Atharva Veda 3.17.2: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 17, Mantra 2
Sukta 17
यु॒नक्त॒ सीरा॒ वि यु॒गा त॑नोत कृ॒ते योनौ॑ वपते॒ह बीज॑म्। वि॒राजः॒ श्नुष्टिः॒ सभ॑रा असन्नो॒ नेदी॑य॒ इत् सृ॒ण्यः प॒क्वमा य॑वन्
yunákt sīrā́ ví yugā́ tanota kṛté yónau vápatehá bī́jam | virā́jaḥ śnúṣṭiḥ sá-bharā asan no nédīya íd sṛ́ṇyaḥ pakvám ā́ yavan
Let him yoke the ploughs; let him stretch the yokes abroad; in the prepared womb let him sow the seed here. Let Virāj’s increase, well-bearing, be ours; and may the sickles indeed come nearer with the ripened grain.
Er spanne die Pflüge an; er breite die Joche aus; in den bereiteten Schoß säe er hier den Samen. Uns sei Virājs Zuwachs, reich tragend; und die Sicheln mögen wahrlich näher kommen mit dem gereiften Korn.
Rishi: Kṛṣi-sūkta tradition (seer attribution varies).
Devata: Virāj (as fecund order), with agricultural implements as functional deities
Chandas: Mixed; longer line suggests triṣṭubh/jagatī influence within Atharvanic composition
Primary: adbhuta
Secondary: shanta
Sāyaṇa emphasizes yoni as the seed-bed, the earth’s ‘womb,’ and treats sowing as a consecrated placement. Virāj is taken as the expansive ordering power that makes growth regular and abundant. The closing wish draws harvest-time into the present by verbal proximity (‘nearer’), a typical Atharvanic strategy of making the desired future operative now.
To ensure successful sowing, abundant growth under Virāj’s order, and an early/near harvest with ripe grain.
Indirect: ‘prepared womb’ resonates with kṣetra (field) theory of receptivity; supports sattvic routine and food security (āhāra).
Public health/mental health via food security; psychologically, ‘readiness’ and ‘implementation intention’ improve outcomes.
paustika
Field, seed, and harvest process.
Successful sowing in a prepared field; abundant growth under Virāj’s ordering power; timely, near harvest with ripe grain.
Sequential performative verbs (yoke/spread/sow) + invocation of Virāj as cosmic regulator + ‘drawing near’ (nedīyaḥ) as sympathetic attraction of harvest.
Poor germination, sterility, delayed harvest, loss of yield.
Grain abundance, household sustenance, agricultural wealth.
Yoke the ploughs and spread the yokes; sow seed in the prepared ‘womb’ of the earth. May Virāj’s well-bearing increase be ours; may the sickles come near with ripened grain.
Preparation makes receptivity (kṛte yonau). Seed is intention; sowing is commitment. Virāj is the ordering principle that turns effort into coherent growth; harvest tools ‘come near’ when timing and patience mature.
Fertility—biological, creative, or social—requires a prepared ground, a rightly placed seed, and an ordering rhythm that brings results to ripeness.
- कृते योनौ (kṛte yonau)
- a ready psyche/system; conditions made fit for growth
- बीजम् (bījam)
- intent, potential, the minimal cause that contains a future world
- विराज् (virāj)
- harmonizing pattern that governs growth and abundance
- श्नुष्टिः (śnuṣṭiḥ)
- the swelling of prosperity when order is maintained
- सभराः (sabharāḥ)
- capacity to carry fruits of action without collapse
- सृण्यः (sṛṇyaḥ)
- discernment and timely cutting—knowing when to reap
- पक्वम् (pakvam)
- maturity, fruition, readiness
Prepare the ‘inner ground’ (yoni) through purification; plant a single clear bīja-saṅkalpa; trust Virāj as inner order.
svadhisthana
Slow inhale on ‘kṛte yonau’; gentle exhale on ‘vapateha bījam’; keep breath even to model ripening.
Visualize a warm, prepared earth-womb; place a luminous seed; see it expand in measured patterns (Virāj) until harvest is ready.
Receptive, creative, patient.
Before starting a goal, prepare conditions (sleep, schedule, tools). Then ‘sow’ one daily action; review weekly as the ‘sickle’—cut what is ripe, not what is raw.
Maintain clear udātta where marked; keep the long syntactic line in breath-units (yoke/spread | sow | Virāj’s increase | sickles/ripe).
Do not rush ‘kṛte yonau’; give it a ‘settling’ cadence; articulate retroflexes in ‘sṛṇyaḥ’.
युनक्त: short u; nasal-less ‘nakta’, योनाै: diphthong au; avoid ‘yoni’ shortening, विराजः: clear long ā, सृण्यः: vocalic ṛ + palatal ñ; keep ‘sṛṇ’ tight
Directive but calm; like giving orderly instructions to the rite.
Best paired with the physical act of sowing; the mantra’s efficacy is ‘process-magic’—speech matches the agricultural sequence.
1
Sowing season; starting any long-term endeavor (study, business, healing regimen) requiring preparation and patience.
After preparing resources; at the moment you ‘plant’ the first concrete step.
Better readiness, steadier follow-through, confidence in timing; culturally, blessing for yield and timely harvest.
Avoid superstition that replaces field management; use as supportive rite alongside practical measures.
पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): युनक्ति | सीराः | वि | युगाः | तनोति | कृते | योनौ | वपते | इह | बीजम् || विराजः | श्नुष्टिः | सभराः | असन् | नः | नेदीयः | इत् | सृण्यः | पक्वम् | आ | यवन् । मुख्य सन्धि-निर्णय: (1) ‘यु॒गा त॑नोत’ → ‘युगाः तनोति’ (पद-सीमा पर विसर्ग/स्वर-लोप सहित संहिता-पाठ). (2) ‘वपते॒ह’ → ‘वपते इह’ (ए/इ संधि में संहिता-रूप). (3) ‘प॒क्वमा य॑वन्’ → ‘पक्वम् आ यवन्’ (म् + आ → मा). (4) ‘असन्नो॒’ → ‘असन् नः’ (न् + नः में संहिता-रूप).
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