Atharva Veda 4.12.1: Kanda 4, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 12, Mantra 1
Sukta 12
रोहिणी- वनस्पतिः। रोह॑ण्यसि॒ रोह॑ण्य॒स्थ्नश्छि॒न्नस्य॒ रोह॑णी । रो॒हये॒दम॑रुन्धति
rohíṇī vanaspátiḥ | roháṇy asi roháṇy ásthnaś chinnásya roháṇī | roháyedám arúndhatī
Rohiṇī is the Forest’s Lord. Rohiṇī thou art: Rohiṇī, the knitter-up of bone that hath been severed. Knit thou this here—O Arundhatī, the firm restrainer.
രോഹിണീ വനസ്പതികളുടെ അധിപതിയാണ്. നീ റോഹിണീ; റോഹിണീ—ഛേദിക്കപ്പെട്ട അസ്ഥിയെ വീണ്ടും കൂട്ടിച്ചേർക്കുന്നവൾ. ഹേ അരുന്ധതീ, ദൃഢമായി നിയന്ത്രിക്കുന്നവളേ, ഇതിനെ ഇവിടെ വീണ്ടും ചേർത്തൊരുക്കുക.
Rishi: Atharvanic healer tradition (often anonymous in medical sūktas)
Devata: Rohiṇī (plant-deity) and Arundhatī (stabilizing power)
Chandas: Mixed; largely Anuṣṭubh-like with vocative/imperative structure
Primary: shanta
Secondary: vira
Sāyaṇa identifies Rohiṇī as a specific healing herb (or herb-class) famed for ‘rohaṇa’—making grow again—especially in fractures. The repeated naming is deliberate mantric intensification. ‘Arundhatī’ is taken as a stabilizing, restraining power that prevents displacement of the set bone and secures the union.
To knit a broken bone and restore severed tissue by invoking Rohiṇī as the sovereign healing plant and Arundhatī as the stabilizing force.
Fracture, severed bone/tissue; traumatic injury.
Bone (asthi), implied connective tissue.
Sympathetic ‘knitting’ through plant-deity invocation plus stambhana (stabilizing restraint) to secure union.
Bhagna-cikitsā (fracture management): bandhana (binding), sandhāna (union), śotha-śamana (swelling control) via oṣadhi; vāta-pacification implied by stabilization.
Fracture reduction + immobilization (splint/cast) supporting bone healing and tissue repair.
bhaisajya
Injured person’s fracture site.
To knit a broken bone and stabilize the injury so healing ‘takes.’
Name-power (nāma-japa), imperative command (ājñā), personified medicine; stambhana/bandhana logic (binding + restraint).
Re-displacement, swelling, pain; also unseen interference framed as instability.
Invocation of Rohiṇī as the sovereign healing plant-power that “knits” a severed bone; Arundhatī is commanded to restrain and stabilize the injury so union can occur.
The psyche’s capacity to ‘re-bind’ what has been psychologically fractured—Rohiṇī as regenerative will, Arundhatī as steady attention that prevents re-injury through agitation, fear, or restlessness.
Healing is a double act: growth/regeneration must be paired with restraint/stability. Repair succeeds when vitality and containment cooperate.
- रोहिणी (rohiṇī)
- regenerative intelligence; the body’s intrinsic growth-factor
- वनस्पतिः (vanaspatiḥ)
- sovereignty of vegetal medicine; nature as physician
- अस्थ्नः छिन्नस्य (asthnaḥ chinnasya)
- any broken continuity—structure, confidence, identity
- रोहय (rohaya)
- directive speech as pharmakon; the mantra as ‘suturing command’
- अरुन्धती (arundhatī)
- stability, fidelity, splinting, containment; preventing ‘slippage’ in healing
Wholeness-after-break: restoring continuity and trust in the body.
mūlādhāra (stability) and anāhata (integration/repair)
Slow nasal breathing with slightly lengthened exhale; mentally ‘bind’ attention to the injury site on exhale.
Green-gold vine/light knitting bone ends; a firm band of light (Arundhatī) holding alignment.
Grounded, steady, non-reactive awareness (sthairya).
Chant softly while maintaining a sense of restraint and rest; pair mantra with disciplined stillness (sleep, nutrition, immobilization).
Simple Atharvanic recitation; keep udātta on vocatives (rohiṇī, arundhati) and a firm fall on imperatives (rohaya).
Emphasize the repeated नाम ‘rohiṇī’ evenly; give ‘छिन्नस्य’ a slight stress to mark the injury; end with a stabilizing cadence on ‘अरुन्धति’.
rohiṇī: retroflex ṇ, long ī, asthnaḥ: cluster sthn—keep it crisp, chinnasya: double n, short a, arundhati: dental d, short a/i
Steady, low, ‘binding’ tone; avoid trembling vibrato.
Traditionally paired with physical binding/immobilization; speech and bandage act together (vāc-bandhana).
21
Fracture/dislocation recovery; post-surgery tissue repair (as devotional support).
During splinting/casting, at re-wrapping, or before rest when pain/anxiety rises.
Calm, confidence, sense of stability; supports disciplined rest and adherence to healing regimen.
Not a substitute for medical evaluation, imaging, reduction, or infection control; avoid moving unstable fractures while chanting.
पाठ-समाधान: ‘रोह॑ण्यसि॒’ = ‘रोहणि असि’ (सम्बोधन + असि; इकार-लोप/यण्-आगम से ‘रोहण्यसि’). ‘रोह॑ण्य॒स्थ्नश्छि॒न्नस्य॒’ = ‘रोहणि अस्थ्नः छिन्नस्य’ (अस्थ्नः + छिन्नस्य: विसर्ग-सन्धि से ‘अस्थ्नश्छिन्नस्य’). ‘रो॒हये॒दम॑रुन्धति’ = ‘रोहय इदम् अरुन्धति’ (रोहय + इदम्: य् + इ → ये; इदम् + अरुन्धति: म् + अ → मअ (लिखित ‘दमरु…’)).
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