Atharva Veda on Courage

varana-tree. 1. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtai). The gods, too, have shut out (avîvaran) the disease that hath entered into this man! 2. By Indra's command, by Mitra's and by Varuna's, by the command of all the gods do we shut out thy disease. 3. As Vritra did bold fast these ever-flowing waters, thus do I shut out (vâraye) disease from thee with (the help of) Agni Vaisvânara.

1. Against the devouring demons who, in the night of the full-moon, have arisen in throngs, may Agni, the strong, the slayer of the sorcerers, give us courage! 2. To the lead Varuna gives blessing, to the lead Agni gives help. Indra gave me the lead: unfailingly it dispels sorcery. 3. This (lead) overcomes the vishkandha, this smites the devouring demons (atrin); with this I have overwhelmed all the brood of the Pisâkas. 4. If thou slayest our cow, if our horse or our domestic, we pierce thee with the lead, so that thou shalt not slay our heroes.

as hostile to men, cattle, and home. 1. Nissâlâ, the bold, the greedy demon (?dhishana), and (the female demon) with long-drawn howl, the bloodthirsty; all the daughters of Kanda, the Sadânvâs do we destroy. 2. We drive you out of the stable, out of the axle (of the wagon), and the body of the wagon; we chase you, O ye daughters of Magundî, from the house. 3. In yonder house below, there the grudging demons (arâyî) shall exist; there ruin shall prevail, and all the witches! 4. May (Rudra), the lord of beings, and Indra. drive forth from here the Sadânvâs; those that am seated on the foundation of the house Indra shall overcome with his thunderbolt! 5. Whether ye belong to (the demons) of inherited disease, whether ye have been dispatched by men, or whether ye have originated from the Dasyus (demon-like aborigines), vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs! 6. About their dwelling-places I did swiftly course, as if on a race-course. I have won all contests with you: vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs!

1. (Agni) has shouted loud: may he here well perform his work! Spread thyself out, O Agni, over the far-reaching hemispheres of the world! The all-possessing Maruts shall engage thee: bring hither that (king) who devoutly spends the offering! 2. However far he be, the red (steeds) shall urge hither Indra, the seer, to friendship, since the gods, (chanting) for him the gâyatri, the brihatî, and the arka (songs), infused courage into him with the sautrâmanî-sacrifice! 3. From the waters king Varuna shall call thee, Soma shall call thee from the mountains, Indra shall cite thee to these clans! Turn into an eagle and fly to these clans! 4. An eagle shall bring hither from a distance him that is fit to be called, (yet) wanders exiled in a strange land! The Asvins shall prepare for thee a path, easy to travel! Do ye, his kinfolk, gather close about him! 5. Thy opponents shall call thee; thy friends have chosen. thee! Indra, Agni, and all the gods have kept prosperity with this people. 6. The kinsman or the stranger that opposes thy call, him, O Indra, drive away; then render this (king) accepted here!

1. As the lightning at all times smites irresistibly the tree, thus would I to-day irresistibly beat the gamesters with my dice! 2. Whether they be alert, or not alert, the fortune of (these) folks, unresisting, shall assemble from all sides, the gain (collect) within my hands! 3. I invoke with reverence Agni, who has his own riches; here attached he shall beap up gain for us! I procure (wealth) for myself, as if with chariots that win the race. May I accomplish auspiciously the song of praise to the Maruts! 4. May we by thy aid conquer the (adversary s) troop; help us (to obtain) our share in every contest! Make for us, O Indra, a good and ample road; crush, O Maghavan, the lusty power of our enemies! 5. I have conquered and cleaned thee out (?); I have also gained thy reserve. As the wolf plucks to pieces the sheep, thus do I pluck thy winnings. 6. Even the strong hand the bold player conquers, as the skilled gambler heaps up his winnings at the proper time. Upon him that loves the game (the god), and does not spare his money, (the game, the god) verily bestows the delights of wealth. 7. Through (the possession of) cattle we all would suppress (our) wretched poverty, or with grain our hunger, O thou oft implored (god)! May we foremost among rulers, unharmed, gain wealth by our cunning devices! 8. Gain is deposited in my right hand, victory in my left. Let me become a conqueror of cattle, horses, wealth, and gold! 9. O dice, yield play, profitable as a cow that is rich in milk! Bind me to a streak of gain, as the bow (is bound) with the string!

All the worlds the gods did conquer through this oblation, (and) by the bolt which Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, did mould into a weapon for the destruction of the Asuras. 13. With the bolt which Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, did, mould into a weapon for the destruction of the Asuras do I, O Brihaspati, annihilate yonder army: I smite the enemies with force. 14. All the gods that eat the oblation offered with the call vashat are coming over. Receive this oblation graciously; conquer on this side, not over yonder! 15. May all the gods come over: the oblation is pleasing to Trishamdhi. Adhere to the great compact under which of yore the Asuras were conquered! 16. Vâyu (the wind) shall bend the points of the enemies' bows, Indra shall break their arms, so that they shall be unable to lay on their arrows, Âditya (the sun) shall send their missiles astray, and Kandramas (the moon) shall bar the way of (the enemy) that has not (as yet) started! 17. If they have come on as citadels of the gods, if they have constituted an inspired charm as their armour, if they have gathered courage through the protections for the body and the bulwarks which they have made, render all that devoid of force! 18. Placing (our) purohita (chaplain), together with the flesh-devourer (Agni) and death, in thy train, do thoti, O Trishamdhi, go forth with thy army, conquer the enemies, advance! 19. O Trishamdhi, envelop thou the enemies in darkness; may not a single one of those, driven forth by the speckled ghee, be saved! 20. May the white-footed (arrow?) fly to yonder lines of the enemy, may yonder armies of the enemies be to-day put to confusion, O Nyarbudi! 21. The enemies have been confused, O Nyarbudi: slay each picked man among them, slay them with this army! 22.

With thy broad embrace, with the clasp of thy arms crush the enemies, O Nyarbudi! 13. May their arms, and the artful scheme that is in their mind be confused! Not a thing shall remain of them, pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 14. May (the mourning women) beating them selves, run together, smiting their breasts and their thighs, not anointed, with dishevelled hair, howling, when a man has been slain, has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 15. The dog-like Apsaras, and also the Rûpakâs (phantoms), the plucking sprite, that eacerly licks within the vessel, and her that seeks out what has been carelessly hidden, all those do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 16. (And also make them see) her that strides upon the mist, the mutilated one, who dwells with the mutilated; the vapoury spooks that are hidden, and the Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents, and other brood, and the Rakshas! 17. (And also) the spooks with fourfold teeth, black teeth, testicles like a pot, bloody faces, who are inherently frightful, and terrifying! 18. Frighten thou, O Arbudi, yonder lines of the enemy; the conquering and the victorious (Arbudi and Nyarbudi), the two comrades of Indra, shall conquer the enemies! 19. Dissolved, crushed, slain the enemy shall lie, O Nyarbudi! May victorious sprites, with fiery tongues and smoky crests, go with (our) army! 20. Of the enemies repulsed by this (army), O Arbudi, Indra, the spouse of Saki, shall slay each picked man: not a single one of those yonder shall escape! 21. May their hearts burst, may their life's breath escape upward! May dryness of the mouth overtake (our) enemies, but not (our) allies! 22. Those who are bold and those who are cowardly, those who turn (in flight) and those who are deaf (to danger?), those who are (like) dark goats, and those, too, who bleat like goats, all those, do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 23.

Thy forest animals, the wild animals homed in the woods, the man-eating lions, and tigers that roam; the ula, the wolf, mishap, injury (rikshikâ), and demons (rakshas), O earth, drive away from us! 50. The Gandharvas, the Apsaras, the Arâyas and Kimîdins; the Pisâkas and all demons (rakshas), these, O earth, hold from us! 51. The earth upon whom the biped birds fly together, the flamingoes, eagles, birds of prey, and fowls; upon whom Mâtarisvan, the wind, hastens, raising the dust, and tossing the trees-as the wind blows forth and back the flame bursts after;-- 52. The earth upon whom day and night jointly, black and bright, have been decreed, the broad earth covered and enveloped with rain, shall kindly place us into every pleasant abode! 53. Heaven, and earth, and air have here given me expanse; Agni, Sûrya, the waters, and all the gods together have given me wisdom. 54. Mighty am I, 'Superior' (uttara) by name, upon the earth, conquering am I, all-conquering, completely conquering every region. 55. At that time, O goddess, when, spreading., (prathamânâ) forth, named (prithivî 'broad') by the gods, thou didst extend to greatness, then prosperity did enter thee, (and) thou didst fashion the four regions. 56. In the villages and in the wilderness, in the assembly-halls that are upon the earth; in the gatherings, and in the meetings, may we hold forth agreeably to thee! 57. As dust a steed did she, as soon as she was born, scatter these people, that dwelt upon the earth, she the lovely one, the leader, the guardian of the world, that holds the trees and plants. 58. The words I speak, honied do I speak them: the things I see they furnish me with. Brilliant I am and alert: the others that rush (against me) do I beat down. 59. Gentle, fragrant, kindly, with the sweet drink (kîlâla) in her udder, rich in milk, the broad earth together with (her) milk shall give us courage! 60.

1. High sounds the voice of the drum, that acts the warrior, the wooden (drum), equipped with the skin of the cow. Whetting thy voice, subduing the enemy, like a lion sure of victory, do thou loudly thunder against them! 2. The wooden (instrument) with fastened (covering) has thundered as a lion, as a bull roars to the cow that longs to mate. Thou art a bull, thy enemies are eunuchs; thou ownest Indra's foesubduing fire! 3. Like a bull in the herd, full of might, lusty, do thou, O snatcher of booty, roar against them! Pierce with fire the heart of the enemy; with -broken ranks the foe shall run and scatter! 4. In victorious battles raise thy roar! What may be captured, capture; sound in many places! Favour, O drum, (our deeds) with thy divine voice; bring to (us) with strength the property of the enemy! 5. When the wife of the enemy hears the voice of the drum, that speaks to a far distance, may she, aroused by the sound, distressed, snatch her son to her arms, and run, frightened at the clash of arms! 6. Do thou, O drum, sound the first sound, ring brilliantly over the back of the earth! Open wide thy maw at the enemies host; resound brightly, joyously, O drum! 7. Between this heaven and earth thy noise shall spread, thy sounds shall quickly part to every side! Shout thou and thunder with swelling sound; make music at thy friend's victory, having, (chosen) the good side! 8. Manipulated with care, its voice shall resound! Make bristle forth the weapons of the warriors! Allied to Indra do thou call hither the warriors; with thy friends beat vigorously down the enemies! 9. A shouting herald, followed by a bold army, spreading news in many places, sounding through the village, eager for success, knowing the way, do thou distribute glory to many in the battle! 10. Desiring advantage, gaining booty, full mighty, thou hast been made keen by (my) song, and winnest battles.

As the press-stone on the gathering skin dances upon the soma-sboots, thus do thou, O drum, lustily dance upon the booty! 11. A conqueror of enemies, overwhelming, foe-subduing, eager for the fray, victoriously crushing, as a speaker his speech do thou carry forth thy sound; sound forth here strength for victory in battle! 12. Shaking those that are unshaken, hurrying to the strife, a conqueror of enemies, an unconquerable leader, protected by Indra, attending to the hosts, do thou that crusheth the hearts of the enemies, quickly go! V, 21 Hymn to the battle-drum, the terror of the enemy. 1. Carry with thy voice, O drum, lack of heart, and failure of courage among the enemies! Disagreement, dismay, and fright, do we place into the enemies: beat them down, O drum! 2. Agitated in their minds, their sight, their hearts, the enemies shall run, frightened with terror, when our oblation has been offered! 3. Made of wood, equipped with the skin of the cow, at home with every clan, put thou with thy voice terror into the enemies, when thou hast been anointed with ghee! 4. As the wild animals of the forest start in fear from man, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds! 5. As goats and sheep run from the wolf, badly frightened, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds! 6. As birds start in fear from the eagle, as by day and by night (they start) at the roar of the lion, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds! 7. With the drum and the skin of the antelope all the gods, that sway the battle, have scared away the enemies. 8. At the noise of the beat of the feet when Indra disports himself, and at his shadow, our enemies yonder, that come in successive ranks, shall tremble! 9. The whirring of the bowstring and the drums shall shout at the directions where the conquered armies of the enemies go in successive ranks! 10.

From that death, the lord of cattle, do I rescue thee: do not fear! 24. Free from harm thou shalt not die; thou shalt not die: do not fear! Verily, they do not die there, they do not go to the nethermost darkness;-- 25. Verily, every creature lives there, the cow, the horse, and man, where this charm is performed, as the (protecting) barrier for life. 26. May it preserve thee from sorcery, from thy equals and thy kin! Undying be, immortal, exceedingly vital; thy spirits shall not abandon thy body! 27. From the one and a hundred deaths, from the dangers that are surmountable, from that Agai Vaisvânara (the funeral pyre?) may the gods deliver thee! 28. Thou, the remedy called p6tudru, art the body of Agni, the deliverer, slayer of Rakshas, slayer of rivals, moreover thou chasest away disease. V. 30. Prayer for exemption from disease and death. 1. From near thy vicinity, from near thy distance (do I call): remain here, do not follow; do not follow the Fathers of yore! Firmly do I fasten thy life's breath. 2. Whatever sorcery any kinsman or stranger has practised against thee, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee. 3. If thou hast deceived or cursed a woman or a man in thy folly, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee. 4. If thou liest (ill) in consequence of a sin committed by thy mother or thy father, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee. 5. Fight shy of the medicine which thy mother and thy father, thy sister and thy brother let out against thee: I shall cause thee to live unto old age! 6. Remain here, O man, with thy entire soul; do not follow the two messengers of Yama: come to the abodes of the living! 7. Return when called, knowing the outlet of the path (death), the ascent, the advance, the road of every living man! 8. Fear not, thou shalt not die: I shall cause thee to live unto old age! I have charmed away from thy limbs the disease that wastes the limbs. 9.

1. Take hold of this (charm) that subjects to immortality (life), may thy life unto old age not be cut off! I bring to thee anew breath and life: not to mist and darkness, do not waste away! 2. Come hither to the light of the living; I rescue thee unto a life of a hundred autumns! Loosing the bands of death and imprecation, I bestow upon thee long life extended very far. 3. From the wind thy breath I have obtained, from the sun thine eye; thy soul I hold fast in thee: be together with thy limbs, speak articulating with thy tongue! 4. With the breath of two-footed and four-footed creatures I blow upon thee, as on Agni when he is born (as on fire when kindled). I have paid reverence, O death, to thine eye, reverence to thy breath. 5. This (man) shall live and shall not die: we rouse this man (to life)! I make for him a remedy: O death, do not slay the man! 6. The plant gîvalâ (quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'), and gîvantî ('living), a victorious, mighty saviour-plant do I invoke, that he may be exempt from injury. 7. Befriend him, do not seize him, let him go, (O death); though he be thy very own, let him abide here with unimpaired strength! O Bhava and Sarva, take pity, grant Protection; misfortune drive away, and life bestow! 8. Befriend him, death, and pity him: may he from here arise! Unharmed, with sound limbs, hearing perfectly, through old age carrying a hundred years, let him get enjoyment by himself (unaided)! 9. The missile of the gods shall pass thee by! I pass thee across the mist (of death); from death I have rescued thee. Removing far the flesh-devouring Agni, a barrier do I set around thee, that thou mayest live. 10. From thy misty road that cannot be withstood, O death, from this path (of thine) we guard this (man), and make our charm a protection for him. 11. In-breathing and out-breathing. do I prepare for thee, death in old age, long life, and prosperity.

The disease that racks and wastes thy limbs, and the sickness in thy heart, has flown as an eagle to a far distance, overcome by my charm. 10. The two sages Alert and Watchful, the sleepless and the vigilant, these two guardians of thy life's breath, are awake both day and night. 11. Agni here is to be revered; the sun shall rise here for thee: rise thou from deep death, yea from black darkness! 12. Reverence be to Yama, reverence to death; reverence to the Fathers and to those that lead (to them) [death's messengers?] That Agni who knows the way to save do I engage for this man, that he be exempt from harm! 13. His breath shall come, his soul shall come, his sight shall come, and, too, his strength! His body shall collect itself: then shall he stand firm upon his feet! 14. Unite him, Agni, with breath and sight, provide him with a body and with strength! Thou hast a knowledge of immortality: let him not now depart, let him not now become a dweller in a house of clay! 15. Thy in-breathing shall not cease, thy outbreathing shall not vanish; Sûrya (the sun), the supreme lord, shall raise thee from death with his rays! 16. This tongue (of mine), bound (in the mouth, yet) mobile, speaks within: with it I have charmed away disease, and the hundred torments of the takman (fever). 17. This world is most dear to the gods, unconquered. For whatever death thou wast destined when thou wast born, O man, that (death) and we call after thee: do not die before old age!

1. Heaven and earth, the broad atmosphere, the goddess of the field, and the wonderful, far- striding (Vishnu); moreover, the broad atmosphere guarded by Vâta (the wind): may these here be inflamed, when I am inflamed! 2. Hear this, O ye revered gods! Let Bharadvâga recite for me songs of praise! 'May he who injures this our plan be bound in the fetter (of disease) and joined to misfortune! 3. Hear, O soma-drinking Indra, what with burning heart I shout to thee! I cleave, as one cleaves a tree with an axe, him that injures this our plan. 4. With (the aid of) thrice eighty siman-singers, with (the aid of) the Âdityas, Vasus, and Angiras--may our father's sacrifices and gifts to the priests, aid us-do I seize this one with fateful fervour. 5. May heaven and earth look after me, may all the gods support me! O ye Angiras, O ye fathers devoted to Soma, may he who does harm enter into misfortune! 6. He who perchance despises us, O ye Maruts, he who abuses the holy practice which is beiog performed by us, may his evil deeds be firebrands to him, may the heavens surround with fire the hater of holy practices! 7. Thy seven in-breathings and thy eight marrows, these do I cut for thee by means of my charm. Thou shalt go to the seat of Yama, fitly prepared, with Agni as thy guide! 8. 1 set thy footstep upon the kindled fire. May Agni surround thy body, may thy voice enter into breath!

1. As the creeper embraces the tree on all sides, thus do thou embrace me, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be averse to me! 2. As the eagle when he flies forth presses his wings against the earth, thus do I fasten down thy mind, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be averse to me. 3. As the sun day by day goes about this heaven and earth, thus do I go about thy mind, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be: averse to me.

1. May (love), the disquieter, disquiet thee; do not hold out upon thy bed! With the terrible arrow of Kâma (love) do I pierce thee in the heart. 2. The arrow, winged with longing, barbed with love, whose shaft is undeviating desire, with that, well-aimed, Kâma shall pierce thee in the heart! 3. With that well-aimed arrow of Kâma which parches the spleen, whose plume flies forward, which burns up, do I pierce thee in the heart. 4. Consumed by burning ardour, with parched mouth, do thou (woman) come to me, pliant, (thy) pride laid aside, mine alone, speaking sweetly and to me devoted! 5. I drive thee with a goad from thy mother and thy father, so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt come up to my wish. 6. All her thoughts do ye, O Mitra and Varuna, drive out of her! Then, having deprived her of her will,.put her into my power alone!

1. Clinging to the ground thou didst grow, (O plant), that producest bliss for me; a hundred branches extend from thee, three and thirty grow down from thee: with this plant of a thousand leaves thy heart do I parch. 2. Thy heart shall parch (with love) for me, and thy mouth shall parch (with love for me)! Languish, moreover, with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days! 3. Thou that causest affection, kindlest (love), brown, lovely (plant), draw (us) together; draw together yonder woman and myself, our hearts make the same! 4. As the mouth of him that hath not drunk dries tip, thus languish thou with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days! 5. As the Ichneumon tears the serpent, and joins him together again, thus, O potent (plant), join together what hath been torn by love!

1. May Indra churn (the enemy), he, the churner, Sakra (mighty), the hero, that pierces the forts, so that we shall slay the armies of the enemies a thousandfold! 2. May the rotten rope, wafting itself against yonder army, turn it into a stench. When the enemies see from afar our smoke and fire, fear shall they lay into their hearts! 3. Tear asunder those (enemies), O asvattha (ficus religiosa), devour (khâda) them, O! khadira (acacia catechu) in lively style! Like the tâgadbhanga (ricinus communis) they shall be broken (bhagyantâm), may the vadhaka (a certain kind of tree) slay them with his weapons (vadhaih)! 4. May the knotty âhva-plant put knots upon yonder (enemies), may the vadhaka slay them with his weapons! Bound up in (our) great trap-net, they shall quickly be broken as an arrow-reed! 5. The atmosphere was the net, the great regions (of space) the (supporting) poles of the net: with these Sakra (mighty Indra) did surround and scatter the army of the Dasyus. 6. Great, forsooth, is the net of great Sakra, who is rich in steeds: with it infold thou all the enemies, so that not one of them shall be released! 7. Great is the net of thee, great Indra, hero, that art equal to a thousand, and hast hundredfold might. With that (net) Sakra slew a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million foes, having surrounded them with (his) army. 8. This great world was the net of great Sakra: with this net of Indra I infold all those (enemies) yonder in darkness, 9. With great dejection, failure, and irrefragable misfortune; with fatigue, lassitude, and confusion, do I surround all those (enemies) yonder. 10. To death do I hand them over, with the fetters of death they have been bound. To the evil messengers of death do I lead them captive. 11. Guide ye those (foes), ye messengers of death; ye messengers of Yama, infold them! Let more than thousands be slain; may the club of Bhava crush them! 12.

The enemy with coat-of-mail, he that has no coat-of-mail, and he that stands in the battle- throng, throttled by the strings of their bows, by the fastenings of their coats-of-mail, by the battle-throng, they shall lie! 23. Those w ith armour and those without armour, the enemies that are shielded by armour, all those, O Arbudi, after they have been slain, dogs shall devour upon the ground! 24. Those that ride on chariots, and those that have no chariots, those that are mounted, and those that are not mounted, all those, after they have been slain, vultures and strong-winged hawks shall devour! 25. Counting its dead by thousands, the hostile army, pierced and shattered in the clash of arms, shall lie! 26. Pierced in a vital spot, shrieking in concert with the birds of prey, wretched, crushed, prostrate, (the birds of prey) shall devour the enemy who attempts to hinder this oblation of ours directed against (him)! 27. With (the oblation) to which the gods flock, which is free from failure,-with it Indra, the slayer of Vritra, shall slay, and with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)!

1. Raise thyself up, grow thick by thy own might, O grain! Burst every vessel! The lightning in the heavens shall not destroy thee! 2. When we invoke thee, god grain, and thou dost listen, then do thou raise thyself up like the sky, be inexhaustible as the sea! 3. Inexhaustible shall be those that attend to thee, inexhaustible thy heaps! Theywhogivethee as a present shall be inexhaustible, they who eat thee shall be inexhaustible!

1. Swift as the wind be thou, O steed, when joined (to the chariot); at Indra's urging go, fleet as the mind! The Maruts, the all-possessing, shall harness thee,Tvashtar shall put fleetness into thy 2. With the fleetness, O runner, that has been deposited in thee in a secret place, (with the fleetness) that has been made over to the eagle, the wind, and moves in them, with that, O steed, strong with strength, do thou win the. race, reaching the goal in the contest! 3. Thy body, O steed, leading (our) body, shall run, a pleasure to ourselves, delight to thyself! A god, not stumbling, for the support of the great, he shall, as if upon the heaven, found his own light!