Atharva Veda 6.89.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 9, Sukta 89, Mantra 2
Sukta 89
शो॒चया॑मसि ते॒ हार्दिं॑ शो॒चया॑मसि ते॒ मनः॑ । वातं॑ धू॒म इ॑व स॒ध्र्य॑१ङ्मामे॒वान्वे॑तु ते॒ मनः॑
śocayāmasi te hārdíṁ śocayāmasi te mánaḥ | vā́taṁ dhūmá iva sadhryàṅ mā́m evā́nv etu te mánaḥ ||
We cause thy heart’s distress to waste away; we cause thy mind’s distress to waste away. As smoke goes with the wind straight onward, so—yea, to me—let thy mind follow.
हम तुम्हारे दिल का बोझ हल्का कर देते हैं। तुम्हारे मन का टेंशन भी हम दूर कर देते हैं। जैसे धुआँ हवा के साथ सीधा उड़ता चला जाता है, वैसे ही तुम्हारा मन मेरे पास आना चाहिए।
The meaning
What it says
The performer makes the target’s heart- and mind-distress waste away; like smoke driven straight by wind, so may the target’s mind follow the performer—specifically ‘to me’.
The inner meaning
Grief and mental agitation are treated as a dispersible ‘smoke’; once cleared, attention becomes mobile and can be oriented toward reunion. The charm couples catharsis (dissipation) with attraction (anvetu).
The truth in it
What the wind can carry away (smoke) is not our essence: distress is transient; attention follows the strongest current—habit, desire, or intentional care.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Attraction/Concord); bordering on Strikarmāṇi (if used in courtship contexts)
Its aim
To dissipate grief and mental turmoil and to draw the target’s mind/affection toward the beneficiary.
Word by Word
Pada patha
शो॒च॒या॒म॒सि॒ । ते॒ । हार्दिम्॑ । शो॒च॒या॒म॒सि॒ । ते॒ । मनः॑ । वातम्॑ । धू॒मः । इ॒व॒ । स॒ध्र्य॑ङ् । मा॒म् । ए॒व । अनु॑ । ए॒तु॒ । ते॒ । मनः॑ ।
- शोचयामसि
- we cause (you) to grieve / we afflictwe cause to burn away, dry up, waste (remove by ‘heating out’)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; causative (णिच्)Role क्रिया (कर्तृ-प्रयोगः)Root शुच् (शोचयति; caus.)
- ते
- yourthyPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive possessor)Root युष्मद्
- हार्दिम्
- heart (heart-region/heart-feeling)heart-distress, heart-burning griefNoun (abstract/collective)स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot हार्दि- (हृद् + अण्; ‘of the heart’)
- शोचयामसि
- we cause to grieve / we afflictwe cause to burn away (repetition for intensification)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; causative (णिच्)Role क्रिया (कर्तृ-प्रयोगः)Root शुच् (शोचयति; caus.)
- ते
- yourthyPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive possessor)Root युष्मद्
- मनः
- mindmind, intention, affective thoughtNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Vedic: acc.=nom. form मनः)Role कर्मRoot मनस्
- वातम्
- windNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (उपमान-निर्देशे) / क्रियाविशेषण-भावःRoot वात
- धूमः
- smokeNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्ता (उपमान-कर्ता)Root धूम
- इव
- like, asas, likeIndeclinableउपमा-अव्ययRole सम्बन्ध (उपमा-सूचक)Root इव
- सध्र्यक्
- straight on, in a direct courseIndeclinable (adverbial) / Adjective (indeclinable use)अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)Role क्रियाविशेषणRoot सध्र्यञ्च्/सध्र्यक् (अव्यय/विशेषण; ‘straight/along, in one course’)
- माम्
- mePronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (गन्तव्य/प्राप्तव्य)Root अस्मद्
- एव
- indeed, justindeed, just so (emphatic fixation)Indeclinableनिश्चय/अवधारण-अव्ययRole क्रियाविशेषणRoot एव
- अन्वेतु
- let it follow / let it come afterVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot इ (एति) + अनु
- ते
- yourthyPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive possessor)Root युष्मद्
- मनः
- mindNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Vedic form)Role कर्ताRoot मनस्
Sandhi Notes
- शोचयामसि | ते | हार्दिम् | शोचयामसि | ते | मनः || वातम् | धूमः | इव | सध्र्यक् | माम् | एव | अन्वेतु | ते | मनः । Sandhi:
- (1) सध्र्य॑१ङ्माम् = सध्र्यक् + माम् (क् + म् → ङ्म्; Vedic nasal assimilation, written with ङ् + म).
- (2) मामे॒वान्वे॑तु = माम् + एव + अन्वेतु (म् + ए → मे; then एव + अन्वेतु → एवान्वेतु by vowel coalescence and n-insertion per sandhi).
- (3) मनः is Vedic neuter form used both as nominative and accusative
- here first मनः functions as object (acc.), final मनः as subject (nom.)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Prīti/Manas (functional); Vāta as carrier-force
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shringara and Shanta
Sāyaṇa reads the first hemistich as therapeutic removal of inner burning (hārdī) and mental agitation. The simile ‘smoke with wind’ expresses effortless, natural attraction; ‘mām’ marks the intended relational target (the speaker or the rite’s beneficiary).
An Atharvanic domestic-charm seer (anonymous)
Paustika attraction and mental-soothing formulas using natural analogies (wind/smoke)
Illustrates Atharvan technique: first remove the obstructing affect (śoka), then redirect manas through a carrier-image (vāta).
Prīti/Manas with Vāta as carrier-force
Vāta moves breaths and thoughts; Manas is the inner organ that can be ‘drawn’ once freed of śoka.
Clears mental fog and grief; supports emotional regulation via imagery of dispersal.
Protects from lingering sorrow, obsession, and relational coldness.
4×8 with Atharvanic sandhi compressions; the final pāda may feel imperative-heavy.
The simile pāda (vātaṃ dhūma iva…) can be chanted slightly quicker to mimic movement.
Directive and kinetic; the wind/smoke image gives forward drive.
First two pādas soothe; last two propel—creating a felt ‘turn’ from release to attraction.
Light a small, clean fire or incense-like fumigation.
While smoke rises and is carried by the wind, recite the mantra, aligning the simile with the visible motion.
Gesture the smoke toward the direction of the desired person (or toward oneself), enacting ‘anv-etu’.
Conclude by touching the heart region of the beneficiary, signifying removal of hārdī and stabilization of mind.
Kauśika Sūtra: prīti/vaśīkaraṇa-style domestic application (edition-dependent citation)
Atharvan as operator of sympathetic correspondences: uses visible smoke-wind dynamics to model and compel mental movement.
Recite facing the direction of the person or at the threshold before meeting; optionally with mild incense to embody ‘smoke’ dispersal.
Twilight or before a planned encounter/message.
Householder often sufficient; specialist if combined with a larger rite.
KauśS applications for AV 6.89 attraction/concord charms (edition-dependent numbering)
Use as a release-and-reconnect recitation, followed by a respectful communication attempt.
Smoke (dhūma) and wind (vāta) as ritual/imagistic carriers of attraction
Smoke symbolizes distress as non-solid and removable; wind symbolizes prāṇa/impulse that can carry both away-from and toward—hence release plus attraction.
Śoka/mental distress; hārdi and manas agitation
Heart and mind
Imagistic evacuation (smoke) + prāṇic carrier (wind) + verbal command; reduces rumination and reorients attachment.
Vāta disturbance in manovaha-srotas (restless mind) with pitta-like ‘burning’ in hṛd; the rite aims at clearing and re-channeling vāta.
Anxiety with somatic symptoms; grief rumination; ‘brain fog’—using guided imagery and suggestion for emotional shift.
A specific person whose attention is desired
Dissipate distress and draw the target’s mind/affection toward the performer.
Simile-based compulsion (smoke→wind) functioning as a ‘carrier spell’; potentially paired with fumigation (dhūpa) in later practice.
Emotional blockage, resentment, depressive inertia
Concord, successful meeting, domestic peace
- śocayāmasi
- performative speech-act of dissolution; guided release
- hārdi
- somatic-emotional knot (grief/jealousy)
- manas
- attention, intention, desire-stream
- vāta
- carrier-force; prāṇa-like mover of thoughts
- dhūma
- confusion, sorrow, mental fog; also a ritual carrier in fumigation contexts
- sadhryaṅ
- unobstructed channeling of intention
- anvetu
- magical attraction; alignment of desire
Letting distress ‘smoke out’ on exhale; inviting the mind to return to kindness.
Anāhata
Long exhale emphasis (e.g., 4–6 inhale, 6–8 exhale) to mimic smoke dispersal
On exhale, gray smoke leaves chest; on inhale, a cool wind brings a soft thread of connection back to the heart.
Unclenched attention; non-grasping attraction.
Recite 9–21 times, then practice 3 minutes of slow breathing; end with a vow of truthful speech (satya) before contacting the person.
Keep udātta clarity on śocayāmasi and manas; the simile pāda can rise slightly in energy.
Do not blur te manas; keep vātaṃ dhūma iva distinct; articulate sadhryaṅ clearly.
Breathy-gentle (vāta quality), not forceful.
If paired with incense, keep it mild—symbol is dispersal, not choking; intention should be reconciliation, not domination.
21 times
After an argument; when someone is withdrawn; when grief/anxiety blocks connection.
Before writing/calling; during a calm moment when you can release resentment.
Emotional clearing, improved receptivity, greater chance of a peaceful meeting.
Respect boundaries; do not use to pressure someone in unsafe relationships; seek help for severe depression/anxiety.
The ‘substance’ is often fumigation (plant fuel/resin), though not specified. The mantra’s efficacy is sympathetic: as smoke inevitably follows wind, so mind is compelled to follow the ritual intention.
It encodes a technology for managing desire and attachment, implying social situations where consent/affection is ritually negotiable through specialist knowledge controlled by Atharvan practitioners.
The direct manipulation of ‘manas’ as a movable object and the pragmatic optative ‘let thy mind follow’ are typical Atharvanic operational speech-acts rather than RV’s primarily laudatory mode.
A Gopatha-style account would treat the simile as more than ornament: it is a ritual homology. By establishing a correspondence (smoke:mind; wind:mantra-force), the priest makes the desired movement ‘natural’ and thus effective.
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