Atharva Veda 18.3.51: Kanda 18, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 3, Mantra 51
Sukta 3
उ॒च्छ्वञ्च॑माना पृथि॒वी सु ति॑ष्ठतु स॒हस्रं॒ मित॒ उप॒ हि श्रय॑न्ताम्। ते गृ॒हासो॑ घृत॒श्चुतः॑ स्यो॒ना वि॒श्वाहा॑स्मै शर॒णाः स॒न्त्वत्र॑
úcchvañcamānā pṛthivī́ sú tiṣṭhatu sahásraṁ mitá úpa hí śrayantām | té gṛhā́so ghṛtaścútaḥ syónā víśvāhā́smái śaraṇā́ḥ sántv átra ||
Let Earth, uprising, stand fast and fair; let a thousand measured portions rest upon her. Let those houses, ghee-distilling, pleasant, be for him here—shelters for all days.
धरती उठ के सही जगह पर खड़ी हो। उस पर हज़ार हिस्से आराम से रखें। वो घर जहाँ घी टपकता है, अच्छे घर, उसके लिए यहाँ हों। हर दिन के लिए यह शरण स्थल हो।
Rishi: Late Atharvanic vāstu complex (variable attribution).
Devata: Pṛthivī; secondarily ‘gṛhāsaḥ’ (houses) as beneficent entities
Chandas: Triṣṭubh-like (verify in critical metrical analysis).
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa reads the verse as vāstu-sthāpanā: Earth is to ‘stand well’ (su tiṣṭhatu) as a stable foundation. ‘Sahasram mitaḥ’ is taken as many duly measured allotments/rooms/plots, i.e., ordered domestic space. ‘Ghṛtaścutaḥ’ is prosperity-language: houses metaphorically ‘drip with ghee’ (food, oblation, wealth). ‘Śaraṇāḥ’ marks the protective function of the dwelling as a ritual refuge.
To stabilize the site and establish abundant, well-provisioned, perpetually protective houses upon it.
Indirect—stabilization and pacification of environment reduces fear, insomnia, and stress; ‘pleasant shelter’ functions as preventive health magic.
Bhūmi-sthairya and ghṛta symbolism align with vāta-pacifying principles (stability, unctuousness) though not an explicit Ayurvedic prescription.
Environmental psychology: secure housing and stable routines as determinants of mental and physical health.
mixed
Householder/beneficiary and the dwelling-site
To stabilize the site and cause abundant, measured supports and perpetually protective dwellings to ‘rest upon’ Earth.
Vāc as ‘site-sealing’: commanding Earth to stand; abundance by numeric amplification (sahasram); prosperity by ghṛta imagery; refuge by śaraṇa designation.
Instability of ground/fortune; inauspiciousness of place; recurrent misfortune in the home
Household abundance, continuous nourishment, long-term security
The Earth is invoked to rise and stand firm; a thousand “measured portions” are asked to settle upon her; the houses on that ground are envisioned as ghee-flowing, pleasant, and perpetual shelters.
Stability of place becomes stability of mind: the psyche “stands fast” when boundaries are rightly measured (mita), nourishment is steady (ghṛta), and the home is experienced as syoṇa—safe, soothing, non-threatening.
Prosperity and protection arise when life is grounded in right measure, clear boundaries, and daily nourishment; a well-ordered dwelling mirrors cosmic order and supports continuity “for all days.”
- पृथिवी (pṛthivī)
- Foundation of embodied life; the stable base for dharma and continuity
- उच्छ्वञ्चमाना (ucchvañcamānā)
- Re-erecting what has sunk—renewal of strength, reclaiming steadiness after disturbance
- मित (mita)
- Right proportion; ritually and psychologically ‘bounded’ space that prevents chaos
- सहस्रम् (sahasram)
- Abundance, plenitude; many supports rather than a single fragile support
- गृहासः (gṛhāsaḥ)
- Protective envelopes of life-force; domestic order as a living entity
- घृतश्चुतः (ghṛtaścutaḥ)
- Continuous nourishment, auspicious flow, unbroken prosperity
- स्योनाः (syoṇāḥ)
- Non-hostile space; a home that pacifies fear
- शरणाः (śaraṇāḥ)
- Spiritual and social protection; reliable containment against misfortune
- विश्वाहा (viśvāhā)
- Durability; protection not as a momentary charm but as a lasting condition
Grounding in ‘Earth-as-support’ and establishing right measure in life (limits, routines, commitments).
Mūlādhāra (stability, belonging)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing with extended exhale while visualizing the body settling into the ground.
Golden ghee-like warmth flowing through the home and body, sealing cracks, making the space syoṇa (kind).
Settled, contained awareness (sthiti)
Chant at the threshold or facing the ground; after each recitation pause in silence, sensing weight, boundary, and safety.
Atharvanic recitation with udātta-svarita-anudātta contours as per Śaunaka tradition; maintain lift on udātta syllables especially in imperative verbs (tiṣṭhatu, śrayantām).
Keep clear stress on compounds: ghṛta-ścútaḥ, víśvāhā; avoid flattening ‘ucchvañcamānā’.
Pronounce ‘ucchvañ-’ with clear nasalization before ‘c’ (ñc)., Keep retroflex ‘ṭh’ in tiṣṭhatu crisp., In ‘ghṛta’, maintain syllabic ṛ (ghṛ-ta) not ‘gri’., In ‘śaraṇāḥ’, keep ś- palatal and ṇ retroflex.
Steady, grounded, slightly resonant chest voice.
Best used as a ‘placing’ mantra: recite while physically performing boundary/threshold acts; vāc and action mutually seal the space.
3
Lighting a ghee lamp at threshold/hearth; Simple offering of a few drops of ghee into household fire (if appropriate); Boundary-walk (parikrama) with silent attention; Regular cleaning and orderly storage to embody ‘mita’ (measure)
Moving into a new home; repeated domestic disturbances; desire for steady prosperity and calm household atmosphere.
At housewarming, after cleaning/decluttering, during first lamp-lighting; also when redefining boundaries (room reordering, renovation).
Sense of stability, reduced anxiety around home, strengthened feeling of refuge and continuity; culturally meaningful sanctification of space.
Not a substitute for structural safety checks; if there is actual ground/structural risk, address materially first.
पदच्छेद (सन्धि-निरसन): उच्छ्वञ्चमाना | पृथिवी | सु | तिष्ठतु | सहस्रम् | मितः | उप | हि | श्रयन्ताम् || ते | गृहासः | घृत-श्चुतः | स्योनाः | विश्व-आहाः | अस्मै | शरणाः | सन्तु | अत्र । मुख्य-सन्धयः: (1) घृतश्चुतः = घृत + श्चुतः (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + श् → च्छ्/श्च्-प्रयोगः; संहितायां ‘श्च’ लेखनम्). (2) विश्वाहाḥ = विश्व + आहाः (स्वर-सन्धि: अ + आ → आ).
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