Krtya is associated with black magic and witchcraft in
Hinduism. Krtya is also personified as a female evil supernatural being. There
are two faces of Krtya in Hindu religious literature. In Vedic literature she
has benign features. In post vedic literature she is fierce and more evil in
character.
Krtya is usually invoked to harm an enemy or to protect
oneself from others.
Atharva Veda mentions that she is invoked to kill enemies
their cattle, horses etc.
Krtya is usually asked by the one invoked to not to harm
innocent living beings.
Atharva Veda gives details regarding the places and how
Krtya is invoked.
Krtya can be invoked by anyone. But sometimes she might turn
against the one who invoked her. This is due to wrong performance of the
rituals or Krtya comes under the control of enemies.
She was widely invoked during wars by kings to wreak havoc
in enemy camps. Sometimes she is used to create confusion among enemy ranks.
It must be noted the entire practice of witchcraft and black
magic is also sometimes referred as Krtya.