Sukta 32
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (seer not specified in the provided excerpt; commonly attributed at hymn-level in Anukramaṇī—requires collation).
Devata: Brahman (Mantra) / Oṣadhī-Vīrudh (Plants as living healing agents)
Chandas: Mixed/irregular; predominantly triṣṭubh-like cadence in sense-units (requires metrical verification against pada-count in a critical edition).
Mantras
Mantra 1
महद्ब्रह्म। इदं जनासो विदथ महद् ब्रह्म वदिष्यति । न तत् पृथिव्यां नो दिवि येन प्राणन्ति वीरुधः
A mighty spell is this: know ye it, O men; a mighty spell he will pronounce. There is not on earth, nor yet in heaven, aught like that whereby the plants draw breath and live.
Mantra 2
अन्तरिक्ष आसां स्थाम श्रान्तसदामिव । आस्थानमस्य भूतस्य विदुष्टद् वेधसो न वा
Mid-air is their station, as it were the seat of the weary; the standing-ground of this Being—this the wise ordainers know, and not otherwise, forsooth.
Mantra 3
यद् रोदसी रेजमाने भूमिश्च निरतक्षतम्। आर्द्रं तदद्य सर्वदा समुद्रस्येव स्रोत्याः
What time the two Worlds, trembling, and the Earth as well, are cleft asunder— that moisture, even to-day and evermore, (let it pass) like the Ocean’s currents in their channels.
Mantra 4
विश्वमन्यामभीवार तदन्यस्यामधिश्रितम्। दिवे च विश्ववेदसे पृथिव्यै चाकरं नमः
The whole have I encompassed, and set that same upon the other as its resting-place. To Heaven, and to the All-knowing, and to Earth have I performed obeisance.
Frequently Asked Questions
It teaches that mantra (brahman) is the decisive power that animates medicinal plants and makes them effective for healing, while also stabilizing disturbed earth and waters.
Both. It is primarily a healing (bhaiṣajya) hymn, but it also functions as a calming/protective (śānti, apotropaic) charm to settle trembling ground and regulate harmful moisture or seepage.
The sukta speaks of plants in general (vīrudh/oṣadhi) rather than naming a single herb. In practice, one uses suitable local medicinal plants and treats the recitation itself as what ‘activates’ their life-giving efficacy.