Atharva Veda 2.17.4: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 17, Mantra 4
Sukta 17
श्रोत्र॑मसि॒ श्रोत्रं॑ मे दाः॒ स्वाहा॑
śrótram asi śrótraṃ me dāḥ svā́hā
Thou art Hearing: bestow on me hearing. Svāhā!
तू श्रोत्र आहेस; मला श्रोत्र (श्रवणशक्ती) दे. स्वाहा.
The meaning
What it says
A faculty-installation charm: “You are Hearing; give me hearing,” sealed by svāhā.
The inner meaning
Restores receptivity: not only physical audition but the ability to listen—to others, to guidance, to one’s own needs. It counters inner ‘deafness’ caused by shock, denial, or withdrawal.
The truth in it
Healing often begins with listening. When receptivity returns, connection and orientation return.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing) / Indriya-pratisthā (restoration of faculties)
Its aim
Restoration or securing of the faculty of hearing (countering deafness, ear-impairment, or loss of sensory power).
Word by Word
Pada patha
श्रोत्रम् । असि । श्रोत्रम् । मे । दाः । स्वाहा ।
- श्रोत्रम्
- ear; organ of hearinghearing; the ear as a vital faculty (śruti-power), conceived as a recoverable/transferable organ-forceNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot श्रोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- असि
- you arethou art; declarative identification used to fix the substance/agent as the very faculty invokedVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (धातु)
- श्रोत्रम्
- ear; hearinghearing; the ear-faculty to be bestowed/restored to the patient/ritual clientNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot श्रोत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- मे
- my; of meto me; for my person (the sacrificer/patient as ritual subject)Pronounषष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक रूप)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive relation)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- दाः
- give (to me)give; bestow (imperative), i.e., effect the magical transfer/restoration of hearingVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot दा (धातु)
- स्वाहा
- svāhā (ritual exclamation)svāhā-call; consecratory exclamation sealing the act, especially in oblation/empowerment formulaeIndeclinableअव्यय (हविर्निवेदन-उद्गार)Root स्वाहा (निपात/उद्गार)
Sandhi Notes
- श्रोत्रम् + असि → श्रोत्रमसि (म् + अ → म)
- अन्यत्र विशेष-सन्धि-परिवर्तनं नास्ति।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (specific ṛṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī for this hymn; commonly Atharvan/Angiras-type attributions in this register).
- Devata
- Śrotra (Hearing) personified as an indriya-power; implicitly supported by the general indriya-deities.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like short formula (mantric prose/short metrical cadence typical of faculty-installation verses)
- Rasa
- Karuna and Shanta
Sāyaṇa takes śrotram as the indriya (sense-faculty) of hearing; the mantra is an identification-formula (asi) addressed to the employed substance/rite-implement, compelling it to become the very śrotra and to ‘give’ (dāḥ) that faculty to the sacrificer. Svāhā functions as the sealing utterance that perfects the act (kriyā-sampādana), as in offering/empowerment contexts.
Unknown/Anukramaṇī-dependent (Atharvanic healing register)
Bhaiṣajya charms for restoring faculties (indriya-pratiṣṭhā), using direct identification formulas (‘X asi’).
Classic Atharvan ‘installation speech’: by naming and addressing the faculty as a power, the practitioner ritually re-seats it in the person.
Śrotra (Hearing) personified
As an indriya-power, it links the person to community, instruction (śruti), and orientation in space; it is the channel of received knowledge.
Directly aimed at restoring auditory capacity and the ‘hearing-strength’ needed for learning and social functioning.
Protects by restoring situational awareness—hearing danger, counsel, and ritual speech; prevents isolation.
Anuṣṭubh-fragment / mantraic identification formula
Two short cola with repetition (śrotram… śrotraṃ) + svāhā; strongly formulaic.
Indriya-installation style: repetition is functional (re-seating the faculty) more than metrical.
Repetitive and insistent—like tapping to ‘wake’ a dormant sense.
Suggests reactivation; repetition reinforces neural/psychic association with hearing.
Prepare the consecrated medium (commonly an amulet, herb, or water used for sprinkling/touch).
Touch the patient’s ears (or the right ear first, per common Atharvanic praxis) with the medium while reciting the mantra once.
Optionally accompany with a small oblation or a svāhā-marked empowerment act (mantra ends in svāhā), treating the utterance as the completion of the transfer.
Repeat as prescribed for strengthening (often thrice in domestic rites), then bind/apply the medium if it is an amulet.
Kauśika Sūtra: indriya-prāpti / śrotra-pratiṣṭhā type application (exact sūtra number requires the surrounding hymn’s Kauśika mapping in the edition used).
The Atharvan/Brahman officiant performs the nyāsa-like touching/application and recitation; he acts as the ritual technician who ‘installs’ (pratiṣṭhāpayati) the sense-faculty through mantra and contact.
Recite close to the right ear (or both) in a low steady voice; optionally touch the ear gently with clean hand as a ritual ‘seat’ for the indriya.
Morning or before sleep during a healing period; before study/recitation for those needing auditory focus.
Family healer/elder; an Atharvan practitioner may add a small offering or consecrated thread/amulet if tradition allows.
Use alongside medical evaluation for hearing issues; as a supportive ritual during therapy or recovery.
Unspecified rite-substance/implement identified as ‘hearing’ (contextually often an amulet, herb, or consecrated medium in Atharvanic practice)
svāhā (implied offering); in practical Atharvan settings may accompany an amulet/oil/warm compress though not stated here
The chief ‘substance’ is the faculty itself; repetition acts like a consecration. If paired with a medium, that medium becomes a carrier for śrotra-śakti (hearing-power).
Hearing loss, dulled hearing, ear-related impairment (non-specific); also shock-induced withdrawal from listening.
Ears/hearing faculty (śrotra).
Ritual reinstallation of indriya; autosuggestion + focused attention on the ear/hearing; possibly paired with consecrated medium in practice.
Karna/śrotrendriya support; vāta in the ear domain is a traditional explanatory frame for tinnitus/dryness-type issues (general, non-diagnostic).
Hearing rehabilitation mindset; attention training; supportive ritual during audiology care or recovery from ear infection/trauma.
Patient/self.
Restore hearing by invoking and installing the personified faculty of hearing.
Identification + petition: ‘You are X; give me X’ (nāmadheya-āveśa / pratisthā style), sealed by svāhā.
Deafness, sensory diminishment, disorientation from loss of auditory awareness.
Functional wholeness (indriya-sampat) as a form of well-being.
- श्रोत्रम् (śrotram)
- Receptivity, learning, obedience to truth; capacity to be guided
- असि (asi)
- Identification/installation: naming the power makes it present
- मे (me)
- Personal reintegration of a lost faculty
- दाः (dāḥ)
- Restoration as a gift from the indriya-deity/power
- स्वाहा (svāhā)
- Consecration of the request; binding the restoration to ritual efficacy
Śravaṇa (deep listening): rest awareness in sounds without grasping; cultivate receptive mind.
Viśuddha (listening/communication axis) as a practical association; also Ājñā for attentive awareness.
Soft ujjāyī-like whisper (very gentle) to sensitize auditory attention; or silent breath counting while listening.
A cool, clear stream of sound-light entering the ears and clearing a pathway to the mind; the word ‘śrotram’ glowing at the ear centers.
Receptive, present, connected.
Chant 9 times softly; then sit 2 minutes in silence, listening to ambient sound as a practice of restoring receptivity.
Keep the repeated śrotram with clear udātta-like prominence; svāhā softly but distinctly.
Make the second śrotraṃ slightly more emphatic (the ‘gift’ being requested).
Soft, close, reassuring; avoid harsh volume near the ear.
These indriya-mantras are often most effective when paired with silence afterward—letting the ‘installed’ faculty be felt.
9 times
Hearing difficulties, ear recovery, needing better listening and attention in relationships/study.
During healing routines; before learning/recitation; when feeling disconnected or not ‘hearing’ others.
Greater sense of auditory presence; calm focus; supportive mindset for rehabilitation.
For pain, discharge, sudden hearing loss, or tinnitus, seek medical care; do not insert substances into the ear based on mantra alone.
The verse is an identification (asi) that ritually converts the applied medium—often an herb/amulet/water in Atharvanic healing—into the very ‘hearing’ (śrotra) as a transferable potency. The substance functions as a carrier for indriya-power; the imperative dāḥ enacts the directed transfer to the client.
The client speaks/receives in the first person (me), but efficacy is typically mediated by the Atharvan priest who knows the correct formula and application. This reflects a specialist-controlled technology of bodily welfare: sensory integrity is secured through priestly expertise and sanctioned utterance rather than purely empirical treatment.
The compact ‘X asi; X me dāḥ; svāhā’ pattern is characteristic of Atharvanic and later ritual diction—more operational and performative than many Rigvedic praise-strophes. The use of svāhā as a closure underscores a liturgical-technical register aligned with offering/empowerment speech-acts.
In Gopatha’s Atharvanic theology, mantras operate as efficacious speech-acts when correctly applied with rite (karman) and intention (saṃkalpa). A faculty like śrotra is treated as an installable power; identification-formulae (asi) and sealing utterances (svāhā) are paradigmatic mechanisms by which the Atharvan priest ‘makes it so’ through brahman (sacral speech).
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