Sukta 34
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (often transmitted under Atharvan/Angiras lineages; specific r̥ṣi attribution for this single mantra is edition-dependent).
Devata: Oṣadhi/Vīrut personified; Madhu (sweetness/honey) as an empowering principle.
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (4 pādas of ~8 syllables; Atharvanic anuṣṭubh with minor irregularities possible).
اٹھرو وید ۱۔۳۴ ایک "مادھو (میٹھا)" منتر ہے جو شہد سے پیدا ہونے والی ایک بیل (اوشدھی/ویروت) کو پاک کرتا ہے اور اس کی خوشگوار، زندگی کو سہارا دینے والی صفت کو سادک کے جسم، کلام اور معاشرتی دائرہ میں منتقل کرتا ہے۔ پودے کے رسمی استعمال سے، اکثر حقیقی شہد کے ساتھ، اور پڑھنے کے ذریعے، یہ منتر میٹھی خوشحالی پیدا کرنے کا مقصد رکھتا ہے: صحت، خوشگوار الفاظ، ذہنی اثر، ہم آہنگی اور کشش۔
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
मधुविद्या। इ॒यं वी॒रुन्मधु॑जाता॒ मधु॑ना त्वा खनामसि । मधो॒रधि॒ प्रजा॑तासि॒ सा नो॒ मधु॑मतस्कृधि
یہ بیل، شہد سے پیدا ہوئی، شہد کے ساتھ تجھے کھودتے ہیں۔ تو شہد سے، میٹھاس سے پیدا ہوئی ہے، تو ہمارے لیے شہد جیسا بھلا بن جا۔
Mantra 2
जि॒ह्वाया॒ अग्रे॒ मधु॑ मे जिह्वामू॒ले म॒धूल॑कम्। ममेदह॒ क्रता॒वसो॒ मम॑ चि॒त्तमु॒पाय॑सि
زبان کے سرے پر میرے لیے شہد ہو، زبان کی جڑ پر شہد کا قطرہ ہو۔ اے ارادے کے مددگار، یہاں تو میرے خیال، میرے ذہن کے پاس آتا ہے۔
Mantra 3
मधु॑मन्मे नि॒क्रम॑णं॒ मधु॑मन्मे प॒राय॑णम्। वा॒चा व॑दामि॒ मधु॑मद् भू॒यासं॒ मधु॑संदृशः
میرا قدم اٹھانا میٹھا ہو، میرا آگے بڑھنا میٹھا ہو۔ بولی سے میں میٹھی بات کہتا ہوں، میں میٹھا ہوں اور دیکھنے میں میٹھا لگوں۔
Mantra 4
मधो॑रस्मि॒ मधु॑तरो म॒दुघा॒न्मधु॑मत्तरः । मामित् किल॒ त्वं वनाः॒ शाखां॒ मधु॑मतीमिव
میں میٹھا ہوں، بلکہ بہت میٹھا، شہد سے بھی زیادہ میٹھا، شہد سے زیادہ بابرکت۔ یقیناً تو مجھے چاہے گا، جیسے کوئی شہد بھری ڈالی کو پسند کرتا ہے۔
Mantra 5
परि॑ त्वा परित॒त्नुने॒क्षुणा॑गा॒मवि॑द्विषे । यथा॒ मां का॒मिन्यसो॒ यथा॒ मन्नाप॑गा॒ असः॑
میں گنے کے ساتھ تجھ کے پاس آیا ہوں، ایسے کے پاس جو نفرت نہیں کرتا، تاکہ آرزو مند عورتیں میری طرف مائل ہوں اور تو مجھ سے دور نہ جائے۔
Inside Sukta 34
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by naming the creeper as ‘madhu-born’ and approaches it with honey as it is ritually unearthed/received.
- What it asks
That the plant’s sweetness become the practitioner’s condition—sweetened welfare, sweetened speech, and a mind that draws others’ minds near.
- Where its power lies
The speaker declares intensified sweetness (‘sweeter than honey’) as a performative claim: the mantra makes the practitioner naturally desirable like a honey-laden branch.
- How it closes
The close seals the charm in the register of attraction and choice—‘may you desire/choose me’—stabilizing the transfer of madhu into social reality.
Famous verses
सा नो मधुमतस्कृधिजिह्वाया अग्रे मधु मेमधोरस्मि मधुतरःKind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Paustika (Prosperity-Concord)
What it is for
To obtain ‘madhumat’ welfare—health and vigor, honeyed/agreeable speech, and the ability to attract goodwill and assent (bringing another’s mind nearer).
Who it is for
Householders and ritual practitioners seeking healing plus social success—pleasant speech, reconciliation, influence in assemblies, and affectionate attraction.
Also used as
- Bhaisajya
- Vāśīkaraṇa (speech/attraction)
- Saṃmanasya/Concord-making
The deity
The hymn addresses a medicinal creeper as a living, responsive power whose ‘birth’ and essence are madhu—sweetness, honey, pleasantness, and life-sap. Madhu functions both as a material substance (honey) and as an efficacious principle that sweetens speech, mind, and relationships.
Powers of the deity
- Heals and restores bodily well-being through plant potency
- Sweetens speech (vāc) and makes words persuasive/pleasant
- Draws near the ‘citta’ (mind/assent) of others—attraction and concord
- Generates prosperity, social harmony, and favorable regard
- Transforms the practitioner’s condition into ‘madhumat’ (honeyed, thriving)
Why the deity is called
To activate the creeper’s honey-born nature and implant ‘madhu’ into the practitioner—so health, sweetness of speech, and winning influence arise naturally, like honey drawing bees.
The seer
- Atharvanic/Āṅgirasa transmission (edition-dependent r̥ṣi ascription)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya and paustika charms: plant-based healing, prosperity-making rites, and ‘sweetening’ (madhu) formulas for agreeable speech and attraction/vaśīkaraṇa.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 1.1 (selected Atharvanic healing/protection hymns; anukramaṇī-dependent)
- AV 1.2 (selected Atharvanic protection cycles; anukramaṇī-dependent)
- AV 1.30–1.36 (adjacent paustika/vaśīkaraṇa-style charm clusters; edition-dependent attributions)
Preparing for the rite
- Choose a fresh vīrut/oṣadhi (creeper) regarded as ‘sweet’ or beneficial; ideally harvested from a clean, living growth.
- Prepare madhu (honey) or a sweet mixture (honey with water or ghee) to anoint the plant and/or the tongue.
- Establish a calm seat and intention (saṅkalpa): ‘May this become madhumat—healthful, pleasing, and concord-producing.’
The rite
- While reciting, dig up or pluck the creeper respectfully (khanāmasi motif), touching it with honey or a honeyed drop.
- Optionally anoint the practitioner’s tongue (tip and root) with a tiny amount of honey while reciting the ‘jihvā’ verse to sweeten speech.
- Hold or bind the creeper as a small talisman, or prepare a simple paste/decoction as appropriate to the plant’s safe use; conclude with a final recitation for attraction/concord.
What it needs
- Vīrut/oṣadhi (medicinal creeper)
- Madhu (honey)
- Optional: water or ghee for dilution
- Optional: thread/cloth for binding as an amulet
When
Preferably morning or early evening; also suitable before speech-acts (meeting, negotiation, reconciliation) or at the start of a healing regimen.
The main substance
Madhu (honey)
Herbs
- Vīrut (a medicinal creeper; specific species varies by local tradition/identification)
Amulets
- A small bound piece of the creeper (tied with thread/cloth)
- Honey-anointed thread (optional, as a ‘sweetening’ band)
How it is prepared
Anoint the creeper with honey at harvest; optionally touch a minute honey-drop to tongue tip and root during recitation. If used medicinally, prepare only in a safe, locally validated way (paste/decoction) and treat the plant primarily as a ritual carrier of ‘madhu’.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is both literal honey and a ritual principle of ‘sweetness’: pleasant speech, agreeable disposition, harmony, and thriving well-being. The hymn treats sweetness as a transferable power.
Atharvanic hymns often personify medicines as living powers. The plant is invoked as a conscious helper whose innate potency can be awakened and directed by mantra and handling.
Both. Its primary frame is paustika ‘sweetening’ (prosperity/concord), but it also functions as bhaiṣajya (well-being) and as a speech/attraction charm by making the practitioner ‘madhumat’—honeyed in body, words, and social effect.
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