An ‘Ordeal-Related Phenomenon’ in the Śaunakīya recension of the Atharvavedasaṃhitā (AVŚ 2.12)? A closer look informed by related Vedic and Dharmaśāstra sources

Abstract

This article re-examines the long-standing debate over whether a hymn from the Śaunakīya recension of the Atharvavedasaṃhitā, i.e., AVŚ 2.12, contains a reference to a fire ordeal. While some early scholars interpreted the hymn through the lens of later Dharmaśāstra literature, others have argued that such readings are anachronistic. Building on the distinction between the classical Hindu ordeal (divya) and earlier “ordeal-related phenomena,” this study reassesses AVŚ 2.12 through close philological analysis and Vedic parallels and comparanda. By integrating the Paippalāda parallel, Atharvavedic internal evidence, the Kauśikasūtra ritual framing, and other later Vedic and Dharmaśāstra sources, the article argues that neither a fire ordeal nor an “ordeal-related phenomenon” can be identified in the hymn. Instead, AVŚ 2.12 is best understood within the Atharvavedic domain of counter-sorcery, where fire functions as a revelatory and destructive agent against magical opponents.