Atharva Veda 7.12.4: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 12, Mantra 4
Sukta 12
यद् वो॒ मनः॒ परा॑गतं॒ यद् ब॒द्धमि॒ह वे॒ह वा॑ । तद् व॒ आ व॑र्तयामसि॒ मयि॑ वो रमतां॒ मनः॑
yád vo mánaḥ párāgatam yád baddhám ihá véha vā́ | tád va ā́ vartayāmasi máyi vo ramatāṃ mánaḥ
What mind of yours hath wandered far, what mind is bound—whether here or yonder—this same we turn back hither. In me let your mind take pleasure; in me let it rest.
หากจิตของพวกท่านเร่ร่อนออกไปไกล หากถูกผูกมัด—ไม่ว่าที่นี่หรือที่โน้น—เราย่อมหันมันกลับมาที่นี่. ขอให้จิตของพวกท่านยินดีในข้าพเจ้า; ขอให้มันพักอยู่ในข้าพเจ้า.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker recalls the listeners’ minds that have wandered far or are ‘bound’ elsewhere, turning them back; the audience’s mind is then made to delight and rest in the speaker.
The inner meaning
A psychological technology of attention-binding: retrieving scattered attention (parāgata) and releasing fixation/constraint (baddha), then anchoring rapport so the audience resonates with the speaker’s intent.
The truth in it
Attention is the real ‘seat’ of influence; when attention is recalled and allowed to settle, consent and understanding naturally arise.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika / Vaśīkaraṇa (Subjugation/Attraction in a lawful social setting)
Its aim
To recall and fix the audience’s attention and consent upon the speaker; to counter rival influence in deliberation.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यत् । वः । मनः । परागतम् । यत् । बद्धम् । इह । वा । इह । वा । तत् । वः । आ । वर्तयामसि । मयि । वः । रमताम् । मनः ।
- यत्
- whatever / that whichwhat(ever) (any portion of)Pronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (यद्…तद्-सम्बन्धे ‘तद्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणरूपेण)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- of you; youryour (of you all; the audience/assembly)Pronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्ध) बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्ध (possessor: ‘your’)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- मनः
- mindmind, intention (seat of consent and attention)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (आ-वर्तयामसि इत्यस्य)Root मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- परागतम्
- gone away; departedgone away, distracted (withdrawn from the speaker’s cause)Participle (past passive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (मनः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role — (विशेषण)Root परा-गम् (धातु √गम्) → परागत (कृदन्त)
- यत्
- whatever / that whichwhat(ever)Pronoun (relative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (यद्…तद्-सम्बन्धे)Root यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- बद्धम्
- bound; tiedbound, fastened (held by another influence/attachment)Participle (past passive)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (मनः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role — (विशेषण)Root बन्ध् (धातु √बन्ध्) → बद्ध (कृदन्त)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरण (स्थान)Root इह (अव्यय)
- वा
- orIndeclinable (particle)अव्ययRoot वा (अव्यय)
- इह
- hereIndeclinableअव्ययRole अधिकरण (स्थान)Root इह (अव्यय)
- वा
- orIndeclinable (particle)अव्ययRoot वा (अव्यय)
- तत्
- thatPronoun (demonstrative)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (आ-वर्तयामसि इत्यस्य)Root तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- to you; for youyourPronounचतुर्थी बहुवचन (enclitic) = ‘to/for you’Role सम्प्रदानRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- back; towards (as preverb)back, hither (restorative prefix)Preverb / Indeclinableअव्यय (उपसर्गः)Root आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- वर्तयामसि
- we cause to return; we bring backwe turn/bring back (ritual reversal of distraction)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: वयं)Root वृत्/वर्त् (धातु √वृत्/√वर्त्) → वर्तय (णिजन्त)
- मयि
- in mein me, toward me (as focus of assent)Pronounसप्तमी एकवचनRole अधिकरण (आश्रय/स्थान)Root अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वः
- of you; youryourPronounषष्ठी (सम्बन्ध) बहुवचन (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- रमताम्
- let it delight / let it restlet it delight/rest; let it take pleasure (settle contentedly)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदRole क्रिया (कर्तृ: मनः)Root रम् (धातु √रम्)
- मनः
- mindmind, intentionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (रमताम् इत्यस्य)Root मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- यत् वः मनः परा-गतम् | यत् बद्धम् इह वा इह वा | तत् वः आ वर्तयामसि | मयि वः रमताम् मनः ||
- 1) वे॒ह = वा + इह (वैकल्पिक-समुच्चयः ‘or here’)
- 2) यद् + वः → यत् वः (द् → त्, परसवर्ण/उच्चारण-समायोजन in pada reading)
- 3) तद् + वः → तत् वः (द् → त्)
- 4) आ उपसर्गः वर्तयामसि इत्यनेन सह ‘आ-वर्तयामसि’ = ‘bring back/turn back’
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (unspecified in excerpt).
- Devata
- Manas (mind) as the operative field; implicitly the collective audience.
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh.
- Rasa
- Shanta and Shringara
Sāyaṇa interprets the verse as a saṃmohana/saṃgrahaṇa of attention: if the hearers’ minds are ‘gone’ (parāgata) or ‘bound’ by another party’s influence, the mantra ‘turns them back’ (āvartana) to the performer. ‘Mayi ramatām’ is not mere affection but stable assent—mental settling that produces favourable speech and decision.
Unknown (Atharvanic tradition; vaśīkaraṇa/attention charm)
Vaśīkaraṇa within lawful social contexts: attracting attention, harmonizing minds, countering rival influence in deliberation.
Shows Atharvanic realism: mind is treated as a movable substance; speech acts ‘turn’ it like a current, restoring social coherence.
Manas (mind) / collective attention-field
The subtle organ that links persons; in Atharvanic practice it is addressable and steerable, enabling concord or subjugation depending on intent.
Soothes scattered attention; can relieve agitation and restlessness when used shāntika-wise.
Protects against distraction, rumor, and rival ‘mind-binding’ influences.
4 × 8; balanced antithesis in pādas 1–2, resolution in 3–4.
Repetitive deictics (iha/veha) intensify the ‘net’ effect; charm cadence favors quick comprehension by lay reciters.
Hypnotic, turning-motion rhythm; the verb vartayāmasi acts as the pivot.
Induces focus and rapport; useful as a pre-speech ‘attention call’.
The performer faces the persons whose assent is sought.
He recites the mantra while making a beckoning gesture (āhvāna) with the right hand, symbolically ‘turning back’ their minds.
He may touch his own heart or head on ‘mayi’, marking himself as the locus of their attention.
He then begins his petition/speech immediately, before attention disperses.
Kauśika Sūtra: manas-ākarṣaṇa / saṃmohana rites (often grouped with attraction/conciliation procedures; numbering varies).
Atharvan priest acts as ritual technician of ‘manas’—ensuring correct accent and coordinating gesture with recitation; he may perform the beckoning on behalf of the client.
Recite before teaching, counseling, mediation, or family decision-making to create attentive concord; also before addressing elders.
Just before speaking; or at the start of a meeting.
Typically self-recited; a purohita may recite for a patron in a formal dispute/assembly.
KauśS: often aligned with vaśīkaraṇa/saṃgamanīya-type uses (edition-dependent concordance).
Use as a ‘focus invocation’ before presentations; pair with a brief pause to let attention settle.
No physical medium: the ‘substance’ is manaḥ itself—imagined as a tethered/straying entity that can be called back and made to ‘rest’.
Mano-vikṣepa (mental distraction), anxiety-like restlessness; also ‘bound mind’ as obsession/fixation.
Re-centering attention through suggestion + rhythmic recitation; shifts autonomic tone toward calm engagement.
Supports sattva; counters rajas (restlessness) and tamas (stuckness). Comparable to manas-śamana practices.
Mindfulness-style attentional reorientation; grounding technique for ADHD-like distraction or pre-performance nerves (non-clinical use).
The minds of listeners (collective).
To retrieve and anchor the audience’s attention/consent on the speaker; to neutralize competing captivation.
Mind-turning (ā-vartana) + attraction/rapport (ramatām) through direct address and performative speech.
Distraction, rival persuasion, inattentive assembly.
Success in negotiation, teaching, sales, advocacy; harmonious group alignment.
- मनः (manaḥ)
- attention, intention, receptivity
- परागत (parāgata)
- distraction, rumination, divided focus
- बद्ध (baddha)
- fixation, bias, captivation by another influence
- आ वर्तयामसि (ā vartayāmasi)
- re-centering; guided return of attention
- रमताम् (ramatām)
- affiliative resonance; willing engagement rather than force
- मयि (mayi)
- the speaker as focal point/axis of discourse
Call back scattered attention; establish a calm ‘magnet’ at the heart/forehead.
Ājñā (attention) and Anāhata (rapport).
Exhale-lengthening (e.g., inhale 4, exhale 6) while repeating ‘tad va ā vartayāmasi’.
Visualize listeners’ attention as birds returning to a perch in your calm presence; no force—only a safe resting place.
Centered, receptive, quietly persuasive.
Chant softly once, then speak slowly for the first three sentences to let the ‘returned mind’ stabilize.
Even, soothing Atharvanic tone; emphasize contrasts parāgatam / baddham; pivot on ā vartayāmasi.
Keep iha/veha crisp; do not over-lengthen. Let ‘mayi vo ramatāṃ manaḥ’ descend gently in pitch.
Soft, inviting, steady breath-supported.
Best efficacy comes from non-agitated delivery; coercive tone contradicts ‘ramatām’ (willing delight).
7 times
Public speaking, teaching, counseling, negotiation, family mediation; also self-focus when mind is scattered.
At the start of a session; or when attention is visibly drifting.
Improved focus, rapport, and receptivity; reduced distraction and mental ‘tug-of-war’.
Use ethically; avoid manipulative intent in vulnerable contexts. Not a substitute for clinical mental health care.
There is no plant-substance; the rite manipulates ‘mind’ as a quasi-material entity that can be ‘turned back’ (āvartana), paralleling Atharvanic techniques used for recalling life-breath or health.
It presumes competitive persuasion in public settings and legitimizes mental influence as a ritual act. The Atharvan specialist’s expertise becomes a tool for navigating institutional power.
The psychological vocabulary (manas, parāgata, baddha) is old, but the operational framing—explicitly ‘we turn it back’—is characteristically Atharvanic, treating mental states as manipulable objects.
Gopatha’s emphasis on the efficacy of correctly applied brahman supports the idea that attention/assent is produced by mantra as causal force; ‘āvartana’ is a ritual reversal restoring proper alignment between speaker and audience.
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