Atharva Veda 20.126.16: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 13, Sukta 126, Mantra 16
Sukta 126
न सेशे॒ यस्य॒ रम्ब॑तेऽन्त॒रा स॒क्थ्या॒३ कपृ॑त्। सेदी॑शे॒ यस्य॒ रोम॒शं नि॑षे॒दुषो॑ वि॒जृम्भ॑ते॒ विश्व॑स्मा॒दिन्द्र॒ उत्त॑रः
ná séśe yásya rámbate ’ntárā sákthyā́ kapṛ́t | sédīśe yásya rómaśaṃ niṣédúṣo vijṛ́mbhate víśvasmā́d índra úttaraḥ
He lieth not at ease whose member sports betwixt the thighs. He sitteth—whose shaggy one, when he is seated, gapes and stretches wide. Indra is higher than all.
वो आराम नहीं कर सकता जिसका लिंग टांगों के बीच में हिलता है। वो बैठता है जिसका बैठने पर बाल वाला हिस्सा फैलता है। इंद्र सबसे बड़ा है।
Rishi: Indra-stuti tradition (Rigvedic borrowing; r̥ṣi uncertain here)
Devata: Indra (as virile victor)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh
Primary: vira
Secondary: shringara
Sayana reads the explicit sexual imagery as a praise of Indra’s (or Indra-like hero’s) unflagging virility: ‘not lying down’ = not slackening; the ‘member’ between the thighs ‘sporting’ = active generative force. The second hemistich intensifies the image (hairy, seated, expanding), culminating in the refrain asserting Indra’s supremacy.
To secure masculine vigor, dominance, and competitive superiority through Indra’s archetypal potency
Genitals (kapṛt; romaśa as euphemistic/poetic designation)
Not a disease-cure; functions as vājīkaraṇa-style empowerment—strengthening confidence and embodied vigor.
Ojas/śukra-dhātu support (conceptually); caution against depletion; channeling rajas into stable tejas.
Performance anxiety/low confidence addressed via archetypal affirmation and breath-voice regulation.
paustika
Self (male practitioner/patron)
To secure masculine vigor, dominance, and superiority by identifying the speaker’s potency with Indra’s higher power.
Stuti-as-charm: vivid somatic imagery + climactic supremacy-refrain (uttaraḥ) to ‘seal’ the effect.
Impotence, loss of status, competitive intimidation
Virility, reputation, winning presence
A vivid, bodily image: the man is not at rest when the sexual organ moves between the thighs; when seated, the “shaggy one” gapes/stretch-widens; the refrain asserts Indra’s supremacy over all.
Restlessness here is the surge of vital force (ojas/tejas) seeking expression; the verse channels instinctual energy into Indraic confidence—uprightness, dominance, competitive readiness—rather than anxiety or depletion.
Power that is unintegrated becomes agitation; power that is aligned with a higher archetype (Indra as victorious sovereignty) becomes steadiness, mastery, and uplift.
- न सेशे (na seśe)
- unsettled energy; drive that refuses inertia
- रम्बते (rambate)
- vitality, libido, prāṇa in motion
- अन्तरा सक्थ्या (antarā sakthyā)
- seat of desire; embodied life-force
- कपृत् (kapṛt)
- generative potency; assertive will
- रोमशम् (romaśam)
- animal vigor; untamed strength
- निषेदुषः (niṣeduṣaḥ)
- ritual posture; gathered power
- विजृम्भते (vijṛmbhate)
- expansion; awakening of force
- विश्वस्माद् इन्द्र उत्तरः (viśvasmād indra uत्तaraḥ)
- supreme confidence; victory-principle enthroned
Transmute sexual drive into courageous steadiness under the ‘higher’ principle (Indra).
Svādhiṣṭhāna → Maṇipūra (lifting desire into will/tejas)
Slow inhalation with firm exhalation on ‘indra uttaराḥ’ to ‘seal’ resolve.
A golden vajra-light rising from pelvis to navel/heart, stabilizing heat into confidence.
Energized, alert, masterful (not scattered).
Hold ethical intention (brahmacarya as regulation, not repression); recite with upright posture, ending each repetition with a brief stillness.
Simple stuti-style; treat as udātta emphasis on ‘índra’ and cadence-drop into ‘uttaraḥ’.
Lean stress toward the refrain; keep earlier erotic imagery brisk but not comic.
Keep conjuncts clear: vi-jṛmbha-te (not *vijambhate*), Retroflex ṛ in kapṛt, jṛmbh-, Maintain anusvāra in romaśaṃ
Firm, controlled, slightly resonant; avoid theatricality.
Because of explicit virility imagery, traditional use is guarded—recite with restraint and clear intention (paustika, not licentious).
11
Low confidence, competitive pressure, or desire to strengthen disciplined masculinity.
Before a contest, negotiation, or intimate approach—after bathing, with a steady mind.
Increased courage, self-command, and ‘upright’ presence; reduction of performance anxiety.
Avoid using to fuel aggression or coercion; if sexual dysfunction has medical causes, seek clinical care alongside spiritual practice.
पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): न | सेशे | यस्य | रम्बते | अन्तरा | सक्थ्या | कपृत् || सेदीशे | यस्य | रोमशम् | निषेदुषः | विजृम्भते | विश्वस्मात् | इन्द्रः | उत्तरः । 1) रम्बतेऽन्तरा = रम्बते + अन्तरा (अ + अ → ’, अवग्रह). 2) सक्थ्या॒३ कपृत्: ‘सक्थ्या’ (तृतीया-एकवचन) + ‘कपृत्’ (प्रथमा-एकवचन) — संधि नहीं, केवल पद-सीमा. 3) निषे॒दुषो॑ = निषेदुषः (विसर्ग का पदान्त रूप; अगले शब्द से संधि-परिवर्तन नहीं दिखाया गया).
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