Sukta 17
Rishi: Atharvanic
Devata: Pṛthivī (Earth) as stabilizing model; Garbha (embryo) as protected object
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh
এই সংক্ষিপ্ত অথর্ববৈদিক সূক্তটি একটি ‘গর্ভদৃংহণ’ মন্ত্র—অর্থাৎ ‘গর্ভকে দৃঢ় করা’। এতে গর্ভধারণকে পৃথিবীর অতুলনীয় ধারণক্ষমতা ও স্থিতিশীলতার আদর্শে স্থাপন করা হয়েছে। পৃথিবীকে বারবার সকল জীব, পর্বত এবং সুশৃঙ্খল জগতের অচল ভিত্তি হিসেবে আহ্বান করে প্রার্থনা করা হয়—সাবিতৃর প্রাণ-প্রেরক শক্তির অধীনে ভ্রূণ যেন যথাযথ প্রসবকাল পর্যন্ত নিরাপদে ও দৃঢ়ভাবে ধারণ হয়ে থাকে।
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
गर्भदृंहणम्। यथे॒यं पृ॑थि॒वी म॒ही भू॒तानां॒ गर्भ॑माद॒धे। ए॒वा ते॑ ध्रियतां॒ गर्भो॒ अनु॒ सूतुं॒ सवि॑तवे
গর্ভ দৃঢ়কারী। যেমন এই মহান পৃথিবী সকল ভূতের গর্ভ ধারণ করে, তেমনি তোমার গর্ভ স্থির থাকুক—প্রসবের সময় পর্যন্ত, সবিতার অনুগ্রহে, সফল জননের জন্য।
Mantra 2
यथे॒यं पृ॑थि॒वी म॒ही दा॒धारे॒मान् वन॒स्पती॑न्। ए॒वा ते॑ ध्रियतां॒ गर्भो॒ अनु॒ सूतुं॒ सवि॑तवे
যেমন এই মহান পৃথিবী দৃঢ়ভাবে এই বনস্পতিদের—অরণ্যের অধিপতিদের—ধারণ করে আছে, তেমনি তোমার গর্ভ স্থির থাকুক; যথাকালে প্রসব পর্যন্ত, সবিতা (সবিতৃ)-র প্রেরণা/প্রসব-প্রেরক শক্তিতে।
Mantra 3
यथे॒यं पृ॑थि॒वी म॒ही दा॒धार॒ पर्व॑तान् गि॒रीन्। ए॒वा ते॑ ध्रियतां॒ गर्भो॒ अनु॒ सूतुं॒ सवि॑तवे
যেমন এই মহান পৃথিবী পর্বত ও গিরিশ্রেণিকে ধারণ করে আছে, তেমনি তোমার গর্ভ স্থির থাকুক; যথাকালে প্রসব পর্যন্ত, সবিতা (সবিতৃ)-র প্রেরণা/প্রসব-প্রেরক শক্তিতে।
Mantra 4
यथे॒यं पृ॑थि॒वी म॒ही दा॒धार॒ विष्ठि॑तं॒ जग॑त्। ए॒वा ते॑ ध्रियतां॒ गर्भो॒ अनु॒ सूतुं॒ सवि॑तवे
যেমন এই মহান পৃথিবী এই স্থিরভাবে প্রতিষ্ঠিত জগতকে ধারণ করে আছে, তেমনি তোমার গর্ভ স্থির থাকুক; যথাকালে প্রসব পর্যন্ত, সবিতা (সবিতৃ)-র প্রেরণা/প্রসব-প্রেরক শক্তিতে।
Inside Sukta 17
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by naming its function—garbhadṛṃhaṇa (‘embryo-firming’)—and immediately points to Pṛthivī as the archetype of bearing all beings.
- What it asks
May the woman’s embryo be ‘held fast’ (dhriyatām) until the proper time of birth, not slipping or being expelled prematurely, and brought forth successfully.
- Where its power lies
Earth’s proven capacity to bear the embryo of beings, mountains, and the firm-set world is treated as an operative model whose stability can be transferred by mantra.
- How it closes
A repeated refrain seals the rite: ‘evā te dhriyatāṃ garbho anu sūtuṃ savitave’—so may your embryo be held until delivery, under Savitar’s life-quickening.
Famous verses
evā te dhriyatāṃ garbho anu sūtuṃ savitave
yatheyaṃ pṛthivī mahī dādhāra parvatān girīn
dādhāra viṣṭhitaṃ jagat
Kind of hymn
Bhaisajya (Healing) / Strīkarmāṇi (Women’s rites)
What it is for
Stabilize pregnancy, avert miscarriage/premature expulsion, and ensure the fetus remains ‘held fast’ until term and successful delivery.
Who it is for
Householders and ritual specialists (Atharvanic practitioner) performing protective rites for a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Also used as
- Strīkarmāṇi
- Shāntika
The deity
Pṛthivī is invoked as the cosmic ‘holder’ (dhātrī/dhāraṇī) whose steadiness sustains all beings and the ordered world; Garbha is the vulnerable life-in-formation to be protected and retained. Savitar appears as the vivifying, rightly-timed impeller who governs maturation and successful bringing-forth.
Powers of the deity
- To hold and stabilize (dhṛ) what is placed within or upon her
- To prevent slipping, falling, or premature expulsion by providing firmness
- To sustain growth to full term through orderly cosmic support
- To align gestation with right time (ṛta) and successful birth under Savitar’s quickening
Why the deity is called
Earth is invoked as the supreme exemplar of retention and support so the same ‘holding’ power transfers to the pregnant woman, keeping the embryo secure until due delivery.
The seer
- Atharvanic (anonymous Atharvavedic transmitter)Atharvan. Bhaiṣajya and śānti charms focused on bodily stability, protection from loss (kṣaya), and women’s rites—especially safeguarding pregnancy and ensuring timely, unhindered delivery.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.16 (garbha/protection context, closely allied in domestic application)
- AV 6.18 (adjacent Atharvanic domestic/health charm sequence)
- AV 2.8 (garbha and protection motifs in Atharvanic healing idiom)
Preparing for the rite
- Choose a clean, quiet place in the home (often near the sleeping area of the pregnant woman).
- Prepare a small pinch of clean earth (preferably from a stable, undisturbed spot) or a clod as a symbolic support; optionally prepare a protective cord/amulet to be tied.
- Seat the woman comfortably; establish calm breathing and intention (saṅkalpa) for ‘garbha-dhāraṇa’ (retention).
The rite
- Recite the hymn (4 anuṣṭubh verses) over the earth/clod and over the woman’s abdomen, emphasizing the refrain ‘evā te dhriyatāṃ garbho anu sūtuṃ savitave’.
- Optionally touch the earth to the ground and then to the woman (transfer of ‘holding’), or place the clod nearby as a support-symbol.
- Tie a cord/amulet at the waist (or keep it near the body) while repeating the holding-formula; conclude with a quiet blessing for term delivery.
What it needs
- Clean earth/clod (pṛthivī-dravya) as symbolic stabilizer
- Protective cord/girdle or simple amulet (optional, implied by Atharvanic practice)
- Water for sipping/sprinkling (optional domestic purification)
When
Performed after pregnancy is known, and repeated when there is fear of miscarriage, abdominal loosening, or unsettling movement; ideally in a calm morning/evening domestic setting.
The main substance
Earth (pṛthivī-mṛd) as the stabilizing substrate
Amulets
- Protective waist-cord/girdle (mekhalā/maṇibandha type, domestic substitute acceptable)
- Small pouch/cloth to hold a pinch of earth (optional)
How it is prepared
Take clean earth from a stable place; keep it in a small cloth/pouch or as a clod. Recite the verses over it, then keep it near the woman or use it as a touch-symbol of ‘holding’ while tying a protective cord.
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep the pregnancy stable—‘holding’ the fetus firmly in the womb until the proper time of birth, preventing premature loss.
Earth is the strongest model of steadiness: she bears beings, mountains, and the whole firm-set world. The hymn transfers that same stabilizing power to the embryo.
Not explicitly. Its main ‘substance’ is symbolic Earth and the act of recitation; in practice, a simple protective cord or amulet may be used alongside the mantra.
Ask anything about Sukta 17 of the Atharva Veda
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
