Atharva Veda 15.2.6: Kanda 15, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 6
Sukta 2
भू॒तं च॑ भवि॒ष्यच्च॑ परिष्क॒न्दौ मनो॑ विप॒थम्
bhūtáṁ ca bhaviṣyác ca pariṣkandáu máno vipátham
The been and the to-be, the two that range about; the mind—(let it not go upon) the by-path.
जो बीत गया और जो आने वाला है, दोनों तरफ मन भटक सकता है। लेकिन मन को गलत रास्ते पर मत जाने दो। सीधा रास्ता पकड़ो।
Rishi: Vratya-corpus attribution (variable in lists).
Devata: Temporal totality (bhūta/bhaviṣyat) and Manas (mind) as operative power.
Chandas: Non-classical/irregular (short catalogic segment).
Primary: shanta
Sāyaṇa construes the temporal pair (past/future) as comprehensive totality; pariṣkandau are paired forces that ‘encompass’ and thus secure the course. vipatha is glossed as the errant track of misfortune/adharma; the mantra is a steering-formula for mental and ritual rectitude.
To keep mind and undertaking from deviating into a dangerous ‘wrong path’; to secure continuity across past and future.
Mental wandering, anxiety/rumination (time-oscillation), indecision; secondarily protection in travel from wrong routes.
Cognitive reorientation through temporal totality naming + injunction against vipatha; stabilizes manas to reduce scattered vāta-like restlessness.
Manas-calanā and vāta aggravation (restlessness, worry) are thematically aligned; supports sattva and dhṛti (steadfastness).
Mindfulness cue to interrupt rumination; anti-distraction ‘reset phrase’; grounding for anxiety and decision fatigue.
paustika
Manas of the performer/traveler
Keep the mind and undertaking from deviating onto a dangerous by-path; secure continuity across past and future.
Naming temporal extremes to ‘contain’ them + mental injunction (path-correction charm)
Distraction, wrong decisions, misdirection in travel/ritual performance
success of undertakings; safe journey
Past and future—two roaming ranges—(are invoked), and the mind is addressed concerning the ‘by-path’ (vipatha): a charm to keep the mind from straying onto a dangerous wrong route.
Anxiety roams between what happened and what may happen; the mind then slips into unhelpful detours. The mantra reins the mind back to the straight way, integrating memory and anticipation without being hijacked by them.
Time’s breadth can scatter attention. Protection often means keeping the mind from side-roads—returning to the direct path of right intention.
- bhū́tam
- memory, karmic residue, prior conditioning
- bhaviṣyát
- anticipation, fear/hope, projection
- pariṣkándau
- restless oscillation of attention across time
- mánas
- driver of action; locus of deviation and correction
- vipátham
- distraction, harmful alternatives, moral/ritual deviation
Release rumination about past and projection about future; keep mind on the direct path (dharma-mārga).
muladhara
box breathing 4-4-4-4 while repeating the phrase mentally; on ‘vipatham’ exhale fully to drop detours
A straight luminous road; past and future as two winds circling but not pulling you off-center; mind as a lamp steady in the middle.
Grounded present-centeredness
Use as an ‘on-the-spot’ corrective: one recitation to notice wandering, second to return, third to commit to the next right step.
Short, crisp recitation; slight balancing emphasis on bhū́tam and bhaviṣyát; end with a firm closure on vipátham.
Keep the ca…ca pairing even; do not rush pariṣkándau; articulate vipátham with clear th.
bhaviṣyat: bha-vi-ṣyat (retroflex ṣ), pariṣkandau: pa-ri-ṣkan-dau (clear nd), vipatham: vi-pa-tham (aspirated th)
clear, grounding, directive
As a ‘portable’ charm, repetition in odd counts (3/9/27) is common in practice; pair with a deliberate step forward to embody ‘not by-path’.
9
You feel mentally scattered by regret and worry; or you need safe, focused travel/work.
Before leaving home, before starting a task, or mid-task when distracted.
Improved focus, reduced rumination, steadier decision-making; fewer ‘wrong turns’ literal or figurative.
If anxiety is severe/persistent, combine with professional care; use the mantra as support, not as avoidance.
Padaccheda (sandhi resolution): भूतम् च भविष्यत् च परिष्कन्दौ मनः विपथम्. The written भवि॒ष्यच्च॑ is sandhi of भविष्यत् + च (final -त् before च commonly appears as -च्च in saṃhitā). Other words are already in near-pada form; no further external sandhi required.
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