Atharva Veda 18.3.18: Kanda 18, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 18
Sukta 3
अ॒ञ्जते॒ व्यऽञ्जते॒ सम॑ञ्जते॒ क्रतुं॑ रिहन्ति॒ मधु॑ना॒भ्यऽञ्जते । सिन्धो॑रुच्छ्वा॒से प॒तय॑न्तमु॒क्षणं॑ हिरण्यपा॒वाः प॒शुमा॑सु गृह्णते
añjáte vy-àñjate sám-añjate krátum rihánti mádhunā́bhy-àñjate | síndhor ucchvā́se patáyantam ukṣáṇaṁ hiraṇyapāvā́ḥ paśúmāsu gṛhṇate
They anoint, they anoint abroad, they anoint wholly; they lick the purpose, with sweetness they anoint thereon. In Sindhu’s upsurge they seize the flying bull: the golden-purifiers take him among the cattle-wealth.
यह लोग तेल लगाते हैं, पूरे शरीर पर लगाते हैं। अपने काम को मीठा करके साफ करते हैं। सिंधु नदी में जब पानी उठता है, तब वो उड़ान भैंस को पकड़ लेते हैं। जो लोग सोना से साफ करते हैं, वो उसे अपने पाशु में ले आते हैं।
Rishi: Pitṛ-hymn tradition (AV 18.3 context; specific r̥ṣi uncertain)
Devata: Consecratory power (madhumat añjana), prosperity/Paśu; implicitly Pitṛs as mediators
Chandas: Jagatī/triṣṭubh-like (dense imagery; AV metrical irregularity possible)
Primary: adbhuta
Secondary: vira
Sāyaṇa explains the repeated ‘añj-’ as emphatic consecration: the rite and its ‘kratu’ (effective intention) are made acceptable by honeyed unction. The ‘bull’ is read as a figure of strength/prosperity (and, in pitṛ-context, as a prized offering/boon). ‘hiraṇyapāvāḥ’ are those who purify with gold (or possess golden purifiers/strainings), indicating high-status ritual apparatus; ‘gṛhṇate’ marks successful acquisition—wealth secured through rite.
To intensify consecration through honeyed unction and to secure vigorous prosperity (symbolized by the bull) into the household’s cattle-wealth.
Strengthening/tonic by imagery of honeyed unction and captured vitality; psychophysiological uplift (ojas-like) via sweetened resolve (kratu).
Madhu as yogavāhī and rasāyana-adjacent symbol; supports ojas and saṃhanana (cohesion) conceptually.
Motivation/behavioral activation: aligning intention and reward; ‘integrating’ high energy into sustainable routines.
paustika
Household prosperity, cattle/wealth, resolve (kratu)
Consecrate intention with sweetness; draw vigorous prosperity (bull/paśu) into one’s cattle-wealth/resources through purified acquisition.
Abhiṣeka-style verbal unction (añjana) + madhu-binding; capture motif (gṛhṇate) as verbal ‘seizing’ spell.
Dissipation of effort, unstable gains, ‘runaway’ impulses
paśu (cattle), dhana (wealth), vigor/virility
Repeated acts of anointing are described; purpose (kratu) is ‘licked’ and anointed with honey. In the ‘upsurge of the Sindhu’ a flying bull is seized; ‘golden purifiers’ take him among cattle-wealth.
Unction (añjana) is the psyche’s re-patterning: saturating intention (kratu) with sweetness (madhu) so action becomes coherent and fruitful. The ‘flying bull’ is runaway potency—vital drive and fertility—captured and integrated into one’s resources rather than dissipated.
Prosperity is not forced; it is consecrated. When intention is sweetened and purified, raw power becomes stable wealth and generativity.
- अञ्जते / व्यञ्जते / समञ्जते (añjate/vyañjate/samañjate)
- layered consecration: personal, social, and total integration
- क्रतुम् (kratum)
- executive function; aligned will
- मधु (madhu)
- auspicious affect; cohesion, attraction, ‘binding’ prosperity
- सिन्धोः उच्छ्वासे (sindhoḥ ucchvāse)
- surge of life-current; liminal abundance and risk
- उक्षणम् (ukṣaṇam)
- virility, strength, cattle-prosperity, dharma-bearing vigor
- हिरण्यपावाः (hiraṇya-pāvāḥ)
- refined agents (ritualists/forces) that transmute raw power into legitimate wealth
Consecrating kratu (resolve) with sweetness; integrating vitality into stable practice.
manipura
brisk_energetic
Golden honey light coating the heart and navel center; a powerful bull-energy calmly entering a protected enclosure (your routine/discipline).
Bright, purposeful, empowered.
Chant with steady rhythm; after chanting, set one clear intention (kratu) and one concrete action step, sealing it with a small sweet taste (symbolic madhu).
Emphasize the triple repetition añjate/vyañjate/samañjate with consistent pitch; let the second half broaden for the Sindhu/bull imagery.
Keep compounds clear: hiraṇyapāvāḥ; avoid swallowing consonant clusters in patayantam ukṣaṇam.
Añjate: keep palatal ñ distinct (a-ñja-te)., Ucchvāse: double cch and long ā (ucchvā-se)., Ukṣaṇam: retroflex ṣ (uk-ṣa-ṇam).
Bright, energized, slightly emphatic on repetitions.
This verse works well as a ‘seal’ after stating an intention; the opening repetition is itself the charm-structure (verbal unction).
3
Starting a venture, seeking stable prosperity, rebuilding motivation after loss, blessing livestock/resources.
Before work/start of day; or after a cleansing act to ‘re-consecrate’ intention.
Clearer resolve, energized mood, sense of auspicious momentum and protected acquisition.
Avoid using prosperity rites to justify harmful acquisition; keep ethical ‘purification’ (pāvā) central.
पदच्छेद (Vedic sandhi resolved): अञ्जते | वि अञ्जते | सम् अञ्जते | क्रतुम् रिहन्ति | मधुना अभि अञ्जते | सिन्धोः उच्छ्वासे | पतयन्तम् उक्षणम् | हिरण्यपावाः | पशुमासु | गृह्णते । Notes: (1) व्यऽञ्जते = वि + अञ्जते (इ/अ संधि → य्). (2) सम॑ञ्जते = सम् + अञ्जते (म् + अ → मञ्ज). (3) मधु॑ना॒भ्यऽञ्जते = मधुना + अभि + अञ्जते (आ + अ → आ; अभि + अञ्जते with i/a → य् in pada-text). (4) सिन्धो॑रुच्छ्वा॒से = सिन्धोः + उच्छ्वासे (ः + उ → र्, visarga-sandhi). (5) प॒शुमा॑सु is taken as सप्तमी बहुवचन of पशुमती ‘cattle-possessing’; pada-text often shows such contracted forms in AV.
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