Atharva Veda 10.2.32: Kanda 10, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 32
Sukta 2
तस्मि॑न् हिर॒ण्यये॒ कोशे॒ त्र्यऽरे॒ त्रिप्र॑तिष्ठिते । तस्मि॒न् यद् य॒क्षमा॑त्म॒न्वत् तद् वै ब्र॑ह्म॒विदो॑ विदुः
tásmin hiraṇyé kóśe try-àre trípratiṣṭhite | tásmin yád yákṣam ātmánvat tád vái brahmavído viduḥ ||
In that golden casket, three-spoked, established on three supports—in it, what wondrous Power is self-possessed, that verily the knowers of Brahman know.
उस सोना के डिब्बे में, जो तीन खंभों पर खड़ा है, उसमें एक चीज़ है जो खुद अपने आप में है। यह एक छुपी हुई ताकत है। जो लोग ब्रह्म को जानते हैं, सिर्फ वही इसे समझते हैं।
The meaning
What it says
Within that golden casket—three-spoked and established on three supports—there is a wondrous Power (yakṣa) that is self-possessed (ātmanvat). That is what the knowers of Brahman know.
The inner meaning
Points to a stable triadic structure (three spokes/supports) holding the psyche’s luminous center. The ‘yakṣa’ is the uncanny, numinous vitality of consciousness—autonomous, not dependent on external validation. Knowledge (vid) is itself protection: to know the inner power is to be less conquerable by fear.
The truth in it
Beneath changing roles and sensations there is a self-sustaining awareness. When recognized, it becomes a refuge; when ignored, we seek safety only outside and remain fragile.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Adhyatmika / Brahmavidya (gnostic protection)
Its aim
To authorize brahman-knowledge as a protective and salvific force by locating the self-possessed ‘yakṣa’ (mysterious brahman) within the inner sheath.
Word by Word
Pada patha
तस्मिन् । हिरण्यये । कोशे । त्रि-अरे । त्रि-प्रतिष्ठिते । तस्मिन् । यत् । यक्षम् । आत्मन्-वत् । तत् । वै । ब्रह्म-विदः । विदुः
- तस्मिन्
- in thatin that; therein (in the inner casket)Pronounपुं/नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हिरण्यये
- goldengolden; radiant, auspicious (imperishable inner locus)Adjectiveपुं/नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन (कोशे इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role अधिकरणRoot हिरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- कोशे
- in the sheath/treasury (container)in the sheath/casket; in the enclosing treasury (seat of the vital mystery)Nounपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot कोश (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्रि-अरे
- in the three-spoked (three-rimmed)three-spoked/three-rimmed; having three ‘spokes’ (triadic structure: e.g., three guṇas/worlds/breaths per exegetes)Adjectiveपुं/नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन (कोशे इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role अधिकरणRoot अरा (प्रातिपदिक); उपसर्ग/संख्या-पूर्वपद: त्रि
- त्रि-प्रतिष्ठिते
- set/established in three (ways/places)thrice-established; resting on three foundations (triadic supports: speech-breath-mind, or earth-air-heaven)Adjective (past participle)पुं/नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन (कोशे इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role अधिकरणRoot प्रतिष्ठित (√स्था + प्रति, क्त-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्मिन्
- in thatin it; within that (same locus)Pronounपुं/नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यत्
- whatever/that whichwhat; that which (the entity to be known)Relative pronounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (संबन्ध-निर्देशः)Role कर्म (विदुः इत्यस्य) / विषयःRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- यक्षम्
- the wondrous/sacred being (yakṣa)the wondrous/powerful being; a numinous entity (yakṣa as mysterious potency)Nounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (विदुः इत्यस्य) / विषयःRoot यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- आत्मन्वत्
- endowed with self/essencepossessed of self; ensouled, having ātman (self-existent principle)Adjectiveनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (यक्षम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role कर्म (विदुः इत्यस्य) / विषयःRoot आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (मतुप्/वतुप्-तद्धित)
- तत्
- thatDemonstrative pronounनपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (विदुः इत्यस्य) / विषयःRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- वै
- indeedindeed; emphatic particle (certitude of doctrine)Indeclinableअव्ययRoot वै (निपात)
- ब्रह्मविदः
- knowers of Brahmanknowers of brahman; ritual-metaphysical specialists (authorized interpreters)Nounपुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole कर्ताRoot ब्रह्मविद् (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्मन् + √विद् ‘to know’ → ‘knower of Brahman’)
- विदुः
- know / have knownknow; have recognized (as settled knowledge)Verbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्शभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot √विद् (विदँ ज्ञाने)
Sandhi Notes
- इ + अ → य्, अवग्रहः) | त्रि-प्रतिष्ठिते | तस्मिन् | यत् | यक्षम् | आत्मन्वत् | तत् | वै | ब्रह्मविदः | विदुः । अन्यत्र विशेष-सन्धिः न।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic speculative tradition (variable r̥ṣi lists).
- Devata
- Brahman/Ātman as ‘yakṣa’ (mysterious potency).
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (with scholastic/gnomic style)
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
Sayana glosses the ‘golden sheath’ as the heart-seat wherein brahman/ātman abides. ‘Three-spoked’ and ‘thrice-established’ are read as triadic cosmological or psychophysical supports (often mapped to the three worlds or to speech, breath, and mind). ‘Yakṣa’ is not a goblin here but ‘that which is to be wondered at’—the mysterious brahman endowed with selfhood; its recognition is the mark of brahmavids.
Atharvanic speculative tradition (r̥ṣi attribution variable)
Gnostic protection (brahmavidyā) articulated through architectural and wheel imagery; inner yakṣa doctrine.
Positions brahman-knowledge not as abstraction but as a protective realization located in the ‘golden sheath’ of lived interiority.
Yakṣa as Brahman/Ātman (self-possessed inner potency)
The yakṣa is the numinous core that animates and governs the ‘city’; brahmavidyā is the means of access and stabilization.
Reduces existential fear, supports integration of mind-states, and strengthens resilience through inner anchoring.
Protection by insight: one who knows the inner yakṣa is less susceptible to psychic assault and impurity panic.
4 × 8 (didactic/gnomic)
Philosophical density; clear enunciation of try-are / tripratiṣṭhite preserves the triadic architecture.
Inward-turning and declarative; culminates in epistemic closure (viduḥ).
Promotes contemplative absorption; suitable for silent mental repetition after voiced recitation.
Recite after AV 10.2.31 as a doctrinal ‘sealing’ (bandhana) of the visualization.
Mark three points on the patron (forehead, throat, heart) or (head, navel, heart) while uttering ‘try-àre trípratiṣṭhite’, aligning the triadic supports.
End with a silent pause (upasthāna) to internalize the ‘yakṣa’ as ātman.
Kauśika Sūtra: employed in protective/āyuṣya recitations where ‘knowledge-mantras’ are used as rakṣā; precise sutra numbering differs in editions.
Atharvan as brahmavidyā-prayoktṛ: he ‘installs’ (pratiṣṭhā) the triadic order through speech and gesture.
Recite in a clean inner room near the home altar; teach as a protective ‘knowledge-charm’ to adolescents or householders under stress, emphasizing guarding the nine doors by returning to the inner kośa.
Brahma-muhūrta or before study/important decisions; also before sleep to stabilize dream-state transitions.
A learned reciter/teacher explains the imagery; functions as domestic brahmavidyā instruction.
Use as a short contemplative reading/chant before meditation or journaling, focusing on the ‘three supports’ (body-breath-mind).
triadic cosmology (three supports/spokes); hiraṇya (golden inner locus)
The ‘golden casket’ functions like an inner amulet; triadic spokes/supports are the subtle engineering of stability that keeps the yakṣa ‘seated’.
Fear, fragmentation of attention, instability across mental states; ‘spiritual insecurity.’
Heart/interior (kośa) implied.
Insight-based stabilization: locating self-possessed power inside; triadic support as integrative frame.
Enhances sattva; pacifies vāta by providing inner ‘pratiṣṭhā’ (foundation).
Metacognitive anchoring; self-compassion/inner secure base; mindfulness of awareness itself.
The practitioner’s consciousness and sense of safety.
Secure the practitioner by identifying the inviolable inner yakṣa and the triadic supports of the inner sheath.
Protective vidyā: naming the inner structure and authorizing it through brahmavid discourse.
Existential dread, sensory dispersion, intrusive thoughts.
- त्र्यऽरे (try-are)
- triadic order (e.g., waking-dream-sleep; three guṇas; three fires) stabilizing the inner vehicle
- त्रिप्रतिष्ठिते (tripratiṣṭhite)
- deep supports of life—body, breath, mind; or earth-atmosphere-heaven as inner pillars
- यक्षम् (yakṣam)
- the uncanny radiance of brahman—experienced as awe, not objectifiable
- आत्मन्वत् (ātmanvat)
- autonomous consciousness; inner sovereignty
- ब्रह्मविदः (brahmavidaḥ)
- those stabilized in insight; knowledge as protective armor
- कोश (kośa)
- inner chamber of awareness; protective enclosure
Rest as the ‘self-possessed’ awareness (ātmanvat yakṣa) inside the golden sheath; contemplate the three supports as posture-breath-attention.
Ajna (witness-awareness)
Gentle kumbhaka only if trained; otherwise smooth diaphragmatic breathing while repeating ‘ātmanvat’.
A three-spoked wheel of light turning slowly inside a golden chamber at the centerline; each spoke stabilizes a mind-state.
Witnessing (sākṣitva) with awe; integration of waking/dream/sleep as triadic spokes.
After chanting, sit for 3 minutes: (1) feel body, (2) feel breath, (3) observe mind—then rest as the knower.
Contemplative, slightly rising on yakṣam and settling on viduḥ.
Give clear separation: tasmin… kośe | try-are tripratiṣṭhite; then a softer, reverent tone for yakṣam ātmanvat.
Quietly luminous, like teaching a secret; allow resonance on long vowels.
After 3 voiced repetitions, switch to silent mental repetition to enact the ‘inner kośa’ principle.
12 times
When you feel spiritually ungrounded, scattered, or fearful; before exams, decisions, or sleep transitions.
Before meditation; during stress breaks; at night to stabilize mind-states.
Greater inner security, reduced reactivity, steadier attention, and a sense of meaning.
Avoid breath retention if anxious or hypertensive; keep practice gentle.
Again non-botanical: efficacy is conceptual. The triadic ‘supports’ function like a ritual technology for stabilizing the person (pratiṣṭhā), analogous to how herbs stabilize bodily states in bhaiṣajya hymns.
It explicitly privileges ‘brahmavids’ as epistemic authorities. The patron’s protection depends on specialist knowledge, reinforcing priestly mediation and the prestige of Atharvanic learning.
‘Yakṣa’ as a positive metaphysical ‘mystery’ anticipates later Upaniṣadic usage (cf. ‘yakṣa’ episodes). The compact doctrinal style and abstract triadic schematization are more characteristic of late Vedic speculation than early RV hymnody.
Gopatha tends to equate correct identification (nāmadheya/vidyā) with control and protection. The mantra’s force is the ‘recognition’ that the inner brahman is self-established; ritual speech makes that recognition operative.
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