Sukta 23
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (domestic fertility corpus)
Devata: Implicitly the generative power (prajā/garbha); the ‘vehát’ defect is treated as an adversarial entity
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (approx.)
Yeh mantra un auraton ke liye hai jo bachcha nahi paida kar pa rahi hain. Ismein barpan ko ek aisi bimari maana gaya hai jo door ho sakti hai. Pujari use kisi aur cheez mein daal ke hataate hain. Phir achhe beej aur divine jadi buton ka istemal hota hai. Maata ka garbh me beta aane ka marg khula jata hai. Yeh mantra garbh dharan aur santan prapti ke liye kaam karta hai.
Kind of charm
Mantras
Mantra 1
वीर-प्रसूतिः। येन॑ वे॒हद् ब॒भूवि॑थ ना॒शया॑म॒सि तत् त्वत्। इ॒दं तद॒न्यत्र॒ त्वदप॑ दू॒रे नि द॑ध्मसि
Yeh mantra veer bacche dene ke liye hai. Jo cheez tumhe baccha dene se rok rahi hai, usko tumse door karte hain. Use bahut door phenk dete hain.
Mantra 2
आ ते॒ योनिं॒ गर्भ॑ एतु॒ पुमा॒न् बाण॑ इवेषु॒धिम्। आ वी॒रोऽत्र॑ जायतां पु॒त्रस्ते॒ दश॑मास्यः
Tumhare pet mein baccha aaye, ladka ho. Jaise teer kamaan mein jaata hai, waise hi baccha pet mein aaye. Yahan ek veer paida ho, tumhara beta, dus mahine baad.
Mantra 3
पुमां॑सं पु॒त्रं ज॑नय॒ तं पुमा॒ननु॑ जायताम्। भवा॑सि पु॒त्राणां॑ मा॒ता जा॒तानां॑ ज॒नया॑श्च॒ यान्
Ek ladke ko paida karo, ek veer beta ho. Woh paida ho, silsile mein aaye. Tum un betiyon ki maa ho jo paida ho chuke hain, aur unki bhi maa banogi jo abhi aayenge.
Mantra 4
यानि॑ भ॒द्राणि॒ बीजा॑न्यृष॒भा ज॒नय॑न्ति च । तैस्त्वं पु॒त्रं वि॑न्दस्व॒ सा प्र॒सूर्धेनु॑का भव
Bail jo achhe beej paida karte hain, unse tum ek beta paa lo. Tum ek aisi maa bano jo gaay ki tarah dudh deti hai, jaise gaay sabko dudh deti hai waise hi tum bhi khushhal raho.
Mantra 5
कृ॒णोमि॑ ते प्राजाप॒त्यमा योनिं॒ गर्भ॑ एतु ते । वि॒न्दस्व॒ त्वं पु॒त्रं ना॑रि॒ यस्तुभ्यं॒ शमस॒च्छमु॒ तस्मै॒ त्वं भव॑
Main tumhare liye ek aisi kokh taiyaar karta hoon jo Prajapati ne banayi hai. Isme bachcha aaye. Aur tumhe ek beta mile jo tumhare bhale ka kaam kare. Aur tum bhi uske bhale ka kaam karo.
Mantra 6
यासां॒ द्यौः पि॒ता पृ॑थि॒वी मा॒ता स॑मु॒द्रो मूलं॑ वी॒रुधां॑ ब॒भूव॑ । तास्त्वा॑ पुत्र॒विद्या॑य॒ दैवीः॒ प्राव॒न्त्वोष॑धयः
Jinke pita aasmaan hai, maa dharti hai, aur samundar unki jad hai. Aise paudhe jo bhagwan ne banaye hain, woh tumhe beta dilaane mein madad karein.
Inside Sukta 23
How it unfolds
- How it opens
Begins with a forceful identification of the rite as ‘hero-bearing’ and immediately targets the cause of barrenness as something that can be undone and relocated.
- What it asks
That the woman obtain conception—explicitly the winning of a son—and become abundantly fruitful, like a well-milking cow.
- Where its power lies
The hymn asserts efficacy through ritualized displacement: the very cause ‘whereby you became barren’ is made to perish and is set ‘elsewhere, far off, down,’ while auspicious seed-power and herbs are installed as supports.
- How it closes
Concludes by entrusting the outcome to the divine herbs whose origin is cosmic (Sky as father, Earth as mother, Ocean as root), asking them to ‘advance’ the woman toward son-winning and protection.
Famous verses
vīra-prasūtiḥ … anyatra tvad apa dūre ni dadhmasi
taistvaṃ putraṃ vindasva … dhenu̍kā bhava
tāstvā putra-vidyāya daivīḥ prāvantv oṣadhayaḥ
Kind of hymn
Strīkarmāṇi / Bhaisajya (Women’s rite; healing infertility)
What it is for
Removal of barrenness (vehát), redirection of the defect to a distant ‘carrier,’ and establishment of conception and fruitful motherhood, ideally resulting in a male child.
Who it is for
Householders and ritual specialists performing women’s rites—especially couples seeking conception after infertility or repeated failure to conceive.
Also used as
- Strīkarmāṇi
- Paustika
The deity
The hymn’s operative divinity is generativity itself—progeny and the womb’s productive potency—supported by the cosmic, divinized herbs (oṣadhayaḥ). In contrast, vehát is personified as a hostile condition that can be expelled and deposited elsewhere.
Powers of the deity
- Expels and neutralizes infertility as a transferable affliction
- Restores fecundity and stabilizes pregnancy
- Bestows conception and the ‘winning of a son’ (putravidyā)
- Strengthens maternal abundance and nourishment (dhenu-like plenitude)
- Enlists plant-medicines as divine protectors grounded in cosmic origins (Sky–Earth–Ocean)
Why the deity is called
To drive the barrenness-defect away from the woman and re-seat generative potency through auspicious seed imagery and herb-assisted protection for conception and successful gestation.
The seer
- Atharvanic domestic seers (fertility corpus)Atharvan. Household rites (gṛhya) of women’s well-being: fertility, safe conception, protection of the womb, and medicinal (bhaisajya) displacement of afflicting defects via mantra and ritual transfer.
Other hymns of this seer
- AV 3.24 (adjacent fertility/progeny rite, traditional corpus association)
- AV 6.11 (putrakāma/offspring-seeking themes in Atharvanic healing register, broad traditional attribution)
- AV 6.81 (herb-assisted healing idiom; Atharvanic medical style, corpus-level association)
Preparing for the rite
- Select a clean, private domestic space; ensure ritual purity (snāna, clean garments).
- Prepare a ‘carrier’ for the defect (e.g., clod of earth, refuse bundle, or small effigy) to receive the displaced vehát.
- Gather simple medicinal greens/herbs (oṣadhis) and clean water for sprinkling or touching, as locally available.
- Seat the woman facing an auspicious direction; kindle a small domestic fire if customary in the household.
The rite
- Recite the opening verse as a performative declaration of vīra-prasūti (hero-bearing) and explicitly ‘destroy’ and ‘deposit elsewhere’ the vehát defect (mantra 3.23.1).
- During recitation, touch or gesture toward the womb, then transfer the gesture to the prepared carrier; place or bury the carrier away from the home to enact displacement.
- Recite the ‘auspicious seeds’ verse (3.23.4) as an affirmation of conception and maternal abundance (dhenu imagery).
- Conclude by invoking the divine herbs of cosmic lineage (3.23.6), touching the woman with herbs/water (or symbolically) for protection and fruition.
What it needs
- Defect-carrier: clod/effigy/refuse bundle for apotropaic deposit
- Herbs/greens (oṣadhayaḥ), ideally fresh
- Clean water for sprinkling or sipping
- Optional: cow-related symbol (milk/curd) as nourishment emblem, where customary
When
Preferably on an auspicious day in the bright fortnight; often performed in the morning after bathing, or at a time chosen for fertility rites within household custom.
The main substance
Oṣadhayaḥ (herbs/greens) used as divine medicinal supports; plus an apotropaic ‘carrier’ for depositing the vehát defect
Herbs
- General oṣadhi/vīrudh greens (local medicinal plants)
- Protective creepers/vegetation (vīrudh) as available
Amulets
- Defect-carrier clod/effigy/refuse bundle (used as a transfer-object)
- Optional protective thread or knot-charm tied during recitation (household custom)
How it is prepared
Keep herbs fresh and clean; sprinkle or touch with water while reciting. Prepare the carrier object beforehand, then after the displacement verses place/bury it away from the dwelling to enact ‘elsewhere, far off, down.’
Frequently Asked Questions
It treats infertility (vehát) as an affliction that can be expelled and ‘deposited elsewhere,’ then installs fertility through affirmations of auspicious generative power and the protective aid of herbs.
The hymn presents plants as sacred powers with cosmic origin (Sky–Earth–Ocean). By invoking them, the rite frames medicine and fertility as supported by divine, world-grounded forces.
The language explicitly seeks a son (putra), which matches many Atharvanic domestic aims, but the ritual logic also broadly targets the removal of barrenness and the restoration of successful conception and motherhood.
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