Atharva Veda 20.129.5: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 129, Mantra 5
Sukta 129
सा॒धुं पु॒त्रं हि॑र॒ण्यय॑म्
sādhúṃ putráṃ hiraṇyáyam
A goodly son—golden, as it were, in splendour and in fortune.
Einen guten Sohn, golden gleichsam — an Glanz und Glück.
Rishi: Khila/Anukramaṇī attribution uncertain.
Devata: Hariknikā / auspicious steed-power as boon-granter; functionally also ‘Putra’ as desired object.
Chandas: Uncertain/fragmentary.
Primary: shringara
Secondary: shanta
‘Sādhu’ is read as ‘nirdoṣa’ (faultless) and ‘śubha’ (auspicious), indicating both moral and bodily soundness; ‘putra’ is the concrete boon; ‘hiraṇyaya’ marks prosperity and radiance, often implying both wealth and the child’s auspicious marks.
To obtain a healthy, auspicious male child endowed with prosperity and brilliance.
Reproductive adversity/infertility (conceptual, not clinical) and inauspiciousness affecting progeny.
Psychosomatic and ritual reassurance; aligns household intention with fertility symbolism (śrī/tejas), supporting calm and hopeful orientation.
Garbhādhāna/garbha-saṃskāra ethos; supports sattva and śukra/ārtava well-being indirectly through lifestyle alignment.
Fertility intention practices and stress-reduction support alongside medical evaluation and care.
paustika
Prospective parents/household; the womb/lineage-field (ritual target).
To obtain a healthy, auspicious male child endowed with prosperity and brilliance.
Boon-naming (phala-vācana): stating the desired result as a fixed verbal object; can be paired with token-gold or auspicious color.
Alakṣmī (misfortune), child-loss anxieties, perceived barrenness/obstacles.
Offspring, inheritance, household continuity, social standing
A concise boon-statement: the desired gift is ‘a good son, golden’—i.e., excellent, radiant, prosperous.
The psyche seeks generativity: a ‘son’ as the fruit of one’s right action—an inner legacy of virtue and capability.
What we beget (children, works, virtues) should be both ‘good’ (ethical/healthy) and ‘golden’ (radiant, life-enhancing for the world).
- साधुम् (sādhum)
- wholesomeness, ethical soundness, health and well-formedness
- पुत्रम् (putram)
- lineage, continuity, future, embodied blessing; also ‘result/fruit’ of effort
- हिरण्ययम् (hiraṇyayam)
- prosperity, brilliance (tejas), auspicious fortune, imperishable value
- हिरण्य (hiraṇya)
- śrī (prosperity), solar vitality, enduring worth
Generativity and blessing (saṃtāna-bhāva) grounded in dharmic intention.
svādhiṣṭhāna (creative/fertility symbolism)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing; mentally place ‘sādhuṃ’ at the heart, ‘putraṃ’ at the lower abdomen (symbolically), ‘hiraṇyayam’ as a golden glow around both.
A golden seed of light settling gently, growing into a healthy, radiant future.
Bhāvanā (constructive visualization) with sattvic affect.
Pair recitation with ethical living and calm routine; keep the wish free from coercion—let it be a blessing, not a demand.
Recite with gentle elevation on hiraṇya- to ‘shine’ the boon; if using Vedic accent, keep word integrity over strict metrical singing due to fragmentary status.
sā-dhuṃ | pu-traṃ | hi-ra-ṇya-yam — three clear beats, slight pause between words.
hiraṇyayam: retroflex ṇ (tongue curled), and ‘ya-yam’ not swallowed, sādhuṃ: long ā; final anusvāra as nasalization, putraṃ: clear tr, not ‘pudram’
Warm, blessing-tone; steady and affectionate.
As a boon-seed (bīja-like) phrase, repetition is more important than melodic elaboration; keep mind fixed on ‘wholesome + radiant’ rather than mere gendered outcome.
9
Fertility intention, pregnancy blessing, family prosperity prayers.
Weekly on an auspicious day; before meals as a brief household blessing; during pregnancy as a calm affirmation.
Cultivates hopeful steadiness; frames the wish in terms of health and auspicious flourishing; strengthens family resolve toward supportive habits.
Do not use to pressure self/partner; seek medical care for fertility/pregnancy concerns; be sensitive to grief histories.
मन्त्रपाठे पदच्छेदः: साधुम् | पुत्रम् | हिरण्ययम् । अत्र संहितायां विशेष-सन्धिः न दृश्यते; केवलं पदान्ते अनुस्वारः (म्) द्वितीया-एकवचन-प्रत्ययस्य चिह्नः। त्रीणि पदानि एकस्मिन् कर्मपदे ‘पुत्रम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण-विशेष्यभावेन योज्यन्ते।
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