Atharva Veda 6.121.4: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 121, Mantra 4
Sukta 121
वि जि॑हीष्व लो॒कं कृ॑णु ब॒न्धान्मु॑ञ्चासि॒ बद्ध॑कम्। योन्या॑ इव॒ प्रच्यु॑तो॒ गर्भः॑ प॒थः सर्वां॒ अनु॑ क्षिय
ví jihīṣva lókaṃ kṛṇu bandhā́n muñcāsi baddhákam | yónyā́ iva prácyuto gárbhaḥ patháḥ sárvān ánu kṣiya
Cast off, and make thy world: from bonds thou loosest him that is bound. As from the womb the embryo, slipped forth, so do thou fare along all paths in order.
Wirf es ab und schaffe dir deine Welt; aus Fesseln löst du den Gebundenen. Wie aus dem Schoß der Embryo, herausgeglitten, so schreite alle Wege der Reihe nach entlang.
The meaning
What it says
An injunction to cast off and make one’s ‘world’; to loosen the bound person from bonds; like an embryo slipping from the womb, may one proceed along all paths in order.
The inner meaning
Release from constriction—psychic knots, trauma-bonds, paralysis. The birth simile encodes a reset: leaving a cramped state into a new life-space, then learning to move stepwise (‘along all paths in order’).
The truth in it
Freedom is not mere escape: it is a re-worlding. True release includes reorientation—finding rightful pathways after confinement.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Apotropaic unbinding
Its aim
Release from binding affliction (fetters/obstruction), restoring free movement and rightful ‘place’ in life
Word by Word
Pada patha
वि । जि॑हीष्व । लो॒कम् । कृ॑णु । ब॒न्धान् । मु॑ञ्चासि । बद्ध॑कम् । योन्या॑ः । इव । प्रच्यु॑तः । गर्भः॑ । प॒थः । सर्वान् । अनु॑ । क्षिय
- वि
- apart, asunder (intensifier/separator)apart, asunder; with force of separation (apotropaic dispersal)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root वि (upasarga) / प्रातिपदिक-रूप
- जिहीष्व
- leave! abandon!cast off, shake away (2nd sg. impv.; expel the evil/obstruction)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √हा (जहाति) — desiderative stem जिहीष-
- लोकम्
- the world; this realmworld, sphere, allotted place; here: the proper ‘realm’ to be regainedNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
- कृणु
- make! do!make, effect (2nd sg. impv.; establish the right condition)Verbलोट्, मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √कृ (करोति)
- बन्धान्
- bonds, fettersbonds, fetters; magical bindings, constraints (disease/curse as ‘binding’)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
- मुञ्च
- release! set free!Verbलोट्, मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √मुच् (मुञ्चति)
- असि
- you areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRoot √अस् (अस्ति)
- बद्धकम्
- the bound one; the captivethe bound one; the person/foetus/subject held fast by bondsNoun/Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot बद्धक (प्रातिपदिक; बद्ध < √बन्ध्, क-प्रत्यय)
- योन्याः
- from the wombfrom the womb; from the generative seat (source of emergence)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole ApādānaRoot योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
- इव
- like, asas, like (simile establishing ritual efficacy by analogy)Indeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRoot इव
- प्रच्युतः
- fallen out, slipped forthslipped forth, dislodged; expelled/issued out (successful ‘release’)Adjective/Participleपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणरूपेण)Root प्र-√च्युत्/√च्यु (च्यवते/च्युत) — past passive participle च्युत
- गर्भः
- embryo, fetusembryo/foetus; also ‘that which is enclosed’ (the bound entity)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
- पथः
- path, waypaths, ways; channels of movement (bodily/ritual routes)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (वैदिके ‘पथः’ = ‘पथम्’)Role KarmaRoot पथ्/पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
- सर्वाम्
- all, entireAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (विशेषण)Root सर्व (सर्वा- प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- along, followingalong, following; in due sequence (unimpeded course)Indeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्यय (अनुगमनार्थ)Root अनु (upasarga/avyaya)
- क्षिय
- go/settle along; proceed (on the way)go, move, proceed; also ‘dwell/settle’—here: proceed along (restored function)Verbवैदिक-आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-समकक्ष (इञ्जङ्क्टिव्-प्रयोग), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √क्षि (क्षयति/क्षीयते) — Vedic injunctive/imperative-like form
Sandhi Notes
- (1) ब॒न्धान्मु॑ञ्चासि → बन्धान् + मुञ्च + असि (final -न् + initial म-; and मुञ्च + असि contracted in saṃhitā as मुञ्चासि)
- (2) योन्या॑ इव → योन्याः + इव (visarga-less Vedic sandhi: -आः + इ- → -या इ-)
- (3) प्रच्यु॑तो॒ गर्भः॑ is straightforward (no internal sandhi beyond padapāṭha)
- (4) प॒थः सर्वां॒ → पथः + सर्वाम् (Vedic accusative ‘पथः’ used for ‘पथम्’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Releasing/healing power
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like cadence (exact metrical classification uncertain from single verse without pada-length verification)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Karuna
Sāyaṇa takes ‘bandha’ as both physical fetters and occult constriction (disease/abhicāra). The imperative verbs are addressed to the releasing power invoked in the hymn (often a healing agency or the rite itself): ‘make the loka’ = restore the patient’s proper station and vitality. The simile of the foetus emerging from the womb authorizes the karman by homology: as birth is a natural unbinding, so the mantra effects unbinding from affliction; ‘paths’ are read as bodily channels and life-courses reopened.
Atharvanic seer
Unbinding charms (vimocana) for affliction, captivity, and psychosomatic obstruction; ritual ‘release’ formulas
A paradigmatic Atharvan release-verse: therapeutic untying paired with a rebirth metaphor—common in healing and expiation contexts.
Vimocana-śakti (releasing power)
Opens blocked passages and restores rightful movement; midwifes transitions from confinement to ordered life.
Relieves constriction syndromes (physical and mental); supports recovery after immobilization or trauma.
Prevents re-binding by reestablishing ‘world’ (supportive environment) and orderly pathways.
4 pādas with compact imperatives; simile occupies latter half
Charm-style imperatives; semantic rhythm more salient than strict count.
Quick untying motion followed by smoother flowing cadence in the birth simile.
Somatic cue of loosening; encourages breath and movement to resume naturally.
Seat the patient facing east; the Atharvan priest prepares a cord/ligature representing the ‘bandha’.
While reciting the mantra, the priest loosens and removes the cord from the patient’s limb or from a substitute effigy.
The removed binding is cast away to a liminal place (crossroad/unclean spot) to externalize the affliction.
Conclude by leading the patient a few steps forward (symbolizing ‘all paths’) and sprinkling water for restoration.
Kauśika Sūtra: bandha-mocana / vimocana-type karman (general unbinding rite; exact sūtra number requires recension-specific mapping)
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as ‘unbinder’: performs the physical loosening synchronized to the imperatives (jihīṣva, muñcāsi).
Recite while untying a knot, loosening a bandage/cord symbolically, or opening doors/windows to ‘make space’; used for someone feeling blocked or constrained.
At dawn (new beginning) or during recovery milestones (first steps, first outing).
Family healer/elder recites; patient participates by exhaling and loosening hands/shoulders.
A short unbinding practice: open a window, untie a simple knot, and recite once to mark a transition out of a stuck state.
No material substance is required; vāc itself acts as pharmakon—speech as the untying force and the midwife of a new life-space.
Binding affliction; stiffness, paralysis-like obstruction (ritually framed); psychological ‘stuckness’
Reproductive imagery (womb/embryo) as analogy; otherwise general
Vocalized unbinding + imagistic ‘birth’ to trigger a transition from constriction to movement; reorientation to orderly pathways.
Unblocking vāta pathways (srotas) and restoring normal gati (movement); supportive for post-illness weakness as gradual reintegration.
Rehabilitation after immobilization; trauma release and reintegration; anxiety-related constriction easing through imagery and breath.
A bound/afflicted person (literal or symbolic)
Loosen bonds and restore free, orderly movement through life.
Vimocana with rebirth simile: untying + re-worlding; performative imperative speech acts.
Rebinding, obstruction, misdirection after release
Restored functioning and social mobility
- बन्ध (bandha)
- constraint, blockage, obsession, affliction
- मुञ्चासि (muñcāsi)
- therapeutic untying; liberation from pathology
- लोकं कृणु (lokaṃ kṛṇu)
- reconstructing life-context; restoring agency
- योनिः (yoni)
- enclosure; origin-state; protective yet limiting container
- गर्भ (garbha)
- new self emerging; vulnerable renewal
- पथः सर्वान् अनु क्षिय (pathaḥ sarvān anu kṣiya)
- gradual reintegration; orderly functioning
Letting-go and reorientation: ‘I release what binds; I step into my world.’
Svadhisthana (birth/flow) and Anahata (relief/opening)
Lengthened exhale (1:2) with soft pause; gentle pelvic-floor relaxation on exhale
A knot dissolving into light; then a newborn emerging into warm air; paths unfolding in orderly lines ahead.
Unclenching awareness
After recitation, take one small concrete step (a walk, a call, a task) to embody ‘anu kṣiya’—orderly reintegration.
Keep jihīṣva with clear h and long ī.; Do not drop anusvāra in bandhān.; Maintain retroflex ṇ in yonyāḥ if present in your tradition’s phonetics; keep vowels long where marked.
Clear imperatives with slight rise on muñcāsi; soften into the simile portion (yonyā iva…).
Stress ‘bandhān muñcāsi’ as the operative command; then flow evenly through the birth simile.
Soothing, spacious, breath-led.
Most effective when paired with an actual untying/opening gesture to externalize the release.
3 times
Feeling stuck, constrained, bound by fear/obligation; recovery after immobilization; release from ‘binding’ relationships or habits.
When making a transition—leaving a confined place/state; at the start of a rehabilitation session; after a difficult emotional release.
Sense of freedom, renewed agency, gradual return to orderly functioning.
If trauma-related imagery of birth is triggering, replace visualization with ‘door opening’ and ‘knot loosening.’
No plant is named in this verse; efficacy is constructed by the binding/unbinding metaphor and the birth simile. In Atharvanic therapeutics, such mantras often accompany a tangible ‘bandha’ (cord/amulet), so the material correlate is the ligature itself rather than an herb.
The patient is acted upon; agency is vested in the Atharvan priest and the authoritative speech-act. The restoration of ‘loka’ implies reintegration into a normative social-cosmic order mediated by ritual specialists.
The medical-magical idiom of ‘bandha’ as affliction is characteristically Atharvanic in prominence, though the verbal system and simile style are continuous with older Vedic usage. The pragmatic imperatives (kṛṇu, jihīṣva) foreground performativity typical of AV charms.
Gopatha frequently rationalizes Atharvanic rites through correspondences (bandha = pāpa/roga; mocana = restoration of prāṇa and social standing). This verse’s efficacy would be framed as ṛta-aligned release: removing constriction restores the subject’s proper participation in sacrifice and life.
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