Atharva Veda 2.35.3: Kanda 2, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 35, Mantra 3
Sukta 35
अ॒दा॒न्यान्त्सो॑म॒पान् मन्य॑मानो य॒ज्ञस्य॑ वि॒द्वान्त्स॑म॒ये न धीरः॑ । यदेन॑श्चकृ॒वान् ब॒द्ध ए॒ष तं वि॑श्वकर्म॒न् प्र मु॑ञ्चा स्व॒स्तये॑
adānyā́n somapā́n manyámāno yajñásya vidvā́n samayé ná dhī́raḥ | yád énaś cakṛvā́n baddhá eṣá táṃ viśvakarman prá muñcā svastáye ||
Ungiving, yet deeming himself a Soma-drinker, and, though knowing the sacrifice, at the due season not steadfast—whatever sin he hath committed, this man is bound thereby: him, O Viśvakarman, do thou wholly loose, for welfare.
ผู้ไม่ให้ทาน แต่กลับคิดว่าตนเป็นผู้ดื่มโสม (somapā) ทั้งรู้พิธีบูชาแต่ในกาลอันควรกลับไม่มั่นคง—บาป (enas) ใดที่เขากระทำ ชายผู้นี้ถูกมัดด้วยบาปนั้น. โอ วิศวกรรมัน (Viśvakarman) โปรดปลดเขาให้สิ้น เพื่อความสวัสดี (svasti).
The meaning
What it says
A man who is ungiving yet thinks himself a Soma-drinker, who knows the sacrifice but is not steady at the proper time—whatever sin he has done, he is bound by it; O Viśvakarman, loosen him wholly for welfare.
The inner meaning
Self-deception (claiming entitlement without generosity) creates inner ‘bondage’—guilt, rigidity, and loss of ritual timing (psychological attunement). Viśvakarman is invoked as the power that re-aligns one’s inner order so the knot of enas releases into svasti (well-being).
The truth in it
Ethical imbalance binds: when entitlement replaces reciprocity, the psyche constricts. Repair requires honest re-ordering, not mere self-justification.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Bhaisajya / Prāyaścitta (Healing-Expiatory; release from enas and bonds)
Its aim
To loosen the ‘bond’ of sin/pollution incurred by ritual/social fault (especially miserliness toward Soma-drinkers and failure at the proper ritual time), restoring auspicious welfare (svasti).
Word by Word
Pada patha
अदान्यान् । सोमपान् । मन्यमानः । यज्ञस्य । विद्वान् । समये । न । धीरः । यत् । एनः । चकृवान् । बद्धः । एषः । तम् । विश्वकर्मन् । प्र । मुञ्च । स्वस्तये ।
- अदान्यान्
- ungenerous (persons), non-giversnot-giving, ungenerous (one who withholds gifts; ritually blameworthy)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot अदान्य (प्रातिपदिक) < a- + दान्य (दान ‘to give’ से)
- सोमपान्
- Soma-drinkersNoun (agentive compound)पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot सोमप (प्रातिपदिक) = सोम + प (पा ‘to drink’ से)
- मन्यमानः
- thinking, supposingthinking (of himself), deeming (himself to be so)Verb (participial)वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), आत्मनेपद-भाव, प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृRoot √मन् (मन्यते)
- यज्ञस्य
- of the sacrificeNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्धRoot यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
- विद्वान्
- knowing, learnedAdjective (participial)परिपूर्ण/भूतकृदन्त-स्वभाव (विद्वस्), प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृRoot √विद् (वेद) → विद्वस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- समये
- at the proper time/occasionat the proper time/appointed occasion (the fixed ritual moment)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot समय (प्रातिपदिक)
- न
- notIndeclinableनिषेधRoot न
- धीरः
- wise (man)steadfast, wise, composed (ritually competent in mind)Adjective/Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot धीर (प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- that whichwhatever/that which (introducing the fault-condition)Relative pronounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (अव्यक्त-सम्बन्धसूचक)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- एनः
- sin, offensesin, offense, pollution-guilt (a binding demerit requiring release)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot एनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- चक्रिवान्
- having done/committedVerb (perfect participle)परिपूर्ण-कृदन्त (कृतवान्-अर्थ), प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृRoot √कृ (करोति) → चक्रिवस् (परिपूर्ण कृदन्त)
- बद्धः
- boundbound, fettered (by guilt, curse, or ritual bond)Adjective (past passive participle)भूतकृदन्त (क्त), प्रथमा, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्गRole कर्तृRoot √बन्ध् (बध्नाति) → बद्ध (कृदन्त)
- एषः
- this (one)this (man/person here present)Demonstrative pronounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- तम्
- himPronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वकर्मन्
- O ViśvakarmanNoun (vocative)पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदान (आह्वान/सम्बोधन)Root विश्वकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; देवता-नाम)
- प्र
- forth, forward (intensifier)forth, forward (intensifier: completely, decisively)Preverbउपसर्गRoot प्र
- मुञ्च
- release! set free!release, unbind, set free (from bonds of enas and its consequences)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRole क्रियाRoot √मुच् (मुञ्चति)
- स्वस्तये
- for well-being, for welfareNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole सम्प्रदानRoot स्वस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- (1) अदान्यान्+सोमपान् → अदान्यान्त्सोमपान् (न् + स् = न्त्स्)
- (2) विद्वान्+समये → विद्वान्त्समये (न् + स् = न्त्स्)
- (3) यत्+एनः → यदेनः (त् + ए → दे; जश्त्व/सन्धि-परिणाम)
- (4) बद्धः+एषः → बद्ध एष (ः + ए → ओ/अभाव; पदपाठ में प्रायः विसर्ग-लोप/विराम)
- (5) विश्वकर्मन्+प्र → विश्वकर्मन् प्र (सन्धि नहीं; सम्बोधन के बाद विराम)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Traditionally Atharvanic/Angirasa attribution for expiatory hymns; specific r̥ṣi for 2.35 requires pada-anukramaṇī confirmation.
- Devata
- Viśvakarman (as releaser and cosmic rectifier); secondarily ‘svasti’ as the desired state.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable; requires metrical verification against pada counts in the Saunaka tradition).
- Rasa
- Karuna and Shanta
Sāyaṇa construes the verse as a prayer of expiation and unbinding: the person, though imagining himself fit for Soma and even ‘knowing’ the yajña, fails in dhī (ritual composure/rectitude) at the critical samaya, and by that lapse incurs enas which ‘binds’ him. Viśvakarman is invoked as the cosmic arranger who can re-set what is disordered and therefore can ‘release’ (pra-muc) the bound one into svasti. The stress falls on adānya (withholding dakṣiṇā/gifts) as a paradigmatic sacrificial fault producing bondage.
Atharvanic expiatory voice (individual ṛṣi uncertain)
Prāyaścitta-oriented unbinding of enas; moral-ritual repair through Viśvakarman’s rectifying order.
Shows Atharvanic ethics as medicine: wrongdoing is treated as a bindable ‘substance’ (enas) that can be loosened by correct speech and re-alignment.
Viśvakarman
Cosmic architect who restores proper arrangement (ṛta-like order) when human ritual-ethics distort it.
Cleanses enas as a contaminant; restores steadiness and auspicious functioning.
Reintegrates the person into welfare (svasti) and social-ritual safety.
4×8 syllables tendency; Atharvanic sandhi and compounds may create slight irregularity.
Anuṣṭubh with didactic, prose-near phrasing typical of expiatory charms.
Compact, admonitory cadence; final pāda resolves into release-for-welfare.
Works well with even pacing and a clear caesura before pra muñca.
Identify the person regarded as ‘bound’ by enas (e.g., due to withholding gifts/dakṣiṇā or ritual lapse).
Seat him facing east; the Atharvan priest prepares a simple svastyayana setting (water for sprinkling; a binding-cord or knot used as a visible token of the ‘bond’).
While reciting the mantra, the priest touches the knot/bond and then loosens it (or symbolically unfastens a cord from the person’s limb).
Sprinkle water for svasti; conclude with a brief benedictory formula, sending the person away ‘unbound’.
Kauśika Sūtra: prāyaścitta/enas-mocana context (exact sutra number requires recension-specific cross-indexing; commonly grouped with ‘bandha-mocana’ and ‘svastyayana’ applications).
Atharvan/Brahman officiant as expiator: diagnoses enas as ‘bandha,’ performs symbolic untying, and pronounces release under Viśvakarman’s authority.
Recite after making restitution (gift/feeding) to repair ‘adānya’; follow with a small offering and a vow to keep proper timing.
At dusk (transition time) or before a planned rite to remove obstacles; also after acknowledging a lapse.
Householder may recite; priest may prescribe dāna and a simple homa as remedial act.
Expiatory prayogas for enas and svasti occur in Kauśika; exact mapping to AVŚ 2.35.3 requires ritual index collation.
Pair with a concrete act of giving and a written commitment to punctuality/discipline.
bond/fetter imagery (bandha); svasti-formula (auspicious well-being); Soma-drinking entitlement (somapā)
No materia medica is named; the operative ‘substance’ is ethical flow (dāna) and its blockage, treated through mantra as pharmakon.
Enas-bond: guilt, ritual impurity, social-ethical fault producing misfortune; ‘stuckness’ and loss of steadiness.
Confessional naming of fault-pattern → divine loosening (pra muñca) → sealing in svasti.
Miserliness/withholding parallels vāta constriction and mental rajas/tamas; svasti aligns with sattva and regulated daily timing (dinacaryā).
Moral injury, shame spirals, addictive entitlement patterns; behavioral repair and self-forgiveness as ‘unbinding’.
The offender/client who is ‘bound’ by enas.
Release from the binding consequence of wrongdoing and ritual negligence; restoration of welfare.
Expiatory diagnosis (adānya/samaye na dhīraḥ) + direct command to deity (pra muñca) + welfare formula (svastaye).
Misfortune arising from ethical-ritual breach; social exclusion; inner turmoil.
General well-being (svasti), ritual success, social harmony.
- अदान्यान् (adānyān)
- blocked flow; refusal of reciprocity that causes constriction
- सोमपान् मन्यमानः (somapān manyamānaḥ)
- spiritual entitlement; claiming status without the supporting ethic
- समये न धीरः (samaye na dhīraḥ)
- loss of inner timing/discipline; failure of ritual-attunement
- एनस् (enas)
- binding residue of misdeed; moral-ritual toxicity
- बद्धः (baddhaḥ)
- karmic/psychic knot; social-ritual exclusion
- स्वस्ति (svasti)
- restored coherence and protection; ‘safe passage’ in life
Release the knot of guilt/entitlement; restore right relationship with giving and timing.
Anāhata (generosity/flow) and Maṇipūra (discipline, dhīra steadiness).
Nadi-śodhana 6–12 rounds; silently place pra muñca on the exhale.
A tight knot at the heart loosening into a smooth flowing ribbon; a clock/sun-cycle aligning (samaya).
From self-justifying agitation to honest steadiness.
Recite 8 or 16 times; then perform a small act of dāna the same day to ‘ground’ the release.
Maintain clear udātta on enas and pra muñca; keep svastaye as a settling cadence.
Pause after baddha eṣa; deliver pra muñca as the performative pivot.
Contrite but firm; soften on svastaye.
Best paired with an actual corrective act (dāna/prāyaścitta); the charm presumes ethical re-flow, not mere recitation.
16 times
After ethical lapse, broken promise, ritual negligence, or feeling ‘cursed by one’s own actions’.
After acknowledging fault; before restarting a discipline; before family rites to clear a sense of impurity.
Relief from guilt, renewed steadiness, improved social harmony and confidence.
Avoid using as bypassing: if harm was done, repair materially and apologize; seek counseling for severe guilt/depression.
No explicit botanical drug appears; the ‘technology’ here is juridical-ritual rather than pharmacological. The operative substance is symbolic: bandha (bond) and its physical correlate (cord/knot) function as the manipulable ‘carrier’ of enas, enabling a performative unbinding synchronized with pra muñca.
The charge adānyaḥ ‘ungiving’ presupposes an economy of dakṣiṇā and obligation toward the somapāḥ—those authorized within the sacrificial order (often priests and elite participants). The verse polices participation: one may claim knowledge and status (‘Soma-drinker,’ ‘knower of yajña’), yet failure in proper giving and ritual comportment produces exclusionary ‘bondage’ requiring priestly mediation.
The diction is largely Rigvedic (enas, bandha, pra-muc, svasti), but the Atharvanic tendency is to foreground moral-ritual fault as a quasi-physical constraint (‘bound by sin’) suited to domestic/apotropaic manipulation. The vocative viśvakarman is Rigvedic, yet here it is deployed in a practical expiatory register rather than cosmological praise.
Gopatha’s general Atharvanic theory treats mantras as efficacious when correctly applied in karman, especially for removing pāpa/enas and restoring order (ṛta) through prāyaścitta. While a direct citation for 2.35.3 must be verified, the conceptual frame matches Gopatha’s linkage of fault (doṣa), bondage (bandha), and release (mokṣa/mocana) effected by Atharvanic speech-act plus rite.
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