Atharva Veda 13.2.39: Kanda 13, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 39
Sukta 2
रोहि॑तः का॒लो अ॑भव॒द् रोहि॒तोऽग्रे॑ प्र॒जाप॑तिः । रोहि॑तो य॒ज्ञानां॒ मुखं॒ रोहि॑तः॒ स्व॑१राभ॑रत्
róhitaḥ kāló abhavad róhito’gré prajā́patiḥ | róhito yajñā́nāṃ múkhaṃ róhitaḥ svà ā́bharat
Rohita became Time; Rohita was, in the beginning, Prajāpati. Rohita is the mouth of sacrifices; Rohita brought heaven hither.
Rohita menjadi Kala (Waktu); Rohita pada mulanya adalah Prajāpati. Rohita adalah mulut yajña (kurban suci); Rohita membawa surga ke sini.
The meaning
What it says
Rohita is identified with Kāla (Time) and with Prajāpati at the beginning; he is the “mouth” (mukha) of sacrifices and the one who “brought” heaven (svaḥ) near—i.e., enables access to svarga through yajña.
The inner meaning
The psyche’s “red” luminous will (rohitá) becomes ordered time: when attention is yoked to a single radiant principle, scattered impulses become sequence, purpose, and ritual efficacy. “Mouth of sacrifices” suggests disciplined speech/breath as the entry-point through which offerings (actions, intentions) become transformative.
The truth in it
Cosmic order is sustained when time, creative intelligence, and sacred speech align; transcendence is not elsewhere but is “brought near” by rightly oriented action and awareness.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Svarga/Āyus) with Cosmological-Theological speculation
Its aim
Harnessing Rohita (solar-red Time) to secure ritual success and heavenly attainment; stabilizing time/order against disorder
Word by Word
Pada patha
रोहि॑तः । का॒लः । अ॒भ॒व॒त् । रोहि॒तः । अ॒ग्रे॑ । प्र॒जा-प॑तिः । रोहि॑तः । य॒ज्ञानाम् । मुख॑म् । रोहि॑तः । स्वः॑ । आ-भ॑रत्
- रोहितः
- Rohita (the ‘Red one’; a divine personage)Rohita, the red one; solar-red power (also personified as a cosmic agent)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक; √रुह् ‘to grow/rise’ से निष्पन्न ‘रोहित’)
- कालः
- TimeTime; the ordering force (often feared, yet harnessed ritually)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (समानााधिकरण/विशेष्य-विशेषण भाव: ‘रोहितः’ के साथ)Root काल (प्रातिपदिक)
- अभवत्
- became / came to bebecame; came to be (cosmogonic assertion)Verbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √भू (भवति)
- रोहितः
- RohitaRohita; the red principle (repeated for identification)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
- अग्रे
- in front; at first; in the beginningat first; in the beginning (primordial precedence)Indeclinable (adverbial use)अव्ययार्थ: ‘पूर्वे/आदौ’Role Adhikaraṇa (काल/स्थान-निर्देश: ‘in the beginning’)Root अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रजापतिः
- Prajāpati (Lord of creatures)Prajāpati, Lord of creatures; creator-sovereign (cosmic legitimacy)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (समानााधिकरण/अप्पोज़िशन: ‘रोहितः … प्रजापतिः’)Root प्रजापति (प्रातिपदिक)
- रोहितः
- RohitaRohita; red/solar agent (ritual focus)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
- यज्ञानाम्
- of the sacrificesof sacrifices; of ritual acts (institutional religion)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)Root यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- मुखम्
- mouth; foremost partmouth, face, forefront; the opening/primary part (ritual ‘head’)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (यहाँ विधेय/समानााधिकरण में प्रथमा)Role Karma/Predicative complement (अर्थ: ‘(is) the mouth/foremost part’)Root मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
- रोहितः
- RohitaRohita; red one (as carrier of svarga)Noun/Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot रोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
- स्वः
- heaven; the heavenly worldheaven; the luminous world (soteriological goal)Noun (used adverbially)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (गन्तव्य/प्राप्तव्य अर्थे)Role Karma (प्राप्तव्य/आहृत वस्तु/लोक)Root स्वस्/स्वर् (प्रातिपदिक; ‘स्वर्ग/द्युलोक’)
- आभरत्
- brought; carried hitherbrought, bore hither; conveyed (bestowal of heaven/merit)Verbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot आ-√भृ (भरति)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) रोहि॒तोऽग्रे॑ = रोहितः + अग्रे (विसर्ग + अ → ‘ोऽ’)
- (2) स्व॑१राभ॑रत् = स्वः + आभरत् (विसर्ग + आ → र्; ‘स्वः’ का ‘स्वर्’/‘स्वः’ रूप संधि में ‘स्वराभरत्’)
- शेष पदों में स्पष्ट संधि नहीं।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (Rohita hymn complex)
- Devata
- Rohita (solar-red), with identifications to Kāla and Prajāpati
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (4 pādas of ~8 syllables; relatively regular here)
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
Sāyaṇa treats Rohita as a solar-red manifestation (āditya-rūpa) identified with Kāla (time) and with Prajāpati (creative lordship). ‘Mouth of sacrifices’ is explained as the foremost/initiating principle of yajña—Rohita as the opening that makes ritual efficacious. ‘Brought heaven’ indicates that through Rohita (sun/time) svarga is attained or made accessible.
Atharvanic tradition (Rohita hymn complex)
Cosmological-theological praise used for paustika aims (āyus, svarga, ritual success) and for stabilizing ṛta through mantra-identifications.
Rohita here functions as a high Atharvanic ‘power-name’ that fuses solar force with metaphysical time, making it suitable for broad protection, long life, and ritual accomplishment.
Rohita (identified with Kāla and Prajāpati)
Solar-red principle that becomes Time and Creator, enabling yajña to ‘speak’ effectively and mediating ascent/attainment of the bright world.
Indirect: restores vitality and longevity by re-ordering time/ṛta and strengthening life-force through solar identification.
Stabilizes cosmic order against disorder; supports ritual success and safeguards the sacrificer’s path to svarga/merit.
4 pādas × ~8 syllables (largely regular in Śaunaka sandhi)
Occasional resolution by sandhi (rohi̱to'gre̍) and cadence emphasis on identifications (kālo / prajāpatiḥ).
Compact, declarative, ‘mahāvākya’-like identifications; each pāda functions as a sealing formula.
Produces cognitive ‘locking’ of correspondences (Rohita=Time=Creator=Yajña-mouth), useful for steadiness, confidence, and ritual focus.
Recite at sunrise or at the commencement of a rite (yajña-mukha).
Priest marks the ‘mouth’ by touching the client’s mouth or the offering-ladle’s rim (symbolic ‘opening’).
Offer a small oblation (ghee) to Sūrya/Āditya while reciting ‘svà ā́bharat’ to ‘bring’ svarga/merit.
Kauśika Sūtra: rites invoking Rohita/Āditya for prosperity, time-ordering, and success (edition-dependent numbering; requires concordance work)
Atharvan as ritual technologist: synchronizes rite with solar time; performs the ‘opening’ act that authorizes the sequence of actions.
Recited to consecrate undertakings, travel, or major household rites by invoking auspicious time and solar order.
Sunrise or early daylight; also at the start of a rite or vow.
Householder may recite; a purohita may deploy it as a framing cosmological nyāsa for success.
Used as a morning ‘time-ordering’ chant before work/ritual commitments.
No material pharmaka named; the operative ‘substance’ is vāc itself—naming as a binding agent that draws sváḥ ‘near’ (ā-bharat).
Not a direct bhaiṣajya charm; works as paustika reinforcement of vitality/āyus by aligning the client with solar-time order.
Conceptual parallel to strengthening agni/ojas through solar regularity and disciplined routine (dinacaryā).
Stress regulation via circadian alignment; improving resilience through structured routine and focused intention.
Sacrificer/householder and their ritual sphere
Secure ritual success and heavenly attainment; stabilize time/order (ṛta) around the patron/household.
Mantric identification (bandhu): equating a power-name (Rohita) with cosmic principles to ‘install’ them in the client’s world.
Disorder, inauspicious timing, ritual failure, loss of merit
Āyus (long life), svarga/puṇya, overall flourishing
- रोहित (rohitá)
- solar vitality; the luminous principle that orders life and ritual; dawning consciousness
- काल (kālá)
- inevitability and order; the law of sequence; maturation of karma
- प्रजापति (prajāpáti)
- creative intelligence; generativity; the archetype of ordering power
- यज्ञानां मुखम् (yajñānāṃ múkham)
- speech/breath as the gateway of ritual; the “opening” through which offerings reach the unseen
- स्वः (sváḥ)
- higher clarity; expanded state of being; auspicious attainment
- आ-भरत् (ā-bharat)
- making the transcendent immanent; drawing protection/merit into the household sphere
Contemplate Rohita as the inner sun that becomes time—observe the arising of sequence, intention, and creative order.
maṇipūra (solar/fire center)
Gentle sūrya-bhedana or slow nāḍī-śodhana to ‘regularize’ inner time.
A red-gold sun at the navel radiating a calm time-wheel that harmonizes daily rhythms.
Stable, luminous attention with a sense of ordered flow.
Chant once slowly per pāda, pausing after each identification; end by sitting silently, feeling ‘sváḥ drawn near’ as clarity in the chest and brow.
Śaunaka-style recitation with udātta emphasis on key nouns (rohi̍taḥ, kā̱laḥ, pra̱jāpa̍tiḥ); keep cadences even across 4 pādas.
Give clear stress to the identificatory equations: ‘rohi̍taḥ kā̱lo… / rohi̱to’gre̍ pra̱jāpa̍tiḥ’.
Clear, steady, declarative (as if stating cosmic facts).
Best used as a ‘framing’ mantra: one full recitation to establish bandhu (correspondence), rather than rapid japa.
Beginning a new project, vow, journey, or household rite; when life feels ‘out of time’ or scattered.
At sunrise or before initiating an important action; optionally for 3 mornings in a row to ‘reset’ rhythm.
Greater steadiness, auspicious timing-sense, confidence in outcomes, and a felt connection to higher purpose.
Not a substitute for medical care or practical planning; avoid using it to justify fatalism—Kāla here is order, not resignation.
No materia medica appears; the ‘medicine’ is temporal-cosmic regulation. By identifying Rohita with Kāla, the mantra ritually domesticates time—useful in AV contexts where illness and misfortune are framed as temporal disorder or premature ‘cutting off’ of life.
It elevates yajña as the central institution (‘mouth of sacrifices’) and implies that access to svarga is mediated through correct ritual openings—typically controlled by trained specialists. The theology legitimizes priestly authority by making cosmic time dependent on ritual speech.
The explicit equation ‘Rohita = Kāla’ is more speculative and systematizing than typical RV praise, anticipating later Brahmana-style identifications. The repetitive nominal style (‘Rohita… Rohita…’) is Atharvanic and incantatory.
Gopatha is especially prone to such identifications (bandhu): time, sun, sacrifice, and creator are mutually explanatory. The mantra’s efficacy is grounded in bandhu-logic: by naming the identity, the ritualist activates the correspondence and secures svarga/āyus.
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