Atharva Veda 20.28.2: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 28, Mantra 2
Sukta 28
उद् गा आ॑ज॒दङ्गि॑रोभ्य आ॒विष्कृ॒ण्वन् गुहा॑ स॒तीः । अ॒र्वाञ्चं॑ नुनुदे व॒लम्
úd gā́ ā́jat áṅgirobhya āvíṣ-kṛṇvan gúhā satī́ḥ | arvā́ñcaṃ nunude válam
He drave the Cows forth for the Aṅgirases, making them manifest from caves wherein they lay; hitherward he thrust away the Vala.
Er trieb die Kühe für die Aṅgirases hervor, machte sie sichtbar aus den Höhlen, in denen sie verborgen lagen; herwärts stieß er Vala zurück.
The meaning
What it says
Indra drives the hidden Cows out for the Aṅgirases, revealing them from their cave; he pushes away Vala (the obstructing encloser).
The inner meaning
The mind’s ‘light and wealth’ (clarity, confidence, usable resources) are often locked in inner caves (fear, inertia, secrecy). Indra is the surge of will and insight that breaks the enclosure, bringing latent capacities into conscious availability while expelling the obstructive pattern (vala = blockage).
The truth in it
What is most life-giving is frequently concealed by constriction; revelation requires a force that both uncovers (āviṣkṛ-) and repels obstruction (nunude). Prosperity is not only acquisition but unbinding and release.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Prosperity) / Apotropaic (Expulsion of obstruction)
Its aim
To cause hidden wealth/resources to become manifest and to repel the obstructing force (Vala) from the patron’s domain.
Word by Word
Pada patha
उत् । गाः । आजत् । अङ्गिरोभ्यः । आविः-कृण्वन् । गुहाः । सतीः । अर्वाञ्चम् । नुनुदे । वलम् ।
- उद्
- up, forthIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियाविशेषक)Root उद् (उपसर्ग) / √इ (गत्यर्थ) (क्रियायोगे)
- गा
- sing!Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थे), परस्मैपद, मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √गै (गाने)
- आजद्
- he drove/impelledVerbलुङ् (अorist), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √अज् (गत्यर्थ/क्षेपणार्थ)
- अङ्गिरोभ्यः
- to the Aṅgirasesfor the Aṅgirases (seer-clan; ritual allies in the Vala myth)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान), बहुवचनRole SampradānaRoot अङ्गिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आविष्कृण्वन्
- making manifest, revealingVerbवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (कर्तरि)Role KartāRoot आविस् (अव्यय) + √कृ (करणे) → कृण्वत् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
- गुहाः
- caves, hiding-placesfrom the caves/hidden places (concealment; womb-like enclosure)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचनRole KarmaRoot गुहा (प्रातिपदिक)
- सतीः
- being (there), existingbeing (there), existent (the cows as truly present though hidden)Adjectiveवर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ-स्त्री), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (गुहाः इति विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot सत् (वर्तमान कृदन्त of √अस् ‘to be’) → सती (स्त्री)
- अर्वाञ्चम्
- turned toward (us), facing this wayturned hitherward, facing toward us (brought into the human sphere)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन (वलम् इति विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot अर्वाञ्च् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नुनुदे
- he has thrust away/repelledhe thrust away, he drove off (repelled; expulsion of the obstructer)Verbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचनRoot √नुद् (प्रेरणे/अपसारणे)
- वलम्
- Vala (the demon/obstacle), enclosureVala (the enclosing demon/barrier; the ‘blockage’ to be expelled)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचनRole KarmaRoot वल (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- उद् | गा | आजद् | अङ्गिरोभ्यः | आविष्कृण्वन् | गुहाः | सतीः | अर्वाञ्चम् | नुनुदे | वलम् ।
- 1) ‘उद् गा’ इति उपसर्ग+लोट्: उद् (उपसर्ग) + गा (√गै) — संहितायां ‘उद्गा’ इति संयोगः।
- 2) ‘अङ्गिरोभ्य’ इति पाठे अन्त्य ‘-भ्यः’ विसर्गः पदान्ते स्पष्टः।
- 3) ‘आविष्कृण्वन्’ = आविस् (प्रकटम्) + कृण्वन् (√कृ, शतृ) — समासवत्/योगः।
- 4) ‘गुहा सतीः’ संहितायां दीर्घ/स्वरचिह्नभेदः
- पदे ‘गुहाः सतीः’ (द्वितीया बहु.)।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Ṛgvedic attribution (Aṅgiras/Indra-Vala mythic complex; AV 20 reuse)
- Devata
- Indra (with Aṅgirases as mythic beneficiaries)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa glosses ‘cows’ as both literal cattle and rays/wealth; they are ‘existent’ though hidden, and Indra ‘makes manifest’ what is concealed. ‘Arvāñcam’ marks the transfer of goods toward the sacrificer. ‘Nunude Vala’ is read as expulsion of the obstructing power—an apotropaic template for driving away impediments.
Aṅgiras/Indra-Vala mythic complex (RV provenance reused in AVŚ 20)
Revelatory ‘cave-opening’ hymns: discovery of light/wealth, overcoming enclosure (Vala), and energizing victorious speech.
Aṅgirasic speech is ‘fire-like’: it penetrates concealment and converts obstruction into disclosed abundance—central to Atharvanic domestic prosperity magic when recontextualized as a charm for revealing hidden resources.
Indra
Breaker of constriction; releaser of light/wealth; champion who opens the closed and restores flow between hidden and manifest realms.
Restores ‘flow’ by removing blockage; supports recovery where stagnation and constriction dominate (psychosomatic ‘stuckness’).
Apotropaic expulsion of Vala-like forces: envy, hoarding, theft, energetic obstruction, and hostile binding.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables
AVŚ 20 often preserves RV diction; minor orthographic/recitational variants may occur without changing the anuṣṭubh cadence.
Compact, driving, ‘thrusting’ rhythm suited to expulsion (nunude) and disclosure (āviṣkṛ-).
Builds a decisive, forward pressure; felt as ‘opening’ and ‘pushing out’ with each pāda.
Place a symbolic ‘covering’ (cloth/lid) over a vessel or bundle representing hidden goods.
Recite the mantra while removing the covering (āvīṣ-kṛṇvan enactment).
Perform a driving gesture outward (with a staff or hand) to ‘thrust away’ the Vala (nunudé).
Bless cattle/wealth of the patron; if cattle are present, touch or circumambulate them once.
Kauśika Sūtra: rites for ‘bringing forth’ prosperity and for expelling hostile/binding forces (Indra-Vala mantras used as driving-out formulas).
Atharvan priest: manipulates concealment/revelation props and performs the expulsion gesture; ensures correct timing of recitation with unveiling.
Recite at the threshold/storehouse/cowshed or before opening a locked storage/starting a venture, visualizing ‘cows of fortune’ emerging and obstruction departing.
Dawn (opening/light) or at the start of a new transaction; also on waxing moon days for paustika intent.
Householder may recite; purohita optional for consecrating a space with protective boundary recitation.
Use as intention-setting before financial planning, job search, or clearing clutter; pair with a practical ‘unblocking’ action.
Cows (as wealth/light); Cave/hidden enclosure (as symbolic ‘binding’)
Cows function as the Atharvanic prosperity-substance par excellence (portable wealth/light). The cave is the binding container; the mantra ‘turns’ container into conduit by revelation and expulsion.
Indirect: psychosomatic relief via imagery of unbinding and restored flow; can be adapted for ‘obstruction’ conditions (constipation, congestion) in later folk usage.
Symbolically aligns with removing āvaraṇa (occlusion) and restoring vāta movement (pravṛtti of apāna/udāna) when used as a supportive prayer.
Stress-related ‘blocked’ functioning (executive paralysis, burnout inertia); motivational activation and cognitive reappraisal.
Household/patron’s prosperity and access to resources
Make hidden wealth/resources become manifest; drive away the obstructing/binding force from the patron’s domain.
Mythic precedent charm (itihāsa-nyāya): reenacting Indra’s archetypal opening of the cave to ‘open’ one’s own enclosure; verbal expulsion (nunude) as apotropaic act.
Obstruction, hoarding forces, theft/withholding, unseen impediments to gain
Cattle/wealth, opportunities, successful ‘findings’
- गाः (gāḥ)
- wealth, light, nourishing powers, productive capacities
- आविष्कृण्वन् (āviṣkṛṇvan)
- bringing the hidden into awareness; disclosure of resources
- गुहाः (guhāḥ)
- unconscious storehouse; secrecy; blocked channels
- वलम् (valam)
- obstruction, hoarding, binding force; systemic blockage
- नुनुदे (nunude)
- active expulsion; apotropaic removal of impediment
- अङ्गिरोभ्यः (aṅgirobhyaḥ)
- lineage of fiery seers; disciplined speech that ‘finds’ light
Unbinding meditation: bring attention to a ‘sealed’ area of life/mind and imagine it opening with light emerging.
Maṇipūra (will/agency) and Viśuddha (revelatory speech)
3–6 rounds of forceful exhale emphasis (mild kapalabhāti-like, gentle) followed by slow nasal breathing while reciting.
A stone cave at the navel center opening; warm golden light and ‘cows’ (resources) walking out; a dark knot (vala) pushed away behind you.
From tamasic inertia to rajasic mobilization, settling into sattvic clarity after release.
Recite 9 or 27 times, then perform one concrete ‘opening’ act (send message, open account, clean a drawer) to anchor the mantra’s unbinding logic.
If chanted in RV-style for AVŚ 20, maintain udātta/anudātta/svarita contours; otherwise use steady accent on key verbs (āviṣkṛṇvan, nunude).
Punch the action words: ā́viṣ-kṛṇvan (revealing) and nu-nu-dé (thrusting away). Keep ‘guhā satīḥ’ slightly softer to contrast concealment vs. release.
Firm, forward-projected, as if ‘pushing’ sound outward.
AV domestic use often pairs recitation with a physical opening gesture (door/storehouse lid) to embody āviṣkāra (manifestation).
27 times
Resources feel ‘blocked’: delayed payments, stalled opportunities, hidden information, household scarcity mindset.
Before negotiations, searching for lost items, opening storage, beginning a prosperity vow, or clearing obstacles to a project.
Greater access to opportunities, confidence to act, sense of ‘unblocked’ flow; protective distancing from obstructive influences.
Do not substitute mantra for legal/financial due diligence; avoid escalating conflict—aim at removing obstruction, not demonizing persons.
No herb is named; the ‘substance’ is cattle/wealth as a concrete prosperity-token. The ritual logic is material-semiotic: unveiling a covered object stands in for releasing cows from the cave.
Prosperity is framed as a recoverable, divinely controlled resource; the priest’s role is to ‘make manifest’ and ‘drive away’ through authorized speech-acts, reinforcing ritual specialization as a social technology.
The Vala-myth vocabulary (gúhā, āvíṣ-kṛṇvan, Aṅgiras) is RV-archaic. The participial construction and mythic semantics are typical of early Indo-Aryan poetic register.
Gopatha’s hermeneutic often treats concealment as ‘bandha’ and revelation as ‘mokṣa’ effected by brahman. This verse supplies a canonical mythic precedent for rites that uncover hidden goods and expel binding agencies.
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