Atharva Veda 6.130.2: Kanda 6, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 130, Mantra 2
Sukta 130
अ॒सौ मे॑ स्मरता॒दिति॑ प्रि॒यो मे॑ स्मरता॒दिति॑ । देवाः॒ प्र हि॑णुत स्म॒रम॒सौ मामनु॑ शोचतु
asáu me smaratād íti priyó me smaratād íti | devā́ḥ prá hiṇuta smarám asáu mām ánu śocatu
‘Let yonder one remember me,’ thus; ‘let my dear one remember me,’ thus. O Gods, drive forth Smara: let yonder one pine after me.
‘ఆ వ్యక్తి నన్ను స్మరించుగాక’—అని; ‘నా ప్రియుడు/ప్రియురాలు నన్ను స్మరించుగాక’—అని. ఓ దేవులారా, స్మరాన్ని ముందుకు నడిపించండి; ఆ వ్యక్తి నన్ను అనుసరించి తపించుగాక.
The meaning
What it says
States the desired outcome explicitly: ‘Let yonder one remember me; let my beloved remember me.’ Again asks the gods to dispatch Smara so the target pines after the speaker.
The inner meaning
Uses direct autosuggestion and scripting (‘iti’) to fix the wish as a spoken formula; psychologically it is a rehearsal of being remembered, intensifying attachment and expectation.
The truth in it
What we repeatedly verbalize becomes a mental groove; remembrance can be invited through presence and kindness, but coercive insistence tends to entangle both parties in suffering.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Abhicarika (Vaśīkaraṇa / love-compulsion)
Its aim
To cause the target, identified as ‘beloved,’ to remember the client and suffer longing that drives approach.
Word by Word
Pada patha
असौ । मे । स्मरताद्-इति । प्रियः । मे । स्मरताद्-इति । देवाः । प्र । हिणुत । स्मरम् । असौ । माम् । अनु । शोचतु
- असौ
- that (man), hethat person (the intended beloved/target)Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मे
- of me, myof me, for me; marks the client as the object of remembrancePronounषष्ठी-एकवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्मरतात्
- may he rememberVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपदम्, तृतीया-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (असौ) कर्तृ; (माम्—अध्याहृत) कर्मRoot स्मृ (धातु)
- इति
- thus, ‘so’Indeclinableअव्ययम्Role वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरण-चिह्नRoot इति
- प्रियः
- dear (one), beloveddear one, beloved; also ‘the one to be made dear/attached’Adjective (used substantively)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ (असौ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
- मे
- of me, myme; reiteration intensifies possession/attachmentPronounषष्ठी-एकवचनम् (एन्क्लिटिक)Role सम्बन्ध (genitive)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- स्मरतात्
- may he rememberVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपदम्, तृतीया-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role (प्रियः) कर्तृ; (माम्—अध्याहृत) कर्मRoot स्मृ (धातु)
- इति
- thus, ‘so’Indeclinableअव्ययम्Role वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरण-चिह्नRoot इति
- देवाः
- O gods; the godsO Gods; executors of the compulsionNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-बहुवचनम्Role सम्प्रदान/सम्बोधन-प्राय (आह्वानार्थे) तथा कर्तृ (हिṇुत इत्यस्य)Root देव (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्र
- forth, forward (intensifier)forth; sending outwardPreverb/Indeclinableउपसर्गःRole क्रियाविशेषण (हिṇुत इत्यस्य)Root प्र
- हिṇुत
- impel, send forth, urgeVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role कर्तृ: देवाः; कर्म: स्मरम्Root हि (धातु; ‘प्रेरणे/गत्यर्थे’), उपसर्गः प्र-
- स्मरम्
- love/longing; remembrance (as a force)Smara; the agent of longingNounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
- असौ
- that (man), hethat person; re-pointing to the targetPronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम्Role कर्तृRoot असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- माम्
- meme; the target’s fixation is redirected to the speakerPronounद्वितीया-एकवचनम्Role कर्मRoot अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after, following; in responseafter; in pursuitPreverb/Indeclinableउपसर्गःRole क्रियाविशेषण (शोचतु इत्यस्य)Root अनु
- शोचतु
- may he grieve/ache (for), lamentlet pine/burn; love-sickness as coercive sufferingVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपदम्, तृतीया-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role कर्तृ: असौ; कर्म: माम्Root शुच्/शोच् (धातु; ‘शोके/दाहे’)
Sandhi Notes
- असौ मे स्मरतात् इति | प्रियः मे स्मरतात् इति | देवाः प्र हिणुत स्मरम् | असौ माम् अनु शोचतु।
- 1) स्मरतादिति = स्मरतात् + इति (त् + इ → दि).
- 2) हिणुत = √हि (प्रेरणे) लोट् मध्यम-बहु
- ‘प्र’ उपसर्गः पृथक्।
- 3) मामनु = माम् + अनु (व्यञ्जन-सन्धिः; म् + अ → म + अ, लेखने ‘मामनु’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic/anonymous
- Devata
- Smara (Kāma); Gods as agents
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh-like (refrain-driven spell meter)
- Rasa
- Shringara and Bhayankara
Sāyaṇa treats the iti-phrases as saṅkalpa-vākya—explicitly stating the intended mental act (smaraṇa) to be produced in the target. The doubling (me…me) is read as dṛḍhīkaraṇa, a strengthening of the bond; śocatu indicates the painful intensity that prevents forgetfulness.
Anonymous (Atharvavedic kāmya/vaśīkaraṇa tradition)
Abhicārika fascination spells with refrain structure; verbal ‘scripting’ of the target’s mental state.
Highlights the performative power of quoted intention (‘iti’) in Atharvan magic: the desired speech/thought of the other is pre-uttered into reality.
Smara (Kāma); Gods as dispatchers
Smara governs remembrance and attraction; the gods are invoked as legitimizers and propellers of the desire-force into the target’s mind.
4 × ~8; first half is a double wish-formula; second half repeats the dispatch + outcome refrain.
Explicit quoted commands (‘iti’) are typical of operational charm language; refrain stabilizes the spell across repetitions.
Two short ‘programming’ lines → imperative thrust → lingering outcome.
Mantric insistence on ‘remember me’ can induce trance-like fixation; best handled with restraint.
The operator names or mentally indicates the target while uttering ‘asau’.
He recites the two iti-clauses as a formalized intention-statement.
He then recites the dispatch refrain (devāḥ prá hiṇuta …) to ‘send’ Smara.
The rite is performed as a private domestic act, with controlled breath and unbroken accent to avoid misdirection.
Kauśika Sūtra: vaśīkaraṇa/kāmayāna-prayoga (edition-dependent citation)
Atharvan priest as controller of intention-language (iti) and correct deictic targeting; he ensures the mantra ‘lands’ on the intended person.
Recite privately while focusing on the target; traditionally could be synchronized with counting (knots/beads) to ‘bind’ remembrance.
Night or before a meeting/message; repeated over several days in some charm patterns.
Generally self-performed; specialist involvement uncommon for intimate love-magic.
Prefer ethical adaptation: chant for mutual remembrance/healthy relationship, or as self-worth practice without targeting a specific non-consenting person.
Implicit ‘burning’ in longing (śoc-), a psychic fire.
The operative ‘substance’ is vāc itself: the formula ‘smaratāt… iti’ functions like an inscribed charm, programming remembrance through repeated utterance.
Managing attachment/limerence; cognitive scripting/affirmations (with ethical boundary concerns).
A specific person (‘asau’, ‘priyaḥ’).
Cause the beloved/target to remember the operator and become love-sick.
Quoted wish (‘iti’) as performative command + divine dispatch of Smara + refrain of compelled longing.
- asau
- the projected object of desire; the ‘other’ as screen for longing
- smaratāt
- implantation of thought; making oneself salient in another’s mind
- priya
- attachment-object; the sweetness that can become binding
- iti
- spell as scripted command; performative speech-act
- smara
- obsessive recollection, eros as compulsion
- anu śocatu
- love-sickness as magical proof of efficacy
Witness ‘remember me’ craving as a wave; cultivate non-clinging and self-soothing.
svādhiṣṭhāna
Cooling breath (śītalī/śītkārī) after chanting to prevent agitation.
Replace compulsion with a mutual-heart visualization: two lamps that brighten without burning.
If practiced, keep it reflective rather than projective; return to equanimity.
Chant mentally 21 times, then practice 5 minutes of metta for the person and for oneself; end by releasing outcome (exhale-long).
Clear articulation of the quoted phrases; slight emphasis on ‘smaratāt’ each time; refrain delivered consistently.
Make ‘asau me smaratāt’ and ‘priyo me smaratāt’ parallel in tone; command tone on ‘devāḥ pra hiṇuta smaram’; taper on final clause.
Focused, slightly intense; keep breath steady to avoid agitation.
Refrain-driven love-spells can amplify fixation; traditional secrecy and restraint are implied—modern practice should prioritize non-harm and consent.
108 times
Longing for contact/attention from a beloved.
Traditional: when seeking to draw someone back; modern: best used as self-reflection or to strengthen one’s own confidence before communicating directly and respectfully.
Traditional claim: increases remembrance in the target; ethical reinterpretation: clarifies desire, steadies courage to communicate.
Do not use to pressure or stalk; stop if it increases obsession/anxiety; seek support if attachment becomes distressing.
Again, no materia medica appears; the rite is purely semiotic/psychic coercion: repetition plus deictic targeting (‘asau’) and explicit intention (‘iti’) function as the operative technology.
The beloved is linguistically reduced to a manipulable object of ritual speech. The gods are treated as instruments of the operator’s desire, reflecting a household-level power dynamic mediated by Atharvanic expertise.
The quotative ‘iti’ used performatively inside the mantra is a pragmatic feature common in Atharvanic spells, less typical of Rigvedic praise-hymns. The structure resembles a charm with embedded command rather than a stotra.
In Gopatha logic, efficacy depends on brahman as correctly formed speech plus correct prayoga. Here the iti-clauses make the prayoga explicit, aligning utterance and intention to compel the target’s manas.
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