Sukta 31
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (cosmological hymn cluster)
Devata: Gauḥ/Pṛśni (cosmic cow; nourishing principle)
Chandas: Triṣṭubh (probable)
Dieser kurze kosmologisch-paustische Hymnus ruft die kosmische Kuh (Gauḥ/Pṛśni) als nährendes Prinzip an, das die Wesen zwischen Mutter und Vater einsetzt und sie zu svàr (himmlischem Licht) hinführt. Wohlstand wird an die rechte kosmische Ordnung gebunden: der Lebenshauch (prāṇa/apāna) offenbart die souveräne, lichtvolle Macht, und Vāk (heilige Rede) ist im Flug der Sonne und in den abgemessenen Stationen der Zeit verankert. Er wird zur Mehrung, zu Rinderreichtum, Lebenskraft und glückverheißender Ausrichtung auf die täglichen und himmlischen Rhythmen rezitiert.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
गौः। आयं गौः पृश्नि॑रक्रमी॒दस॑दन्मा॒तरं॑ पु॒रः । पि॒तरं॑ च प्र॒यन्त्स्वः
Die Kuh: Diese Kuh, Pṛśni, ist hervorgetreten; sie hat sich bei der Mutter vorn niedergesetzt; und auch beim Vater — weiterziehend zum Himmel.
Mantra 2
अ॒न्तश्च॑रति रोच॒ना अ॒स्य प्रा॒णाद॑पान॒तः । व्यऽख्यन्महि॒षः स्वः
In ihm bewegen sich die leuchtenden Bereiche, aus prāṇa und aus apāna; der Mächtige — der Himmel — trat klar hervor, sichtbar geworden.
Mantra 3
त्रिं॒शद् धामा॒ वि रा॑जति॒ वाक् प॑त॒ङ्गो अ॑शिश्रियत्। प्रति॒ वस्तो॒रह॒र्द्युभिः॑
Dreißig Wohnstätten leuchten in Glanz: Die Rede hat ihre Stätte im fliegenden Sonnen‑Patanga gefunden. Der Morgenröte und dem Tag antwortend — durch die lichten Tage.
Inside Sukta 31
How it unfolds
- How it opens
The hymn opens by naming and presenting Gauḥ/Pṛśni, the cosmic Cow, stepping forth and taking her seat with Mother in front and with Father, moving onward to svàr.
- What it asks
That nourishment, vitality, and prosperity arise from proper cosmic placement—breath functioning rightly within—and that luminous sovereignty (svàr/mahīṣa) becomes visible/manifest in life.
- Where its power lies
The inner rocanā (shining realms) are said to move within from prāṇa and apāna, and the ‘mighty’ heavenly light is ‘clearly seen’—a declaration that right breath and right order reveal power.
- How it closes
The hymn seals its aim by affirming that thirty shining stations blaze forth and that Vāk is firmly established in the sun’s flight, answering dawn and day—i.e., prosperity through regulated time and aligned speech.
Famous verses
gauḥ pṛśniḥ akramīt (The Cow, Pṛśni, stepped forth)
triṃśad dhāmā vi rājati (Thirty abodes shine forth)
Kind of hymn
Paustika (Prosperity) / Cosmological legitimation
What it is for
Increase of prosperity and cattle-wealth, stabilization of vitality (prāṇa/apāna), and establishment of auspicious order by harmonizing speech and life with solar-time and svàr-light.
Who it is for
Householders seeking cattle/prosperity, ritualists aligning rites with auspicious time, and individuals seeking steadiness of breath, clarity, and well-being.
Also used as
- Shantika (cosmic harmonization)
- Bhaisajya (vital-breath strengthening, supportive)
- Cosmological legitimation / temporal regulation
The deity
Gauḥ/Pṛśni functions as the cosmic, nourishing matrix that ‘steps forth’ to seat itself with Mother and Father, while prāṇa–apāna are the inner life-currents that make the luminous sovereign power (mahīṣa/svàr) manifest. Vāk is the ordering force of mantra and meaning, finding its support in Pataṅga, the sun as a flying principle that regulates days and dawns.
Powers of the deity
- Bestows increase (puṣṭi), cattle-wealth, and nourishment
- Establishes right placement between cosmic parents (Mother/Father) and supports ascent to svàr
- Stabilizes and strengthens prāṇa and apāna (vitality, longevity, inner balance)
- Manifests luminous sovereignty (mahīṣa/svàr) as health, clarity, and success
- Aligns speech/mantra with solar movement and calendrical order (regularity of days, auspicious timing)
Why the deity is called
To secure prosperity through cosmic alignment: invoking the nourishing Cow as the foundation of increase, empowering breath as the inner support of well-being, and rooting Vāk in the sun’s ordered course so that life and ritual proceed in auspicious rhythm.
The seer
- Atharvanic seer(s) of the cosmological hymn-cluster (anonymous Atharvan tradition)Atharvan. Paustika and shāntika-oriented cosmological legitimation: charms for increase (puṣṭi), cattle/progeny prosperity, stabilizing vital breath, and aligning speech/ritual with solar-time order.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 6.30
- AV 6.32
- AV 6.33
Preparing for the rite
- Perform ācamana and a brief purification (clean seat, clean mind, quiet breath).
- Face east (or toward sunrise light), establishing a small ‘svàr’ focus such as a lamp or sunlight in view.
- If prosperity/cattle-wealth is the aim, keep a cow-product token nearby (milk/curd/ghee) or a tuft of kuśa as a purity marker.
The rite
- Recite 6.31.1 invoking Gauḥ/Pṛśni as the establisher between Mother and Father, visualizing increase and right placement.
- Recite 6.31.2 with gentle awareness of inhalation/exhalation, mentally ‘steadying’ prāṇa and apāna and imagining svàr becoming manifest within.
- Recite 6.31.3 affirming Vāk’s establishment in the solar Pataṅga and the shining ‘stations’ of time; conclude with a silent resolve (saṅkalpa) for orderly prosperity.
What it needs
- Lamp or sunlight focus (symbol of svàr/rocanā)
- Ghee (optional, for lamp or offering)
- Milk/curd (optional, as Gauḥ symbol)
- Kuśa grass or clean water for purification (optional)
When
Preferably at sunrise or early morning; also suitable at the start of a prosperity rite or before daily recitation/learning to align Vāk with solar order.
The main substance
Ghee (as svàr/light and Gauḥ-derived prosperity symbol)
Amulets
- A small ghee-lamp (as a portable ‘svàr’ focus)
- Kuśa-grass ring or strand (purity/ritual order marker)
How it is prepared
Light a small ghee lamp (or sit in clean sunlight); keep a small amount of milk/curd/ghee nearby as Gauḥ-symbol. Recite with steady breath awareness, especially on 6.31.2.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gauḥ/Pṛśni is not only a literal cow but a cosmic symbol of nourishment and increase—the life-supporting principle that establishes beings in right order and leads toward svàr (heavenly light).
Because prosperity and well-being are rooted in stable life-breath. The hymn treats prāṇa (in-breath/life-force) and apāna (downward/out-breath force) as the inner basis by which luminous clarity and strength become manifest.
It points to the shining stations of time—often understood as the measured cycle of days (a month-like count) and the ordered rhythm of dawn and daylight—showing that success comes from life and speech aligned to cosmic timing.
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