Atharva Veda 7.39.1: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 39, Mantra 1
Sukta 39
आपः। दि॒व्यं सु॑प॒र्णं प॑य॒सं बृ॒हन्त॑म॒पां गर्भं॑ वृष॒भमोष॑धीनाम्। अ॒भी॒प॒तो वृ॒ष्ट्या त॒र्पय॑न्त॒मा नो॑ गो॒ष्ठे र॑यि॒ष्ठां स्था॑पयाति
ā́paḥ | divyáṃ supárṇaṃ payasáṃ bṛhántam apā́ṃ gárbhaṃ vṛṣabhám óṣadhīnām | abhī́pato vṛṣṭyā́ tarpáyantam ā́ no goṣṭhé rayiṣṭhā́ṃ sthāpayāti ||
Waters! The heavenly fair-winged one, the great nourishment—waters’ embryo, the bull of herbs—descending, with rain refreshing: may it establish for us, within the cow-stall, wealth most rich.
હે આપઃ! દિવ્ય સુપર્ણ, મહાન પોષણ—જળનો ગર્ભ, ઔષધિઓનો વૃષભ—વર્ષાથી ઉતરીને તૃપ્તિ આપનાર: તે અમારા માટે ગોશાળામાં અતિ સમૃદ્ધ ધન સ્થાપે.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (hymn-level attribution varies by anukramaṇī)
Devata: Āpas (Waters) / Rain-nourishment as divine agency
Chandas: Triṣṭubh-like cadence (longer pādas; not strict anuṣṭubh)
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa construes the verse as a prosperity-and-fertility invocation: ‘waters’ are addressed as divine agents whose ‘embryo’ is the generative essence that becomes plant-life; ‘bull of herbs’ denotes the fertilizing power that makes medicinal plants thrive. The ‘fair-winged’ image is taken as swift, heaven-sent nourishment (rain-cloud/solar-bird imagery). The goal is installation of rayi in the goṣṭha—cattle prosperity as the household’s economic base.
To secure rain-fed nourishment, flourishing herbs, and the establishment of wealth—especially cattle-wealth—at the homestead.
Drought-like depletion (general debility/sterility as a household ‘ailment’)
Invokes āpas/rain to restore nourishment cycles; ‘tarpana’ (satiation) as therapeutic principle.
Tarpana/br̥ṃhaṇa (nourishing, building); supports ojas via adequate rasa (fluids).
Hydration, food security, ecological health; stress reduction via nature-connected ritual.
paustika
Secure rain-fed nourishment, flourishing herbs, and installation of wealth (especially cattle-wealth) in the homestead.
Benedictive invocation + ‘installation’ verb (sthāpayāti): placing prosperity ritually in the goṣṭha through praise and request.
Drought, fodder failure, decline of cattle/household resources
Cattle, fodder, milk, household wealth stability
Invocation to the Waters: a heavenly ‘fair-winged’ great nourishment, the embryo of waters, the bull of herbs, descending and refreshing with rain—may it establish richest wealth in our cattle-stall.
A vision of fertility circuits: waters → rain → herbs → cattle → wealth. The ‘winged’ nourishment suggests life-force moving between heaven and earth; prosperity is grounded in ecological coherence.
Well-being is relational and systemic: nourishment arises when the cycles of water and growth are honored. Wealth is not mere possession but sustained reciprocity with natural processes.
- आपः (āpaḥ)
- life-medium; purification; the maternal matrix of growth
- सुपर्णम् (suparṇam)
- rain-cloud/sun-bird imagery; swift, heaven-sent vitality
- पयसम् (payasam)
- sap/essence; the ‘milk’ of the world that feeds beings
- अपां गर्भम् (apāṃ garbham)
- latent fertility; seed of abundance carried in moisture
- वृषभम् ओषधीनाम् (vṛṣabham oṣadhīnām)
- generative potency; the fertilizing power that makes plants flourish
- वृष्ट्या तर्पयन्तम् (vṛṣṭyā tarpayantam)
- satiation of land and bodies; renewal
- गोष्ठे (goṣṭhe)
- household economy; protected center where prosperity is ‘installed’
Contemplate the descending flow of nourishment: heaven → rain → plants → breath → vitality.
Svādhiṣṭhāna (water element)
Śītalī/śītkārī (cooling breath) or slow diaphragmatic breathing imagining rain descending through the body.
Visualize cool rain washing through the body, turning into green vitality (herbs) and warm stability (home/cattle-stall).
Receptive, replenished, grounded abundance.
Pair chanting with water-offering and conservation intention; let gratitude stabilize the mind’s scarcity reflex.
Flowing udātta contours on epithets (divyaṃ, suparṇam, bṛhantam); keep a gentle rise on ‘āpaḥ’ invocation.
Sustain long vowels in divyaṃ/suparṇam/payasaṃ; avoid clipping consonant clusters in vṛṣabham-oṣadhīnām.
सुपर्णम्: clear retroflex ṇ (su-par-ṇam), वृषभम्: ṛ vowel and ṣ (vṛ-ṣa-bham), तर्पयन्तम्: keep nasal nt cluster (tar-pa-yan-tam)
Cool, resonant, flowing; like pouring water.
Effective when paired with actual sprinkling of water (prokṣaṇa) in the goṣṭha; let the cadence match the act of pouring.
11
Seeking household stability, agricultural success, cattle/pet well-being, and relief from scarcity anxiety.
At onset of rains, during dry spells, at cattle-stall cleaning/blessing, or during water-offering practice.
Calm confidence, gratitude, and a traditional request for rain-fed abundance; supports a conservation-minded household ethic.
Do not treat as substitute for veterinary/medical care or climate-resilient planning.
पदच्छेद (resolved): आपः | दिव्यम् | सुपर्णम् | पयसः | बृहन्तम् | अपाम् | गर्भम् | वृषभम् | ओषधीनाम् | अभीपतः | वृष्ट्या | तर्पयन्तम् | आ | नः | गोष्ठे | रयिष्ठाम् | स्थापयाति। 1) ‘अभीपतो’ is taken as accusative singular ‘अभीपतः’ (Kṛdanta, शतृ) qualifying ‘सुपर्णम्’; Vedic orthography sometimes shows -o for -aḥ in saṃhitā. 2) ‘आ नो’ is a common Vedic sequence: avyaya ‘आ’ + enclitic pronoun ‘नः’. 3) ‘स्थापयाति’ is a Vedic present-form variant of causative ‘स्थापयति’ (√स्था + णिच्).
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