Atharva Veda 6.122.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 122, Mantra 2
Sukta 122
त॒तं तन्तु॒मन्वेके॑ तरन्ति॒ येषां॑ द॒त्तं पित्र्य॒माय॑नेन । अ॒ब॒न्ध्वेके॒ दद॑तः प्र॒यच्छ॑न्तो॒ दातुं॒ चेच्छिक्षा॒न्त्स स्व॒र्ग ए॒व
tatáṃ tántum ánv éke taranti yéṣāṃ dattáṃ pitryám ā́yanena | abandhv éke dadátaḥ práyacchanto dātúṃ céc chikṣā́nt sá svargá evá
Along the stretched thread some cross—those for whom, by the Fathers’ course, the gift is given. Others, though kinless, giving and bestowing—if they would learn to give, for them is heaven indeed.
張り渡された糸に沿って、ある者たちは渡り越える――祖霊（Pitṛ）の道により、施しが与えられた者たちである。ほかの者たちは、たとえ縁者なくとも、与え、分け与える。もし施しを学び与えようと願うなら――彼らにもまことに天界がある。
The meaning
What it says
Some cross along a “stretched thread” (tantu)—i.e., a narrow passage/path—namely those whose giving (dāna) is properly offered according to the “course of the Fathers” (pitrya āyana). Even those who are socially “kinless” (abandhu), if they learn the discipline of giving, attain heaven (svarga).
The inner meaning
The “thread” is the continuity of merit and memory: ethical action (especially generosity) creates an inner lineage when outer lineage is absent. The verse reframes belonging: one becomes related to the Pitṛs through sustained practice of dāna, not merely by birth.
The truth in it
A stable afterlife/legacy is built through transferable virtues (generosity, reciprocity, care). Social exclusion is not final: right action can weave a new bond of continuity.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika / Social-ethical soteriology (gift and ancestral path)
Its aim
Authorize heaven-attainment through giving, even for the socially ‘kinless’, by establishing a ‘thread’ of merit
Word by Word
Pada patha
त॒तम् । तन्तु॑म् । अनु॒ । एके॑ । तरन्ति । येषाम् । द॒त्तम् । पित्र्य॒म् । आय॑नेन । अ॒ब॒न्धु । एके॑ । दद॑तः । प्र॒यच्छ॑न्तः । दातु॑म् । चेत् । शि॒क्षान्त् । सः । स्व॒र्गः । ए॒व
- ततम्
- stretched, extendedAdjective (PPP used adjectivally)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole Karma (object/thing described)Root √तन् (tan) / तन्तु- (prātipadika implied)
- तन्तुम्
- threadNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तन्तु-
- अनु
- along, followingIndeclinableउपसर्ग/अव्ययRoot अनु
- एके
- some (persons)some (a class of persons; those qualified by giving)Pronoun/Adjective (numeral)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot एक-
- तरन्ति
- they cross overVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √तॄ (tṝ)
- येषाम्
- of whomPronounषष्ठी, बहुवचन (लिङ्गानपेक्ष)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root यद्- (relative pronoun)
- दत्तम्
- the given gift; what is givengiven (offering/donation performed)Noun/Adjective (PPP)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (of implied ‘is’/‘exists’), or predicate-nominativeRoot √दा (dā) / दत्त-
- पित्र्यम्
- ancestral, pertaining to the FathersAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole विशेषण (qualifier of दत्तम्)Root पितृ- → पित्र्य- (patronymic/adj)
- आयनेन
- by the path/way (course)by the path/going; by the ‘course’ (ritual route, esp. ancestral way)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot आयन-
- अबन्धु
- friendless; without kin/supportwithout kin/connection; socially unconnected (lacking bandhu)Adjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (used as predicate/descriptor)Role Kartā (as descriptor of ‘one’ implied)Root अ- + बन्धु-
- एके
- some (others)others (another class; contrasted group)Pronoun/Adjective (numeral)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot एक-
- ददतः
- givingVerb (present participle)शतृ-प्रत्यय, परस्मैपद, षष्ठी/प्रथमा?; here nominative plural masculine agreeing with understood ‘(they)’Role Kartā (participial, ‘giving’)Root √दा (dā)
- प्रयच्छन्तः
- bestowing, handing overbestowing forth, granting (active distribution)Verb (present participle)शतृ-प्रत्यय, परस्मैपद, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot प्र + √यम् (yam) → प्रयच्छ- (present stem)
- दातुम्
- to giveVerb (infinitive)तुमुन्-प्रत्यय (infinitive)Role प्रयोजन (purpose)Root √दा (dā)
- चेत्
- ifIndeclinable (conditional particle)अव्ययRoot चेत्
- शिक्षान्त्सः
- (he) desiring/trying to learn; seeking instructionVerb (present participle)शतृ-प्रत्यय, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; with sandhi: शिक्षान्त् + सः → शिक्षान्त्सःRole KartāRoot √शिक्ष् (śikṣ) / शिक्षन्त्-
- सः
- hehe/that (such a one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot तद्- (demonstrative pronoun)
- स्वर्गः
- heaven; the heavenly worldheaven, svarga (reward-state)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (predicate-nominative with एव)Root स्वर्ग-
- एव
- indeed, justindeed, just so (emphatic closure)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot एव
Sandhi Notes
- (1) तन्तुमन्वेके → तन्तुम् + अनु + एके
- (2) अबन्ध्वेके → अबन्धु + एके (u + e → v e)
- (3) चेच्छिक्षान्त्स → चेत् + शिक्षान्त् + सः (t + ś → cch; अन्त् + सः → अन्त्सः)
- Final ‘स्वर्ग एव’ is read as स्वर्गः + एव (visarga often unmarked/assimilated in saṃhitā)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Pitṛs (Fathers) and the principle of dāna leading to svarga
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh/Jagatī-like prose-verse blend (requires full hymn scansion)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa contrasts two routes to svarga: (1) those embedded in ancestral continuity (pitrya-āyana) whose giving is supported by lineage rites; (2) even the ‘abandhu’ (without kin/ritual backing) may attain if they undertake the discipline of giving (śikṣ-). The ‘tantu’ remains the explanatory bandhu: donation stretches a traversable line to heaven.
Paustika-eschatological ethics: dāna, Pitṛ-path, household merit-making; integrating domestic economy with soteriology.
Represents the Atharvan stance that prosperity and post-mortem welfare are secured through practical, repeatable household virtues—especially giving—rather than elite status alone.
Pitṛs (Fathers) / Dāna as a salvific principle
Pitṛs function as custodians of lineage and receivers/redistributors of offerings; the ‘pitrya path’ is the moral-ritual channel by which gifts become posthumous support.
Protects continuity of household merit; symbolically safeguards one’s passage beyond death by anchoring the person in an ancestral economy of reciprocity.
Triṣṭubh/Jagatī-like mixed verse (needs full pada-syllable verification in context)
Likely 4 pādas with variable syllable counts (11–12) and Atharvanic cadence; enjambment/prose-verse feel.
Atharvanic hymns often loosen strict metrical regularity in didactic/ethical passages; semantic parallelism substitutes for tight syllable symmetry.
Measured, didactic, ‘walking’ rhythm—appropriate to imagery of crossing a thread/path.
Supports reflective recitation; reinforces moral resolve toward generosity and ancestral observance.
Perform a domestic offering with explicit dedication to the Fathers (pitṛs) or to the ‘ancestral course’.
Recite the mantra while extending a thread or cord from the offering place toward the ritual boundary, representing the ‘stretched thread’.
Optionally accompany with an actual gift (food/fee) to a Brahmin or needy person, synchronizing ‘prāyacchantaḥ’ with the handover.
Close by touching the thread and then the head/heart, internalizing the ‘path’ of merit.
Kauśika Sūtra: dāna-linked svargakāma rites; ancillary to pitṛyajña contexts (exact sūtra number requires mapping)
Atharvan priest as ritual technologist: directs the symbolic ‘tantu’ extension and validates the dedication to pitṛs; may also receive/redistribute the dāna.
Recited to sacralize acts of giving (food, grain, fees, support to priests/poor) especially in ancestral contexts (śrāddha-like giving) or household vows of charity.
At/after offering or donation; also during memorial meals or seasonal ancestral observances.
If present, the purohita/atharvan officiant validates the gift’s ‘pitrya path’ and recites to seal merit.
Use as a vow-verse before charitable giving or community meal-service dedicated to ancestors.
tantu (thread); dāna (gift/oblation)
The ‘thread’ is a ritual-ethical technology: a minimal material image for maximal metaphysical crossing. The ‘gift’ is treated as a substance that can be transferred, stored, and redeemed across worlds.
Psycho-social well-being through prosocial behavior; resilience and reduced isolation via community reciprocity.
Householder (including the socially ‘kinless’/unsupported).
Authorize svarga-attainment and social-spiritual inclusion through dāna aligned with ancestral rite.
Verbal consecration of ethical action: mantra frames dāna as a ‘bridge’ and installs confidence that the act yields a fixed cosmic result.
Ritual/social exclusion; fear of post-mortem loss of support; ‘unmooring’ after death.
Merit (puṇya), reputation, continuity of lineage-by-virtue.
- तन्तु (tantu)
- a tenuous but real lifeline of merit; continuity linking worlds
- तातम् (tātam)
- prepared path/bridge; deliberate cultivation of virtue
- पित्र्यम् आयनेन (pitryam āyanena)
- ancestral law of reciprocity; funerary/śrāddha economy of gifts
- दत्तम् (dattam)
- merit made ‘portable’ across worlds
- अबन्धु (abandhu)
- socially unanchored person; inner poverty of support
- स्वर्ग (svarga)
- state of fullness, belonging, and reward of right exchange
Contemplate the ‘thread of continuity’—how generosity creates inner kinship and fearlessness about loss.
Gentle equal breathing (sama-vṛtti) while mentally repeating key words: tantu—dattam—svarga.
Visualize a luminous thread from heart to ancestors; each exhale becomes a ‘gift’ extending the thread.
Śānta, ethically resolved, socially connected awareness.
Pair recitation with a concrete act of giving the same day; keep it proportionate and sustainable to avoid strain or pride.
Pronounce ṛ in pitryam as a light syllabic ‘r̥’.; Keep consonant clusters clear: pr- in prayacchant-; avoid inserting extra vowels.; Differentiate dental n (tantu) from retroflex ṇ where applicable (not prominent here).
Śaunakīya recitation with udātta-svarita-anudātta contours; keep udātta clear on accented syllables (as indicated by the text’s accent marks).
Maintain distinct rise on marked udātta (e.g., -éke, -áya-); avoid flattening the didactic cadence.
Steady, instructive, warm (as if blessing a donation).
Best recited immediately before/after an act of dāna; the ‘speech-act’ is the seal that makes the gift cosmically legible.
Feeling socially isolated, without family support, or anxious about legacy/afterlife; wishing to dedicate charity to ancestors.
Before donating food/money/time; during memorial giving; when making a vow of regular generosity.
Strengthens resolve to give; reframes belonging; cultivates peace about continuity and remembrance.
Do not use to justify exploitative giving or debt; avoid pride (ahaṃkāra) around charity.
Again, no botanical agent; the ‘technology’ is social-material: thread + gift. The mantra converts donation into a traversable ‘infrastructure’ (tantu) of post-mortem mobility.
It encodes lineage privilege (‘pitrya-āyana’) yet partially democratizes salvation: even an ‘abandhu’ can access svarga through disciplined giving. This implies a social world where kinship and ritual capital normally gatekeep afterlife goods.
The explicit social category ‘abandhu’ foregrounds social structure more directly than typical RV diction. The moralizing conditional (‘if he would learn to give’) reflects Atharvanic didactic tendencies alongside charm-like performativity.
Gopatha’s bandhu-exegesis would treat ‘tantu’ as the causal link between dāna and loka. The pitṛyāna framing supplies a cosmological ‘route’; the verse’s second half expands the route’s accessibility via intentional practice.
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