Atharva Veda 13.2.29: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 29
Sukta 2
बण्म॒हां अ॑सि सूर्य॒ बडा॑दित्य म॒हां अ॑सि । म॒हांस्ते॑ मह॒तो म॑हि॒मा त्वमा॑दित्य म॒हां अ॑सि
baṭ mahā́m̐ asi sū́rya baṭ ādítya mahā́m̐ asi | mahā́m̐s te maható mahimā́ tvám āditya mahā́m̐ asi ||
Verily thou art great, O Sūrya; verily, O Āditya, thou art great. Great is thy greatness of the Great: thou, O Āditya, art great.
Wahrlich, du bist groß, o Sūrya; wahrlich, o Āditya, du bist groß. Groß ist deine Größe des Großen: du, o Āditya, bist groß.
The meaning
What it says
A repetitive doxology: Sūrya/Āditya is declared “great”; his greatness is itself vast and self-evident.
The inner meaning
The mind steadies by dwelling on a single, unbroken attribute (mahattva). Repetition functions as cognitive “anchoring,” shrinking anxiety and restoring confidence and self-regard through alignment with an unshakable cosmic power.
The truth in it
That which illumines and sustains life (order, clarity, vitality) is experienced as ‘great’ because it exceeds individual control; reverent recognition of this greatness reorients human life toward stability and purpose.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Prosperity) / Śānti (Pacification)
Its aim
To magnify and stabilize the Sun’s beneficent majesty, thereby increasing vitality, status, and protection for the patron.
Word by Word
Pada patha
बट् । महान् । असि । सूर्य । बट् । आदित्य । महान् । असि । महान् । ते । महतः । महिमा । त्वम् । आदित्य । महान् । असि ।
- बृहान्
- great, mightyपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विशेष्य-‘त्वम्’ का विधेय-विशेषण)Root बृह् (प्रातिपदिक: बृहन्त्/बृहन्)
- असि
- you arethou art (performative identification; establishes presence)लट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole — (सम्बन्ध/अस्तित्व-बोधक)Root अस् (धातु)
- सूर्य
- O Sunपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहद्
- greatनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (अव्ययवत्-प्रयोग/विशेषणरूप)Role कर्तृ (विधेय-विशेषण; ‘असि’ के साथ)Root बृहद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आदित्य
- O Ādityaपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- महान्
- greatपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विधेय-विशेषण)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- असि
- you arethou art (repeated performative)लट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (धातु)
- महान्
- greatपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विधेय-विशेषण)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you, yourthy (possessed power; appropriable for the rite)षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of you/your’)Root त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- महतः
- of the greatपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (genitive: ‘of the great’)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- महिमा
- majesty, greatnessgreatness, majesty (effective glory; protective potency)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (वाक्य-विषय/उद्देश्य: ‘महिमा’)Root महिमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वम्
- youthou (direct address; immediacy of presence)प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आदित्य
- O Ādityaपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- महान्
- greatपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (विधेय-विशेषण)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- असि
- you arethou art (closing performative fixation)लट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठ-रूप में ‘बण्महां’ को पद-विभाग में ‘बृहान्’ (बृहन्त्/बृहन् का प्रथमा-एकवचन) माना गया है
- यह वैदिक/संहितापाठ-विशेष ध्वन्यात्मक रूप (ण्-प्रयोग/अनुनासिकता) से आया रूप है। ‘महांस्ते’ = ‘महान् + ते’ (अन्त्य -न् + त- आरम्भ पर संहितायां ‘न्’ स्थिर रहकर ‘महांस्ते’ जैसा रूप)। ‘त्वमा॑दित्य’ = ‘त्वम् + आदित्य’ (म् + आ → म् आ; संहितापाठ में संयोग/दीर्घ-प्रवृत्ति के साथ)। अन्य पदों में स्पष्ट संधि-परिवर्तन नहीं।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Saurya seer(s) of AV 13.2 (var.).
- Devata
- Sūrya/Āditya.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like (short, repetitive praise-form; edition-dependent).
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa treats ‘baṭ’ as emphatic nipāta heightening stuti that itself functions as karman: praise is a binding act. The piling of ‘mahān/mahima’ is read as mantraic reinforcement (abhyāsa) to magnify the deity’s protective reach and the sacrificer’s share in it.
AVŚ 13.2 (solar cycle, contiguous verses); AVŚ 1.22 (selected sūrya-protection themes, recension-dependent parallels)
Saurya seer(s) (solar-anukramaṇī attribution for AVŚ 13.2)
Śānti-paustika solar praise used for stabilization of vitality, status, and protective order in the household sphere.
The ‘Saurya’ voice is characteristically Atharvanic: praise is not merely devotional but operative—magnifying the deity’s ‘mahimā’ to magnify the patron’s steadiness and auspicious presence.
Sūrya / Āditya
Illuminator and regulator of time; witness of truth; stabilizer of cosmic and social order through daily rising and setting.
Supports prāṇa, tejas, and dīpti (vital radiance); traditionally linked to strengthening eyesight, digestion, and morale through ‘light-as-medicine’.
Dispels obscurity (tamas), fear, and hostile unseen agencies by the sheer assertion of solar supremacy.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables; heavy use of repetition and emphatic particles
Refrain-style anuṣṭubh with formulaic repetition (more incantatory than narrative).
Hammering, stabilizing cadence; mantra works by insistence.
Builds a ‘protective certainty’—the listener’s attention is gathered into one unwavering affirmation.
Recite after the primary sunrise invocation as a ‘seal’ mantra.
Repeat thrice (common Atharvanic practice for stuti-based fixation) while maintaining steady gaze toward the light (without strain).
Optionally touch the chest on ‘mahima’ to internalize the ‘greatness’ as life-force (ojas).
Kauśika Sūtra: stuti-mantra usage in Saurya rites (AV 13.2); recited as reinforcement (abhyāsa) during sunrise observance (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan priest: provides the stuti as operative speech-act; directs repetition count and bodily ‘fixing’ gesture.
Recited at sunrise facing east, or during household consecrations to ‘set’ dignity and steadiness in the home.
Sunrise; also before public appearance, oath, or important domestic decision.
Householder may recite; priest optional for larger śānti rites.
Sunrise japa with water offering (arghya) as an added, non-textual devotional adjunct.
No physical substances are named; the operative ‘substance’ is vāc itself—repetition as a binding agent that fixes solar grandeur into the patron’s sphere.
Indirect: pacification and strengthening by invoking solar ‘mahattva’ as a tonic for weakness, low vitality, and mental instability.
Sūrya/tejas increase: supportive for agni (digestive fire) and sattva when used moderately; avoid over-heating intent in pitta-aggravation contexts.
Use as a focus-mantra for mood stabilization, circadian alignment intention, and confidence-building (not a substitute for medical care).
Patron/household
To magnify and stabilize benefic solar majesty, thereby increasing vitality, status, and household protection.
Stuti-as-augmentation: praising the deity’s greatness to ‘transfer’ greatness (mahat) into the ritual subject.
Inauspiciousness, loss of standing, psychological ‘diminishment,’ and general vulnerability.
Vitality, reputation, steadiness of fortune.
- बट् (baṭ)
- ritual certainty; sealing a statement so it ‘holds’ in the unseen (adr̥ṣṭa) domain
- महान् (mahān)
- expansive life-force, authority, unassailable stability
- महिमा (mahimā)
- radiant sovereignty; the Sun as measure of value and rank
- आदित्य (āditya)
- cosmic law (ṛta) made visible; moral and physiological regulation
- सूर्य (sūrya)
- clarity, perception, metabolism, wakefulness
Contemplation of ‘mahattva’—expansiveness and stability of awareness like the sun’s steady presence.
maṇipūra (tejas, confidence)
Even inhalation/exhalation with silent emphasis on mahān at the end of each breath.
Golden solar sphere in the navel/heart region expanding gently without heat-aggression.
Ekāgratā (one-pointed steadiness) moving into calm clarity.
Chant slowly at dawn; let the repetition ‘seal’ a felt sense of dignity and steadiness before engaging the world.
Simple udātta-pradhāna recitation; keep the emphatic particle baṭ distinct and crisp.
Slight lift on sūrya/āditya vocatives; resolve each clause with a firm cadence on mahān asi.
Steady, resonant, non-forced (avoid ‘heated’ shouting).
Refrain-mantras often work by ‘fixing’ (bandhana) through repetition; keep count and intention consistent.
12 times
Before important meetings, examinations, travel at dawn, or when the household feels unstable or ‘diminished.’
Sunrise; also during a brief śānti pause when anxiety or loss of confidence arises.
Stabilized mood, strengthened resolve, sense of protection and dignified presence.
If prone to heat/agitation, chant gently and pair with cooling breath; do not use as a replacement for medical/psychiatric care.
None explicit; the verse is a verbal ‘tonic’ (paustika stuti). Repetition of ‘great’ functions like dosage: abhyāsa increases efficacy.
It exemplifies how prestige and protection are mediated through sanctioned speech. The priest’s control of correct repetition and address converts praise into a socially valuable technology.
The heavy anaphora and emphatic particle ‘baṭ’ foreground performativity over narrative—an Atharvanic tendency toward mantra as direct instrument.
Efficacy is grounded in stuti as bandhana: naming and magnifying the deity ‘makes it so’ within ritual space, aligning the patron with cosmic greatness.
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