Atharva Veda 11.4.19: Kanda 11, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 4, Mantra 19
Sukta 4
यथा॑ प्राण बलि॒हृत॒स्तुभ्यं॒ सर्वाः॑ प्र॒जा इ॒माः । ए॒वा तस्मै॑ ब॒लिं ह॑रा॒न् यस्त्वा॑ शृ॒णव॑त् सुश्रवः
yáthā prāṇa balihṛ́tas túbhyaṃ sárvāḥ prajā́ imā́ḥ | evá tásmai balíṃ harān yás tvā śṛṇávát suśrávaḥ ||
As, O Prāṇa, all these creatures bear thee tribute, so bear ye tribute unto him who heareth thee, O thou of good renown.
प्राण, जैसे सारी जीव तुझे सम्मान देते हैं। वैसे ही उसको भी सम्मान दो जो तुझे सुनता है, तू जो बड़ा नाम वाला है।
The meaning
What it says
As all creatures bring tribute to you, O Prāṇa, so bring they tribute to him who hears you, O well-renowned one.
The inner meaning
‘Hearing’ (śravaṇa) of prāṇa—attentive receptivity to breath and its teaching—aligns one with life’s kingship; social recognition follows inner attunement.
The truth in it
Those who truly listen to the principle that sustains life become conduits of order; communities naturally support what supports life.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika / Social ascendancy (bali-compulsion by sacred audition)
Its aim
To make the patron a recipient of obedience and offerings, by aligning him with Prāṇa’s kingship through hearing/recitation.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यथा॑ । प्रा॒ण॒ । ब॒लि॒-हृतः । तुभ्यम् । सर्वाः॑ । प्र॒जाः । इ॒माः । ए॒व । तस्मै॑ । ब॒लिम् । ह॒र॒ । यः । त्वा॒ । शृ॒णव॑त् । सु॒-श्र॒वः ।
- यथा
- just asas, just as (model for the desired transfer of relation)Indeclinableसम्बन्ध/उपमानार्थक अव्यय (यथा = ‘as, just as’)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot यथा (avyaya)
- प्राण
- (O) Prāṇa, life-breathPrāṇa, vital breath as overlordNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot प्राण (प्र-√अन् prāṇ ‘to breathe’ > prāṇa-)
- बलिहृतः
- the bearer/receiver of the offeringtribute-bearing (subjects who carry bali; those in submission)Noun (agent)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot बलि-हृत् (बलि + √हृ ‘to take/bring’)
- तुभ्यम्
- to youto thee (Prāṇa as recipient of universal dues)Pronounचतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot युष्मद्
- सर्वाः
- allAdjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot सर्व
- प्रजाः
- creatures, subjects, offspringcreatures, subjects, progeny (social and biological dependents)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot प्रजा
- इमाः
- thesePronoun (demonstrative)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचनRole KartāRoot इदम्
- एव
- so, just soeven so, just so (ritual transfer formula)Indeclinableनिश्चय/उपमान-समुच्चयार्थक अव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot एव (avyaya)
- तस्मै
- to himPronounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot तद्
- बलिम्
- offering, tributetribute/oblation (sign of subordination)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot बलि
- हरान्
- let (them) bring/carryVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम?—न; उत्तम?—न; **प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचन** (Vedic injunctive/imperative-type form used as ‘let (them) bring’)Role क्रियाRoot √हृ (हर्) ‘to carry/bring’
- यः
- whoPronoun (relative)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot यद्
- त्वा
- youthee (Prāṇa; object of hearing/praise)Pronounद्वितीया एकवचन (enclitic)Role KarmaRoot युष्मद्
- शृणवत्
- may (he) hearhears (attentively; receives the mantra as efficacious sound)Verbविधिलिङ्/आशीर्लिङ्-प्राय (Vedic optative), प्रथमा एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √श्रु ‘to hear’
- सुश्रवः
- of good fame / good hearing (renowned)O fair-famed (epithet of Prāṇa; also ‘of good hearing’—one who hears well)Adjective/Noun (epithet)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot सु-श्रवस् (सु + श्रवस् ‘fame/hearing’)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) बलिं हरा॒न् → बलिम् हरान् (म् + ह्; anusvāra/मकार-परिवर्तन)
- (2) यस्त्वा → यः त्वा (विसर्ग-लोप/संयोग)
- (3) तस्मै बलिं → तस्मै बलिम् (पद-सीमा पर अनुस्वार/मकार) ।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic Prāṇa-hymn seer(s) (traditional attribution)
- Devata
- Prāṇa
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa glosses balihṛtaḥ as those who ‘carry the king’s due.’ The verse is a transference: Prāṇa’s natural sovereignty over prajā is redirected to the listener/recipient of the Prāṇa-praise. suśravas is taken as ‘well-renowned’ (or ‘hearing well’), emphasizing the auditory channel as the vehicle of power.
Prāṇa-hymn seer(s) (traditional Atharvanic attribution)
Paustika sovereignty-through-prāṇa doctrine; social ascendancy via sacred audition (śravaṇa) and recitation.
Highlights Atharvanic ‘audition-magic’: not only speaking but hearing the sacred (śravaṇa) is itself efficacious, producing renown and obedience.
Prāṇa
Universal recipient of service: all beings depend on prāṇa; by linking the listener to prāṇa, the mantra transfers prāṇa’s kingship to the patron.
Supports vitality and recovery by strengthening prāṇic regulation through attentive listening/breath awareness.
Protects social standing and life-energy; wards off dispersion of attention that weakens prāṇa.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; clear analogy structure
Didactic-analogical anuṣṭubh; ‘yathā… evā…’ compulsion formula
Measured, persuasive; the analogy feels like a legal/ritual binding
Instills confidence through inevitability: ‘as surely as… so surely…’
Have the patron sit among his household/clients (prājā-like circle).
Recite AVŚ 11.4.19 aloud so that ‘hearing’ (śravaṇa) is enacted; optionally have the patron repeat the final pāda.
Perform a token bali: distribute small portions of food from the patron outward, then receive a return-gift from one representative—ritually enacting ‘tribute-bearing.’
Seal with a breath-touch: priest touches the patron’s nostrils lightly (without obstruction), marking Prāṇa’s enthronement.
Kauśika Sūtra: Prāṇa-hymn used in prosperity and authority rites; recited for gaining followers/obedience (general application; exact numbering depends on recension of Kauśika).
Atharvan as social-ritual engineer: converts auditory reception of mantra into a binding relation of patronage and submission.
Recite before teaching, speaking, negotiation, or leadership tasks; also as a household prosperity charm for harmonious cooperation.
Morning before social duties; or before study/recitation sessions emphasizing śravaṇa.
Householder/student can practice; teacher (ācārya) may instruct on listening discipline.
Pair with 3 minutes of ‘listening to the breath’ (no forced control), then chant softly.
No external substances; the operative medium is sound/hearing. ‘Suśravas’ ties prāṇa to auspicious acoustics—fame as a vibration born of right listening.
Breath/vital function
Breath-centered listening (śravaṇa) calms mind, stabilizes prāṇa; supports resilience rather than targeting a named disease.
Prāṇa-vāyu and udāna-vāyu (voice/renown) conceptual link; balanced prāṇa supports ojas.
Mindful breathing with auditory focus (listening to breath) for stress reduction and improved self-regulation.
Beneficiary (listener/reciter) and their social environment
To make others offer respect/tribute to the practitioner who ‘hears’ prāṇa—i.e., who attends to and embodies the life-principle.
Analogy-compulsion (yathā… evā…); transfer of cosmic hierarchy (all serve prāṇa) onto the patron via śravaṇa.
Social disregard, loss of influence, inner distraction
Renown (suśravas), authority, social support
- बलिहृतः (balihṛtaḥ)
- all dependent systems that must ‘serve’ the life-principle
- प्रजाः (prajāḥ)
- all living constituents; also political ‘subjects’ (rajakarman resonance)
- शृणवत् (śṛṇavat)
- attentive disciple; one who receives and embodies prāṇa’s teaching
- सुश्रवः (suśravaḥ)
- life-force as fame-bestower; sound/hearing as pathway to auspicious reputation
- एव (eva)
- ritual equivalence; binding analogy that compels the result
Śravaṇa of prāṇa: listening as yogic method—breath as teacher.
Vishuddha (sound/hearing/voice) and Anahata (breath nexus)
Ajapa-japa listening: hear the natural breath; optionally synchronize with a gentle mental ‘so’/‘ham’.
Imagine each inhale as receiving support from all beings; each exhale as offering calm back—mutual ‘bali’ exchange re-harmonized.
Receptive, lucid, quietly influential.
Cultivate ‘good renown’ by aligning speech with breath: after chanting, speak less but more accurately; let listening precede response.
Smooth anuṣṭubh; emphasize the yathā/evā correspondence with a slight pause after ‘yathā’ clause
Highlight ‘śṛṇavat’ (the hinge) and ‘suśravaḥ’ (the blessing epithet).
Gentle, resonant, ‘listening-forward’ (as if hearing your own sound)
Because the charm is keyed to hearing, recite at a volume where you can clearly hear your own articulation; let śravaṇa be part of the rite.
12 times
Preparing for interviews, teaching, leadership, mediation; building respectful influence through calm presence.
Before social engagement; after a few minutes of breath-listening; also at day’s start for cooperative household tone.
Improved composure, clearer speech, increased receptivity from others, steadier vitality.
Not a substitute for medical care; avoid forcing breath if anxious—keep it natural and prioritize listening over control.
Again, no herb; the operative medium is sound (śruti) and breath. The ‘medicine’ is a social-physiological technology: hearing Prāṇa’s praise aligns bodies and communities.
It naturalizes kingship as cosmic: prajā owe bali to Prāṇa, and by ritual analogy to the patron. This is a liturgical legitimation of patron-client hierarchy.
The explicit imperative ‘harān’ directed toward tribute-bearing is more coercive and administrative in tone than RV’s typical gift-exchange; it reflects Atharvanic pragmatic speech-acts.
Gopatha’s emphasis on speech/breath as world-supports makes ‘hearing’ a sacramental act: reception of the formula is itself a rite that reorders social relations.
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