Sukta 2

Kind of hymn

Śānti / Social-apotropaic (countering hostility; securing agreeable speech)

What it is for

Hostile intention is dispelled; the practitioner gains strong, honeyed, socially welcomed speech and the capacity to hear auspicious sayings; the ritual space is stabilized through prastara-veneration.

Who it is for

Householders, speakers/negotiators, students/reciters, and ritual practitioners seeking concord, good report, and smooth public interaction.

Also used as

• Paustika (renown/auspicious reception)
• Social-apotropaic (counter-hostility)
• Karmāṅga sanctification (ritual implement consecration)

The deity

Vāk is the personified power of utterance—sweet, forceful, socially binding speech—while ‘auspicious hearing’ protects reception of good report; the prastara (strewn grass/seat) is treated as a divine ritual support that makes the rite acceptable to the devas.

Powers of the deity

• Drives out durarmaṇya (ill-will/hostile intent) from the social field
• Makes speech ‘madhu-matī’ (honeyed), persuasive, and reputation-forming
• Turns hearing toward bhadra-śruti (auspicious report) and away from ill-omens
• Consecrates the ritual locus (prastara), ensuring correctness and divine favor

Why the deity is called

To replace hostility with sweet, effective speech; to ensure one both speaks and hears auspiciously; and to seal the rite by sacralizing its physical support (prastara).

The seer

• Atharvanic (anukramaṇī-dependent attribution)Atharvan. Śānti and social-apotropaic charms: pacifying hostility, securing agreeable vā́k (speech), and stabilizing ritual correctness through brief efficacious formulas.

Other hymns of this seer

• AV 16.1
• AV 16.3
• AV 7.12 (vā́k/renown-oriented charms; tradition-level parallel)

Preparing for the rite

• Choose a clean, quiet place; establish a small prastara (strewn kuśa/darbha grass) as a seat or ritual base.
• Perform ācamana (sipping water) and a brief intention-setting: ‘for concord and sweet speech’.
• If desired, place a small amount of honey (madhu) or sweet water nearby as a symbolic support for ‘madhu-matī vā́k’.
• Compose the mind: avoid anger; the hymn’s efficacy presumes a pacific inner stance.

The rite

• Recite the opening formula(s) with emphasis on expelling durarmaṇya and installing ‘ūर्जā madhu-matī vāk’.
• Touch or gesture toward the mouth/throat while reciting speech-formulas; then touch both ears while reciting the ‘suśrutau/ bhadraśrutau karṇau’ verse.
• Conclude by saluting the prastara (or the seat/grass) with the prastara-mantra, treating it as divine support and seal of correctness.
• Optionally repeat the key lines 3 or 9 times for reinforcement, maintaining calm breath and clear articulation.

What it needs

• Prastara (strewn kuśa/darbha grass) or a clean seat as its substitute
• Water for ācamana
• Optional: honey (madhu) or sweetened water as a symbolic adjunct

When

Before assemblies, negotiations, teaching/recitation, or any setting where speech and reputation are at stake; also at the start of a rite when establishing the seat/prastara.

The main substance

Prastara (strewn kuśa/darbha grass) as ritual base; ‘madhu’ as a symbolic quality of speech (optionally materialized as honey).

Amulets

• Kuśa/darbha prastara (kept as a consecrated seat/base for recitation)

How it is prepared

Spread kuśa/darbha tips oriented in a consistent direction to form a prastara; keep it clean and reserved for recitation/rite. If using honey, place a small drop in water as a symbolic ‘sweetening’ adjunct (not mandatory).