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.
Rohiṇī ialah Penguasa rimba. Rohiṇī engkaulah: Rohiṇī, yang merajut kembali tulang yang telah terputus. Rajutlah ini di sini—wahai Arundhatī, penahan yang teguh.
The meaning
What it says
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 inner meaning
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.
The truth in it
Healing is a double act: growth/regeneration must be paired with restraint/stability. Repair succeeds when vitality and containment cooperate.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya (Healing)
Its aim
To knit a broken bone and restore severed tissue by invoking Rohiṇī as the sovereign healing plant and Arundhatī as the stabilizing force.
Word by Word
Pada patha
रोहिणी । वनस्पतिः । रोहणी । असि । रोहणी । अस्थ्नः । छिन्नस्य । रोहणी । रोहय । इदम् । अरुन्धति ।
- रोहिणी
- Rohiṇī (a healing plant/deity-name)Rohiṇī; ‘the healer/causer of growth,’ a plant-deity of knitting and regenerationNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole सम्बोधन/कर्तृ (मन्त्र में देवता/औषधि का नाम; संबोधित)Root रोहिणी (प्रातिपदिक; √रुह् ‘अङ्कुरणे/वर्धने’ से निष्पन्न स्त्रीलिङ्ग-नाम)
- वनस्पतिः
- the lord of plants; a plant (tree/herb)lord of the forest; here, a medicinal plant as sovereign among herbsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विशेष्य (रोहिणी का विशेषण/पर्याय)Root वनस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
- रोहण्यसि
- you are (O Rohiṇī)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; रूप: असि; पूर्वपद: रोहणि (सम्बोधन)Role सम्बोधन-प्रयुक्त क्रिया (कर्तृ: त्वम्=रोहिणी)Root √अस् (भू-सत्तायाम्)
- रोहणि
- O RohiṇīNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot रोहणि (प्रातिपदिक; √रुह् से)
- असि
- you arethou art; identification formula establishing the plant’s essential powerVerbलट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (कर्तृ: त्वम्=रोहिणी)Root √अस्
- रोहणि
- O RohiṇīNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot रोहणि (प्रातिपदिक; √रुह् से)
- अस्थ्नः
- of the boneof the bone; locus of injury requiring knittingNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: अस्थ्नः = अस्थ्नस्/अस्थिनः)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः)Root अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक)
- छिन्नस्य
- of the cut/brokenof what is cut/broken; severed tissue/boneAdjectiveपुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘अस्थ्नः’ के साथ सम्बन्धRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root √छिद् (छेदने) → छिन्न (कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
- रोहणी
- the healer; the one that makes grow/knitsO Rohiṇī; vocative invoking the plant’s personified agencyNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (स्तुति/विधेय)Role कर्तृ/विधेय (रोहिणी = ‘healer/knitter’)Root रोहणी (प्रातिपदिक; √रुह् से)
- रोहय
- make (it) grow; heal/knitcause to grow/knit together; imperative activating the remedyVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole प्रेरक-क्रिया (कर्तृ: त्वम्=रोहिणी)Root √रुह् (अङ्कुरणे/वर्धने) → causative √रोहय्
- इदम्
- thisthis (wound/limb); deictic pointing in the ritePronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम)
- अरुन्धति
- O Arundhatī (name of a healing plant/deity)Arundhatī; a restraining/binding feminine power—here, the force that ‘checks’ and stabilizes healing (also a named star/ideal wife, invoked as firmness)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (मन्त्र में औषधि/देवी-नाम)Role सम्बोधनRoot अरुन्धती (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अ-रुध्’/‘रुन्ध्’ से व्युत्पत्ति-परम्परा; ‘अवरोधयित्री/निरोधयित्री’)
Sandhi Notes
- ‘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…’))
Seer, deity and metre
- 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
- Rasa
- Shanta and 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.
Anonymous Atharvanic healer (Bhaiṣajya-sūkta milieu)
Bone-setting, wound-closure charms; plant-deity invocations; domestic therapeutic rites.
Represents the Atharvan strand where vāc (ritual speech) and oṣadhi (plant power) cooperate to restore bodily wholeness.
Rohiṇī (oṣadhi-devatā) with Arundhatī (stambhana/sthairya-śakti)
Rohiṇī channels the forest’s regenerative potency; Arundhatī supplies the cosmic principle of restraint, alignment, and steadfast union.
Promotes union of fractured bone/tissue; accelerates ‘growing-together’ (rohaṇa).
Prevents displacement/loosening; guards the healing site from disruptive forces (seen/unseen).
4 padas with vocative/imperative compression; occasional resolution/irregularity typical of AV healing charms.
Vocatives and repeated ‘rohiṇī’ create mantraic cadence overriding strict syllable count.
Incantatory, hammering repetition (rohiṇī…rohiṇī) followed by a decisive imperative.
Builds confidence and ‘binding intention’; the repeated name functions like rhythmic splinting of attention.
Prepare the Rohiṇī herb (paste/decoction) suitable for topical application.
Set the fractured limb; align the bone.
Apply the herb to the injury while pointing to the limb with ‘idam’.
Bind with splints/bandage; recite the mantra to ‘activate’ knitting and to stabilize the setting through Arundhatī.
Repeat as needed during re-bandaging until union is firm.
Kauśika Sūtra: fracture-setting and wound-healing rites employing Rohiṇī-type herbs and binding (bhaisajya section; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan healer-priest: prepares the herb, recites during setting and binding, and maintains ritual/medical correctness (mantra + bandaging technology).
Recite while applying a splint/bandage; touch the injured place with healing herb or a green sprig; tie a binding cord with the mantra.
Immediately after injury; repeated at re-bandaging (daily/third day) until union is firm.
Household healer (atharvan) or family elder may recite; a specialist vaidya-priest if available.
KauśS (bhaiṣajya section for fractures/bone-setting; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition)
Use as a calming recitation during casting/physio, alongside medical care; avoid replacing clinical treatment.
रोहिणी (healing plant); वनस्पति (medicinal plant as ‘lord’); binding/stabilizing force (अरुन्धती)
Implied: binding/splint as a ‘living amulet’ of restraint (Arundhatī principle).
The forest’s lordly plant-force is invited to perform what plants do naturally: rejoin what is cut; Arundhatī supplies the ‘hold’ that lets growth consolidate.
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.
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.
- 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’.
Steady, low, ‘binding’ tone; avoid trembling vibrato.
Traditionally paired with physical binding/immobilization; speech and bandage act together (vāc-bandhana).
21 times
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.
The mantra is a performative activation of the herb’s ‘rohaṇa’ property: naming Rohiṇī repeatedly equates plant-identity with function (knitting). The deictic ‘idam’ ties speech to the patient’s body, while Arundhatī supplies the conceptual technology of stabilization (preventing re-separation).
Healing is framed as priestly-technical expertise: the Atharvan mediates between plant agency and bodily repair. The patient’s body becomes a site where ritual speech and practical bandaging co-operate under specialist control.
The explicit medical specialization (bone-setting) and dense imperative/vocative repetition are more Atharvanic than RV. The personification of a specific herb as ‘vanaspati’ is continuous with older diction but deployed here in a clinical-apotropaic register.
Gopatha typically legitimizes Atharvanic healing by linking correct mantra-use to cosmic order; Rohiṇī’s ‘growth’ is a bandhu of regeneration. The verse’s efficacy is thus grounded in identification: plant-growth = bone-growth, stabilized by Arundhatī.
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