Atharva Veda 15.4.17: Kanda 15, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 4, Mantra 17
Sukta 4
शै॒शि॒रौ मासौ॑ गो॒प्तारा॒वकु॑र्व॒न् दिवं॑ चादि॒त्यं चा॑नुष्ठा॒तारौ॑
śaiśiráu māsáu goptā́rāv akurvan dívaṃ cādityáṃ cānuṣṭhātā́rau
The two Śaiśira months they appointed as Guardians, as Executors of Heaven and of Āditya (the Sun).
शिशिर के दो महीने को रखा गया है आसमान और सूरज के गार्ड बन के। यह दोनों महीने आसमान और सूरज का काम संभालते हैं।
The meaning
What it says
The two Śaiśira (late-winter) months were appointed as guardians and as executors/administrators of Heaven (Div) and Āditya (Sun).
The inner meaning
Late-winter discipline ‘administers’ light: even in cold restraint, the solar principle is executed reliably. Psychologically: routines (months) become guardians that carry one through low-energy seasons without losing clarity.
The truth in it
Order in time sustains order in the cosmos and in the self; when cycles are honored, light and meaning continue to operate even through austerity.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika / Protective cosmology (time-regulation)
Its aim
To secure heavenly favor and solar order for the beneficiary by aligning with the seasonal guardianship of the Śaiśira months.
Word by Word
Pada patha
शैशिरौ । मासौ । गोप्तारौ । अकुर्वन् । दिवम् । च । आदित्यम् । च । अनुष्ठातारौ ।
- शैशिरौ
- the two wintry (ones)the Śaiśira (cool season) pair/seasonal designation (personified months)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole विशेषण (कर्तृपद-सम्बन्धः)Root शैशिर (प्रातिपदिक; शिशिर-सम्बद्ध)
- मासौ
- two monthsNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृRoot मास (प्रातिपदिक)
- गोप्तारौ
- two protectors/guardianstwo guardians/protectors (warders against harm)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्ध/अप्पोज़िशन)Root गोप्तृ (प्रातिपदिक; √गुप् ‘to protect’ से कर्तृ-नाम)
- अकुर्वन्
- they made / they didthey made/appointed (instituted as offices)Verbलङ् (अनद्यतन-भूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRole क्रियाRoot √कृ (करणे)
- दिवम्
- heaven, the skyheaven/sky (upper realm to be secured/maintained)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRole समुच्चयRoot च
- आदित्यम्
- the Sun / ĀdityaĀditya, the Sun (solar power; regulator of order and time)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
- च
- andIndeclinableसमुच्चय-अव्ययRole समुच्चयRoot च
- अनुष्ठातारौ
- two performers/executorstwo executors/maintainers (ensuring due course and continuance)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनRole कर्तृ (सम्बन्ध/अप्पोज़िशन)Root अनुष्ठातृ (प्रातिपदिक; अनु-√स्था ‘to carry out, perform’ से कर्तृ-नाम)
Sandhi Notes
- शैशिरौ मासौ गोप्तारौ अकुर्वन् दिवम् च आदित्यम् च अनुष्ठातारौ।
- 1) गोप्तारौ+अकुर्वन् → गोप्तारा॒वकु॑र्वन् (स्वर-सन्धि/वृद्धि: औ + अ → आव)
- 2) च+आदित्यम् → चादित्यम् (अ + आ संयोगः; लेखने ‘चा-’)
- अन्यत्र विशेष-सन्धि न।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Late Atharvanic cosmological/administrative tradition (AV 15).
- Devata
- Māsāḥ (Śaiśira months), Dyu (Heaven), Āditya (Sun).
- Chandas
- Prose/ritual formula.
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
Sāyaṇa interprets the Śaiśira months as cosmic functionaries: they guard (goptṛtva) and maintain (anuṣṭhāna) the heavenly realm and the solar Āditya, i.e., the orderly course of light, time, and auspicious oversight.
Anonymous/collective late Atharvanic redactors (AV 15)
Seasonal-directional cosmology serving rājakarman: installing guardianship of time to secure heavenly/solar favor.
Shows the Atharvanic ‘cosmic bureaucracy’ model: months are empowered as agents who execute heaven and sun—order is personified as dependable service.
Māsāḥ (Śaiśira pair), Dyu (Div), Āditya
Months regulate seasonal time; Heaven provides the overarching realm; the Sun enforces visibility, oath/truth, and temporal rhythm.
Indirect: solar order supports vitality and circadian steadiness; late-winter guardianship supports recovery and conservation.
Guards against seasonal disorder, loss of favor ‘from above,’ and breakdown of authority/clarity.
Enumerative clause with duals; ends with role-title (anuṣṭhātārau).
Administrative diction (akuvan / anuṣṭhātṛ) typical of AV 15’s consecratory register.
Processional listing; dual forms create balanced rhythm.
Feels like appointing officials—stabilizing and authoritative.
Perform a brief sun-facing observance (sūryopasthāna) at dawn or when sunlight is visible.
Recite the mantra while looking toward the sun or raising joined hands (añjali) upward.
Conclude by touching the eyes/forehead, internalizing solar protection and heavenly oversight.
Kauśika Sūtra: rites involving Āditya and protective maintenance of cosmic order occur across rakṣā and paustika sections.
Atharvan priest: times the recitation to a solar moment and directs the beneficiary’s orientation to Āditya; maintains correctness of observance.
Seasonal protection recitation in late winter: to maintain household order, ensure timely work, and invoke solar clarity (useful before important public acts).
Late winter mornings; ideally with exposure to early sunlight and a clean hearth/altar space.
Atharvan reciter frames months as protective officials for patron/house.
Use as a ‘seasonal reset’ mantra to recommit to routine and light.
Āditya (Sun; solar order); Dyu/Div (Heaven; upper realm)
No herbs; the operative ‘substance’ is solar radiance and heavenly sanction—intangible powers stabilized by naming their seasonal administrators.
Late-winter (śiśira) is kapha-accumulating; solar regulation and disciplined routine help prevent sluggishness (āma) and seasonal imbalance (conceptual parallel).
Seasonal affect regulation and circadian hygiene: maintaining light exposure and routine through winter.
Beneficiary/king/householder under protection.
Align beneficiary with late-winter guardians so that heaven’s favor and the sun’s order are ‘executed’ on their behalf—ensuring stable governance and prosperity.
Appointment formula (akuvan) + personification of time as guardians/executors.
Seasonal misfortune, loss of solar favor, confusion in governance/visibility.
Authority, clarity, regularity of success; long-term welfare.
- शैशिरौ मासौ (śaiśirau māsau)
- austerity that protects; preparation for renewal; endurance with clarity
- गोप्तारौ (goptārau)
- paired sentries; dual protection (inner/outer, home/realm)
- अनुष्ठातारौ (anuṣṭhātārau)
- administration of cosmic law; making rites ‘happen’ reliably
- दिवम् (divam)
- higher order, overarching legitimacy
- आदित्यम् (ādityam)
- illumination, time, truth, visibility, governance
Solar-order contemplation: visualize the sun as the ‘executor’ of truth and regularity; let months be the rhythm of practice.
manipura
moderate breathing with a gentle emphasis on exhale to cultivate steadiness; optional bhastrikā avoided in excess during winter dryness.
A sun-disc in the chest/solar plexus radiating orderly rays in four directions; twin guardians at the gates of time.
Bright steadiness; disciplined clarity.
Recite at sunrise for 7 days; pair with consistent sleep/wake times to embody ‘Āditya’s execution’ of rhythm.
Prose recitation with emphasis on duals: śaiśirau… māsau… goptārau… anuṣṭhātārau.
Segment: śaiśirau māsau | goptārāv akurvan | divaṃ ca | ādityaṃ ca | anuṣṭhātārau.
clear, declarative, slightly elevated
Treat as an ‘appointment’ utterance—speak as if installing guardians at posts.
Maintaining discipline and clarity through winter; leadership needing steady visibility and order.
At sunrise in late winter; before beginning structured work or governance tasks.
Reinforced routine, clarity, sense of auspicious solar support.
If using for mood support, also seek daylight, movement, and professional care when needed.
No plant is invoked; the ‘healing’ is macrocosmic—regularity of sun and heaven as guarantors of life, seasonality, and social order.
By casting time as a set of guardians and executors, it mirrors administrative governance; priestly speech authorizes and mediates access to cosmic order (sun/heaven) for the patron.
The institutional vocabulary (goptṛ, anuṣṭhātṛ) and the schematic pairing of months with domains (heaven, sun) reflect later systematization beyond RV’s freer poetic associations.
Gopatha’s Atharvanic theology treats Āditya and cosmic order as upheld through correct observance; the mantra’s efficacy is the maintenance (anuṣṭhāna) of the solar-heavenly regime through ritualized knowledge.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
