Atharva Veda 20.126.10: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 126, Mantra 10
Sukta 126
सं॒हो॒त्रं स्म॑ पु॒रा नारी॒ सम॑नं॒ वाव॑ गच्छति । वे॒धा ऋ॒तस्य॑ वी॒रिणीन्द्र॑पत्नी महीयते॒ विश्व॑स्मा॒दिन्द्र॒ उत्त॑रः
saṃhótraṃ sma purā́ nā́rī́ sámanaṃ vā́va gacchati | vedhā́ ṛtásya vīríṇī́ndrapatnī́ mahīyate víśvasmā́d índra úttaraḥ ||
To the common offering, even of old, the woman verily goes—to the assembly she goes: the Ordainer of Order; the hero-rich wife of Indra is made great—above all, Indra is the higher.
पुराने ज़माने से औरतें यज्ञ और सभा में जाती हैं। मैं धरम का काम करती हूँ। मैं इंद्र की पत्नी हूँ, मेरे पास बहुत वीर हैं। लोग मुझे बड़ा मानते हैं। इंद्र सबसे बड़ा है।
The meaning
What it says
The verse asserts ancient precedent: the woman goes to the common offering and to the assembly; as ‘Ordainer of ṛta,’ the hero-rich wife of Indra is magnified; Indra is supreme.
The inner meaning
It legitimizes women’s access to ritual/public space by appealing to primordial custom (purā) and to ṛta (normative order). The mantra is a social charter: dignity is not begged but authorized by cosmic order, strengthening the wife against exclusion by rivals or gatekeepers.
The truth in it
True order includes rightful participation. When inclusion is grounded in principle (ṛta), status becomes stable and not hostage to petty contest.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Strīkarmāṇi / Paustika
Its aim
To authorize a wife’s access to ritual and assembly, and to magnify her rank against rivals by appeal to ṛta and ancient precedent.
Word by Word
Pada patha
सम्-होत्रम् । स्म । पुरा । नारी । समनम् । वाव । गच्छति । वेधा । ऋतस्य । वीरिणी । इन्द्र-पत्नी । महीयते । विश्वस्मात् । इन्द्र । उत्तरः ।
- संहोत्रम्
- the joint/combined oblation (common offering)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (गच्छति इत्यस्य) / गत्यर्थकक्रियायाः लक्ष्यंRoot संहोत्र (प्रातिपदिक; सं- + होत्र) अथवा संहोत्र- (समास)
- स्म
- indeed; (emphatic particle)indeed, as is known (particle of assertion/tradition)Indeclinableनिपात; अर्थे—स्मरण/एव/खलु (पदपूरण)Root स्म (निपात)
- पुरा
- formerly; in olden timesof old, formerly (appeal to precedent)Indeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole अधिकरण (काल)Root पुरा (अव्यय)
- नारी
- the womanwoman, wife (ritual agent within domestic order)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (गच्छति इत्यस्य)Root नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
- समनम्
- to the assembly/meeting; to a common placeto the assembly/meeting; also ‘concord’ (social space of recognition)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्म (गच्छति इत्यस्य)Root समन (प्रातिपदिक)
- वाव
- indeed; surelysurely, in very truth (emphatic particle)Indeclinableनिपात; बलार्थ/पदपूरणRoot वाव (निपात; वा+अव इव पदपूरण)
- गच्छति
- goes; proceedsgoes, attains (access/eligibility to ritual-social sphere)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot गम् (धातु)
- वेधा
- the ordainer; the wise disposerthe disposer/ordainer; wise arranger (epithet of Indra or of the ritual order)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विशेष्य (महीयते इत्यस्य; अथवा स्तुत्य-विशेषण)Root वेधस्/वेधा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘विधातृ/विधाता’)
- ऋतस्य
- of ṛta (cosmic order/truth)of ṛta, cosmic/right order (normative legitimacy)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root ऋत (प्रातिपदिक)
- वीरिणी
- the heroic one; rich in heroeshero-bearing; endowed with sons/men (social capital)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विशेष्य (महीयते इत्यस्य; इन्द्रपत्नी इत्यस्य विशेषण)Root वीरिणी (प्रातिपदिक; ‘वीरयुक्ता/वीरवती’)
- इन्द्रपत्नी
- Indra’s wifeNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ (महीयते इत्यस्य)Root इन्द्रपत्नी (समास; इन्द्र + पत्नी)
- महीयते
- is honored; is magnifiedis magnified, is honored (public recognition)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot मह् (धातु; ‘पूजायाम्/मानने’)
- विश्वस्मात्
- from all; than everythingabove all (comparative supremacy)Adjective (used substantively)नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सर्व-प्रयोग), पञ्चमी, एकवचनRole अपादान (तुलनायाम् ‘from all’)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विशेष्य (उत्तरोऽस्ति इत्यर्थे)Root इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- उत्तरः
- higher; superiorhigher, superior (victorious in rank)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole प्रधानीय-विशेषण (इन्द्रस्य)Root उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- संहोत्रं स्म पुरा नारी समनं वाव गच्छति । वेधा ऋतस्य वीरिणी इन्द्रपत्नी महीयते विश्वस्मात् इन्द्रः उत्तरः । मुख्य-सन्धयः:
- (1) वीरिणीन्द्रपत्नी → वीरिणी + इन्द्रपत्नी (ई + इ → ई; संहितायां दीर्घस्वर-समास/सन्धि-लेखन)
- (2) विश्वस्मादिन्द्रः → विश्वस्मात् + इन्द्रः (त् + इ → दि; परसवर्ण/व्यञ्जनसन्धि; पदे ‘विश्वस्मात्’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Indrāṇī (traditional persona)
- Devata
- Indra / Ṛta (as normative power)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
Sayana reads the verse as legitimating the wife’s public-ritual standing: she ‘goes’ to saṃhotra and samana because her status is grounded in ṛta. ‘Vedhā ṛtasya’ is taken as Indra (or the divine disposer) who establishes rightful precedence; thus Indrāṇī is ‘mahīyate’—socially magnified.
Indrāṇī (speaking persona; traditional attribution)
Paustika-strīkarman: establishing rank, access, and ritual legitimacy for the wife.
Sacralizes women’s ritual/public participation by rooting it in ṛta and ancient norm—Atharvanic magic as social authorization.
Indra (sanctioning power) and Ṛta (normative order)
Indra as sovereign guarantor; ṛta as the law that makes participation legitimate and rank stable.
Heals exclusion-induced distress; restores confidence and social footing.
Protects access to ritual/community against rival obstruction.
4×8 with a refrain-like final pāda
The first pāda’s compound saṃhotram can compress/expand in recitation; refrain stabilizes cadence
Processional and legitimizing; feels like a public proclamation.
Installs social confidence; ‘opens the door’ to participation through rhythmic authority.
Recite while leading the wife toward the household fire/ritual space.
Perform a small offering (āhuti) or symbolic ‘joining’ act (touching ladle/fire-stand) to mark saṃhotra.
Recite again at the threshold of the assembly/meeting-place (samana) to secure recognition.
End with a benediction over the wife’s head.
Kauśika Sūtra: domestic rites for concord and wife’s precedence (samana/saṃhotra usage; edition-dependent numbering)
Atharvan priest: conducts the transitional movement (threshold-rite), recites for social legitimation, and oversees any minor oblation.
Recited before household offerings or when a wife’s ritual role is questioned; can precede entering a meeting/assembly.
Before homa/havan; before community decisions affecting household status.
Optional; can be led by household priest, but verse itself authorizes the woman’s presence.
Used in rites of inclusion (family puja, community ceremonies) to affirm rightful participation.
Though no fire is named, saṃhotra implies Agni and oblation—ritual participation itself is the ‘substance’ conferring greatness (mahīyate).
Social stress from exclusion; low self-worth from ritual/social gatekeeping
Re-authorizing narrative via tradition (purā) and ṛta; strengthens manas and ojas
Supports sattva through dharma/ṛta alignment; reduces vāta from insecurity
Empowerment affirmation; reclaiming rightful participation in family/community systems
Household/social audience; rival gatekeepers
Authorize a wife’s participation in offerings and assembly; magnify her rank; counter rival attempts to exclude or diminish.
Appeal to precedent (purā) + cosmic law (ṛta) + supremacy seal (Indra uttarāḥ)
Exclusion, status erosion, ritual marginalization
Household prestige, stable marriage status, communal recognition
- saṃhotram
- shared household ritual economy; legitimate participation
- purā
- precedent, tradition as authority
- nārī
- ritual agent; household pillar
- samanam
- public sphere; social recognition
- vedhā ṛtasya
- alignment with cosmic-social law; rightful place
- mahīyate
- social elevation through legitimate ritual power
- viśvasmād indra utta̍raḥ
- final sanction; protective sovereignty
Dharma/ṛta alignment: ‘I belong where order places me.’
anāhata
Ujjāyī (gentle) to cultivate dignified steadiness
A communal fire at the heart; the practitioner steps forward to offer, surrounded by a mandala of ṛta; Indra’s blue-gold canopy above.
Stable self-respect without hostility
Recite before entering difficult social spaces; then practice one act of principled participation (speak once, offer once, show up).
Clear, moderately energetic; treat it like a proclamation; seal the refrain with firmness
Highlight purā (ancient precedent) and vedhā ṛtasya (order-authority); final pāda as sealing cadence
Upright, resonant, dignified
Effective when recited at thresholds—before entering ritual space or assembly—mirroring the verse’s movement ‘gacchati’.
11 times
When someone’s rightful participation in family ritual/community is questioned or blocked.
Before puja/homa; before meetings; when reclaiming voice and place in the household.
Legitimacy, calm confidence, reduced fear of exclusion; improved social footing.
Pair with respectful conduct; if exclusion is part of abuse/control, seek external support.
Again, no materia medica is explicit; the operative medium is institutional: fire-rite (saṃhotra) and public assembly (samana). The mantra ‘treats’ social vulnerability by ritualizing access and recognition.
It encodes controlled female participation: the wife’s movement into ritual/public space is justified by ṛta and by association with Indra’s household. Rank is framed as divinely ordained, not merely negotiated.
The lexicon (ṛta, vedhā) is archaic-RV; the collocation with samana and the explicit social itinerary (rite → assembly) reflects Atharvanic social-ritual pragmatics.
Gopatha tends to ground efficacy in correct alignment with ṛta and proper performance; this verse explicitly claims that alignment, thereby authorizing the wife’s ‘mahīyate’ as a ritual fact.
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