Atharva Veda 6.123.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 123, Mantra 2
Sukta 123
जा॒नी॒त स्मै॑नं पर॒मे व्योऽम॒न् देवाः॒ सध॑स्था वि॒द लो॒कमत्र॑ । अ॒न्वा॒ग॒न्ता यज॑मानः स्व॒स्तीऽष्टापू॒र्तं स्म॑ कृणुता॒विर॑स्मै
jānīta smáinaṃ paramé vyòman devā́ḥ sadhásthā víd lókam átra | anvāgántā yajámānaḥ svastí ’ṣṭāpūrtáṃ smá kṛṇutāvír asmai ||
Acknowledge ye it, indeed, in the highest heaven; O gods, companions of one seat, take knowledge of the world here. Following on, the sacrificer (comes) in welfare: make ye for him, manifestly, the merit of sacrifice and of pious gift.
जानीत स्मैनं परमे व्योमन्; देवाः सधस्थाः, विद लोकम् अत्र। अन्वागन्ता यजमानः स्वस्ति; अष्टापूर्तं स्म कृणुताविरस्मै॥
Rishi: Not specified in excerpt; verify via Anukramaṇī.
Devata: Devas as witnesses; saumanasa/merit as operative power.
Chandas: Likely Anuṣṭubh (verification needed).
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa treats the gods as witnesses who ‘know’ and thereby stabilize the loka ‘here’—a sacralization of the social space. Aṣṭāpūrta is glossed as iṣṭa (Vedic offerings) plus pūrta (wells, rest-houses, gifts), i.e., total religious merit; the mantra requests that such merit become ‘āvis’—evident and effective—for the patron.
To have divine witnesses ratify concord and to convert it into visible merit (iṣṭa-pūrta) and welfare for the yajamāna.
Stress reduction through ritualized affirmation and community validation; reinforces prosocial behavior linked to wellbeing.
paustika
yajamāna (householder/patron)
To obtain divine recognition and make the yajamāna’s iṣṭāpūrta visibly efficacious as welfare and standing.
Witness-invocation + performative request (āviḥ-karaṇa: making potency ‘manifest’).
Loss/obstruction of merit; social instability; lack of recognition.
Merit, reputation, household stability, auspicious trajectory.
The gods, seated together in the highest heaven, are asked to recognize “this” and to know the world here; the yajamāna follows in well-being, and the gods are urged to make his iṣṭa-pūrta (merit from sacrifice and charitable works) manifest for him.
A stabilization formula: the psyche seeks ratification from an “upper court” (devas as witnesses) so that one’s social-religious identity and accumulated merit become felt as real, visible, and protective in the lived world (loka atra).
Human flourishing depends on recognized order: when actions of offering and generosity are witnessed, integrated, and affirmed, they become enduring capital—ethical, social, and spiritual—that supports welfare.
- परमे व्योमन् (parame vyoman)
- the supreme register of truth; the level where deeds are ‘sealed’ beyond dispute
- देवाः सधस्थाः (devāḥ sadhasthāḥ)
- a unified assembly of powers; consensus of cosmic order validating the rite
- लोकम् अत्र (lokam atra)
- the ritually constituted social field; the immediate life-world to be stabilized
- यजमानः (yajamānaḥ)
- the responsible agent whose identity is formed by giving/ritual duty
- स्वस्ति (svasti)
- a protective state produced by alignment with ṛta and communal harmony
- इष्टापूर्त (iṣṭāpūrta)
- accumulated dharmic potency as a transferable, quasi-substantial force
- आविः (āviḥ)
- making merit ‘operational’—seen as health, status, success
Merit as light made manifest (āviḥ): contemplate the conversion of intention into visible beneficence.
Even nasal breathing; recite on long exhalations to cultivate steadiness and sincerity.
Sāttvic assurance and social rootedness.
Pair recitation with a concrete act of giving; then sit briefly, imagining the act ‘registered’ in the highest vyoman and returning as svasti in daily life.
AVŚ recitation with udātta/anudātta/svarita as per Śaunaka śākhā tradition; keep clear udātta on vocatives (devāḥ) and key imperatives (jānīta, vida, kṛṇuta).
Maintain sentence breaks at ‘devāḥ sadhasthā’ and before ‘anv-āgantā’.
jānīta: lengthen ā, keep retroflex ṇ, sadhasthāḥ: articulate dh + sth cluster cleanly, iṣṭāpūrtaṃ: keep ṣṭ and pūr long ū, āviḥ: clear long ā; visarga lightly before vowel/sibilant context
Clear, formal, proclamatory.
Best used as a ‘seal’ (mudrā-like) after an act of offering or charity; avoid hurried chanting—witness-formulas depend on clarity.
3
After charity, hosting guests, completing a vow, or seeking social-religious legitimacy (new home, new role, community responsibilities).
Immediately after the act (dāna/annadāna/offerings), or at day’s end to consolidate merit.
Sense of auspicious continuity; strengthened confidence that good actions will bear fruit; improved household harmony.
Do not treat as a substitute for ethical action—its efficacy presumes actual iṣṭa and pūrta.
पाठे ‘व्योऽमन्’ = व्योमन् (व्योमन् इति नपुंसक-सप्तमी एकवचनम्; ओऽवग्रहः पदसन्धि-चिह्नः). ‘लोकमत्र’ = लोकम् + अत्र (म् + अ → मत्र). ‘स्वस्तीऽष्टापूर्तम्’ = स्वस्ति + अष्टापूर्तम् (इ + अ → य्; अवग्रहः). ‘कृणुता॒विर॑स्मै’ = कृणुत + आविः + अस्मै (त् + आ → ता; आविः अस्मै इति पृथक् पदे).
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