breath fly up and pass
away.
Let dryness of the mouth o'ertake our foemen, not the friendly
ones.
22The clever and the foolish ones, those who are twisted round,
the deaf,
The dusky-hued, the hornless goats and those whose voice is like
the buck's,
All these, O Arbudi, do thou make visible to our enemies:
cause them to look on mists and fog.
23Arbudi and Trishandhi fall upon our foes and scatter them,
So that, O Indra, Lord of Might, Slayer of Vritra, we may kill
thousands of these our enemies!
24Tall trees, and those who live in woods, the herbs and creeping
plants of Earth,
Gandharvas, and Apsarases, Snakes, [ ] Beings, Fathers,
Gods,
All these do thou, O Arbudi, make visible to our enemies:
cause them to look on mists and fog.
25High sway have Maruts, and the God Āditya, Brāhmanaspati,
High sway have Indra, Agni, and Dilator, Mitra, Prajāpati,
High sway have Rishis given to you, showing upon our enemies
where thou, O Arbudi, hast pierced.
26With full dominion over these, rise, stand ye up, prepare your-
selves,
Ye are our friends, celestial hosts. When ye have won this
battle, go, each to his several sphere, apart.