Atharva Veda 16.2.4: Kanda 16, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 4
Sukta 2
सु॒श्रुतौ॒ कर्णौ॑ भद्र॒श्रुतौ॒ कर्णौ॑ भ॒द्रं श्लोकं॑ श्रूयासम्
suśrutáu kárṇau bhadraśrutáu kárṇau bhadráṃ ślókaṃ śrūyāsam
Well-hearing be mine ears, auspicious-hearing be mine ears: may I hear an auspicious saying.
Dobrze słyszące niech będą moje uszy, pomyślnie słyszące niech będą moje uszy: obym usłyszał pomyślną mowę.
The meaning
What it says
A direct benediction for the ears: may they be ‘well-hearing’ and ‘auspicious-hearing,’ so that only an auspicious utterance (śloka) is received.
The inner meaning
Training attention and receptivity: the psyche chooses what it ‘lets in.’ The mantra installs a bias toward wholesome inputs (śubha-śruti) and away from anxiety-producing rumor or harsh speech.
The truth in it
What we repeatedly listen to shapes our inner world; cultivating auspicious hearing is a discipline of discernment, not mere sensory function.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika / Apotropaic (omen-control)
Its aim
To ensure reception of auspicious news and avert ill-omened reports; to secure praise/renown.
Word by Word
Pada patha
सु॒-श्रु॒तौ । कर्णौ॑ । भ॒द्र॒-श्रु॒तौ । कर्णौ॑ । भ॒द्रम् । श्लोक॑म् । श्रू॒यास॑म् ।
- सुश्रुतौ
- well-hearing, of good hearingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (कर्णौ इति विशेष्यस्य)Role Kartā (अन्तर्भूतः—कर्णौ एव श्रोत्र-कर्तारौ)Root सु-श्रुत (प्रातिपदिक; श्रुत < √श्रु ‘to hear’)
- कर्णौ
- (two) earstwo ears (organs of hearing; also gateways for auspicious report)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- भद्रश्रुतौ
- auspicious-hearing, hearing what is goodhearing what is auspicious; hearing good tidings (protective against ill-omened rumor)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, द्विवचन (कर्णौ इति विशेष्यस्य)Role Kartā (अन्तर्भूतः—कर्णौ)Root भद्र-श्रुत (प्रातिपदिक; श्रुत < √श्रु)
- कर्णौ
- (two) earsears (repeated for emphasis/parallelism)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole KartāRoot कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
- भद्रम्
- auspicious, goodauspicious, fortunate, beneficial (good, not harmful)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (श्लोकम् इति विशेष्यस्य)Role KarmaRoot भद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- श्लोकम्
- verse, hymnutterance, verse, report; here: favorable proclamation/praiseNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot श्लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
- श्रूयासम्
- may I hearmay I hear (optative of √śru); may it come to my hearingVerbविधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √श्रु (शृणोति)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: सुश्रुतौ कर्णौ | भद्रश्रुतौ कर्णौ | भद्रम् श्लोकम् श्रूयासम्।
- 1) ‘सुश्रुतौ/भद्रश्रुतौ’ इति विशेषणद्विवचनं ‘कर्णौ’ (प्रथमा-द्विवचन) इत्यस्य
- रूपे प्रथमा/द्वितीया-द्विवचनयोः समानता।
- 2) ‘भद्रं श्लोकं’ इत्यत्र संहितायां विशेष-सन्धिः न
- केवलं पदान्त-अनुस्वारः (भद्रम्) दर्शितः।
Seer, deity and metre
- Devata
- Indriyas (sense-faculties) / auspicious śruti (functional).
- Chandas
- Likely Anuṣṭubh (requires verification).
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Hearing is treated as a channel of fate: to ‘hear good’ is to receive good. Sāyaṇa takes bhadra-śruta as exclusion of inauspicious speech (aśubha-vārtā) and as securing praise and favorable news; śloka is ‘kīrti-vacana’ (speech of renown).
Unknown (Anukramaṇī consultation required for AVŚ 16.2.4)
Indriya-sampat and śubha-śruti charms (prosperity/omen-control through sense-faculties).
Typical Atharvanic ‘installation’ (ādhāna) of auspiciousness into a body-locus; the seer functions as a technician of vāc that recalibrates perception.
Indriya-devatā (Karṇa/Śruti) with Bhadrá (auspiciousness) as operative power
Sense-faculties as conduits between ṛta (right order) and embodied life; what is heard becomes destiny through counsel, omen, and social report.
Supports auditory clarity and reduces distress from harmful inputs (conceptually akin to calming ‘noise’ in mind).
Apotropaic against duḥśruti (ill-omened report), harsh speech, and destabilizing rumor.
Anuṣṭubh-like (short Atharvanic pada; needs recensional verification)
4×8 (compressed, with Atharvanic sandhi-driven irregularities possible)
Mantric prose-leaning anuṣṭubh: emphasis on paired duals (karṇau…karṇau) over strict metrical cadence.
Incantatory and symmetrical; the repetition of karṇau creates a ‘sealing’ effect.
Stabilizes attention; the doubled ear-formula works like a verbal amulet placed on the sense-organ.
Touch or lightly rub the ears while reciting, ‘consecrating’ hearing.
Recite before entering an assembly, court, or public gathering.
Optionally accompany with a silent resolve to avoid hearing/uttering slander.
Kauśika Sūtra: exact locus for AVŚ 16.2.4 not securely retrievable here (requires edition lookup).
Atharvan as controller of omens and social speech: he ritually conditions sensory intake toward auspicious outcomes.
Recite at dawn before entering public space, before meetings, or before receiving messages/news; optionally touch both ears while chanting.
Morning (prātaḥ) or before hearing important communications
Householder self-recitation; a purohita may include it in śānti sequences.
Use as a ‘digital hygiene’ mantra before checking news/phone to set an auspicious filter.
Organs of sense (ears) as ritual loci for installing auspiciousness
The ‘substance’ is the body itself: the ear becomes the receptacle (pātra) of bhadra. In Atharvanic logic, organ + word = functional amulet.
Auditory weakness / distress from harmful hearing (conceptual; not a named disease here)
Ears (karṇau)
Indriya-śuddhi by vāc: blessing the organ and filtering incoming speech/omens.
Indriya-prasādana; supports sattvic śravaṇa and reduces rājasic/tāmasic sensory overload (broadly aligned with manas/indriya balance).
Mindful media diet; reducing stress from negative news; supportive affirmation for auditory well-being.
Self (the chanter)
To secure reception of auspicious news, praise, and beneficial counsel; to avert ill-omened reports.
Indriya-ādhāna: verbally ‘installing’ bhadra-quality into the ears; repetition as sealing.
Duḥśruti, gossip, verbal harm, ominous tidings
Reputation/renown (yaśas) and social well-being through good report
- सुश्रुतौ (suśrutau)
- healthy sensory gate; accurate reception without distortion
- भद्रश्रुतौ (bhadraśrutau)
- hearing that attracts good omens and right counsel
- कर्णौ (karṇau)
- threshold of vāc; ‘gatekeepers’ of mind
- भद्रम् (bhadram)
- śiva/śreyas-quality; what conduces to welfare
- श्लोकम् (ślokam)
- renown, good report, right speech entering one’s life
- श्रूयासम् (śrūyāsam)
- intentional reception; vow of selective listening
Śravaṇa-śuddhi: listen for the ‘bhadra’ in sound; cultivate discerning receptivity.
Viśuddha (throat/communication) indirectly via purified listening
Slow nasal breathing; brief kumbhaka after ‘karṇau’ to ‘seal’ the sense-gate.
Imagine both ears as lotus-gates receiving only golden syllables; harsh sounds dissolve at the threshold.
Pratyāhāra-leaning calm alertness
For 7 or 21 repetitions, touch ears lightly, then sit silently for one minute observing ambient sound without grasping.
Simple Atharvanic recitation; keep udātta on marked syllables (as in provided accenting).
Hold the duals suśrutau/karṇau clearly; slight pause after each ‘karṇau’ for symmetry.
Soft but firm; ‘sealing’ tone on karṇau.
Gesture-support is traditional in Atharvanic practice: touch or cup the ears to localize the mantra’s effect.
7 times
Before receiving important news; when surrounded by negativity/gossip; when seeking good counsel.
Morning; before meetings/calls; before entering crowded spaces.
Greater calm, selective listening, improved social outcomes through receiving/attracting auspicious speech.
Not a substitute for medical evaluation of hearing loss; use alongside appropriate care.
No plant appears; the ‘technology’ is somatic: the ears are treated as ritual instruments. The mantra installs a protective filter against harmful speech-omens.
Reputation and public report (‘śloka’) are social forces. The charm implies a world where status is mediated by what is heard and said—praise, rumor, and formal proclamation.
The adjectival compounds su-śruta and bhadra-śruta show productive Atharvanic compounding for pragmatic ends. The optative śrūyāsam is a direct wish-form typical of charms.
Gopatha’s emphasis on correct ‘hearing’ and ‘speech’ as ritual powers supports this: auspicious śruti is not passive but ritually produced, aligning the person with favorable outcomes.
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