Atharva Veda 20.136.9: Kanda 20, Anuvaka 14, Sukta 136, Mantra 9
Sukta 136
म॒हा॒न॒ग्न्युप॑ ब्रूते स्वसा॒वेशि॑तं॒ पसः॑ । इ॒त्थं फल॑स्य॒ वृक्ष॑स्य॒ शूर्पे॑ शूर्पं॒ भजे॑महि
mahā́nagnī́ úpa brūte svasā́ āveśítaṃ pásāḥ | ittháṃ phálasya vṛ́kṣasya śū́rpe śū́rpaṃ bhajémahi ||
Mahānagnī, drawing near, pronounceth: ‘A sister—into the grain-mass entered (the power). Thus of the fruit of the tree, upon the winnowing-fan, may we take fan upon fan for our portion.’
महानग्नि नाम की देवी पास आके कहती है, बहन, अनाज में ताकत छुप गई है। पेड़ के फल से, सुपड़े में, हम हिस्सा लेते हैं, एक सुपड़े से दूसरी सुपड़े तक।
The meaning
What it says
Mahānagnī approaches and speaks of an entering power: ‘A sister—into the grain-mass entered.’ Then a harvest image: thus, from the fruit of the tree, on the winnowing-fan, may we obtain fan upon fan as our share—abundance through repeated winnowing/apportioning.
The inner meaning
The ‘sister’ suggests an allied force within the household economy—an intimate power that enters the raw mass (pasaḥ) and helps separate value from waste. Psychologically, it is discernment: repeated sorting that yields steady gain.
The truth in it
Prosperity is not only accumulation but intelligent separation—again and again choosing the nourishing portion. Ritual tools encode practical wisdom: purification and distribution create abundance that can be shared without loss.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Prosperity/Harvest) with purificatory technique
Its aim
To secure abundant, repeatedly apportioned produce and to purify/separate the desirable portion through winnowing symbolism
Word by Word
Pada patha
महानग्नि । उप । ब्रूते । स्वसा । आवेशितम् । पसः । इत्थम् । फलस्य । वृक्षस्य । शूर्पे । शूर्पम् । भजेमहि ।
- महानग्नि
- the great fire (as subject)Mahānagnī (operative figure)Nounपुंलिङ्ग (समासान्त); प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot महानग्नि (प्रातिपदिक; महा- + नग्नि/अग्नि)
- उप
- near, towards; (as verbal prefix)near; up toIndeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियायोगे)Root उप (उपसर्ग)
- ब्रूते
- speaks, saysspeaks; uttersVerbलट् (वर्तमान); आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचनRoot ब्रू (धातु)
- स्वसा
- the sistersister (kin-term; marks a female relational role within the charm’s narrative frame)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot स्वसृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- आवेशितम्
- entered/possessed, infusedentered into; possessed/infused (ā-viś); ritually: charged with a forceAdjectiveभूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन (पसः इति पदस्य विशेषणम्)Role KarmaRoot आ-विश् (धातु) → आवेशित (कृदन्त)
- पसः
- a noose/bond; snaregrain/chaff/meal-mass (lexically difficult; here likely the processed grain-product associated with winnowing)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot पस (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्थम्
- thus, in this mannerIndeclinableक्रियाविशेषणRoot इत्थम् (अव्यय)
- फलस्य
- of the fruitof the fruit; of the produce (result of growth/harvest)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole Sambandha (Genitive)Root फल (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृक्षस्य
- of the treeNounपुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचनRole Sambandha (Genitive)Root वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
- शूर्पे
- in/on the winnowing-basketin/on the winnowing-fan (śūrpa); implement for separating grain from chaffNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot शूर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
- शूर्पम्
- (another) winnowing-basketwinnowing-fan (as object to be taken/used; repetition intensifies the implement’s centrality)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot शूर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
- भजेमहि
- may we partake/share/obtainmay we partake/share/obtain; may we apportion to ourselves (prosperity-acquisition verb)Verbविधिलिङ् (सम्भावना/आशीः); आत्मनेपद; उत्तमपुरुष बहुवचनRoot भज् (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- महानग्नि उप ब्रूते | स्वसा आवेशितं पसः | इत्थं फलस्य वृक्षस्य | शूर्पे शूर्पं भजेमहि ||
- 1) महानग्न्युप = महानग्नि + उप (इ + उ → यु)
- 2) स्वसावेशितम् = स्वसा + आवेशितम् (आ + आ संधिः; दीर्घ)
- अन्यत्र संधि न्यून/नास्ति।
Seer, deity and metre
- Devata
- Prosperity through Vanaspati/produce; implement-power (śūrpa) as ritual focus
- Rasa
- Shringara and Shanta
The verse is oriented to acquisition and orderly separation: śūrpa (winnowing-fan) is the technical instrument of purification (separating good grain from refuse), readily moralized as separating auspicious from inauspicious. ‘Entered into’ signals that the substance/implement is ritually charged. The final optative bhajemaḥ is a prosperity wish—secure repeated abundance (‘fan upon fan’).
Uncertain (domestic prosperity charm voice)
Paustika technique: securing yield and purity of produce through implement-magic (śūrpa) and charged matter (āveśa).
The seer-function frames everyday agrarian labor (winnowing) as a sacred technology: the household becomes a ritual field where prosperity is ‘sorted into being.’
Prosperity-aspect of Vanaspati/produce; Śūrpa (implement-power) as focal support; Mahānagnī as speaking figure in the charm frame
Ensures the conversion of vegetal fertility into human sustenance through correct separation and apportioning—cosmic order expressed as clean grain and repeatable yield.
Indirect: food security strengthens the body; purified grain supports recovery and household health.
Protects stores from loss by impurity, pests, or misallocation; protects the ‘share’ (bhāga).
4 pādas; cadence supports repetitive phrase ‘śūrpe śūrpaṃ’
Ritual-implement vocabulary often loosens metrical strictness; charm style foregrounds key nouns for efficacy.
Work-song rhythm; the repetition mirrors the motion of winnowing.
Elicits a sense of steady, rhythmic increase—like successive scoops yielding more grain.
Place grain (or a representative grain-mass) upon a śūrpa (winnowing-fan).
Recite the mantra while performing winnowing motions, separating grain from chaff.
At ‘itthám’, visibly indicate the separation (showing the ‘thus’ of the act).
Repeat the winnowing/collection action to enact ‘fan upon fan’ abundance, then apportion the cleaned grain as the household’s share.
Kauśika Sūtra: prosperity rites involving śūrpa (winnowing-fan) and grain separation (general alignment; exact sūtra not securely identified for this AV 20 verse)
Atharvan priest consecrates the implement and speech-act; householders execute the repeated winnowing under the priest’s verbal direction to ensure the prosperity-transfer is ritually ‘fixed’.
Recite during winnowing or storing grain; touch/raise the śūrpa while chanting; sprinkle a few grains as an offering to household powers before filling storage.
Post-harvest, before storage; also at first winnowing of new grain.
Householder/elder woman often leads (domestic prosperity rites); purohita optional.
Mindful food-prep ritual: sorting grains/legumes while reciting as a prosperity-and-purity intention.
śūrpa (winnowing-fan); grain/chaff mass (pasaḥ); fruit/produce (phala)
The śūrpa is both tool and symbol: it ‘separates’ the nourishing from the non-nourishing. Prosperity is envisioned as iterative purification yielding multiplying shares.
Anna (food) as foundational for dhātu formation; purity of grain aligns with sāttvika āhāra ideal (later framing).
Food hygiene and resource management: repeated ‘sorting’ as a metaphor for budgeting, nutrition, and reducing waste.
Secure abundant, repeatedly apportionable produce; purify and increase the usable portion through winnowing symbolism.
Implement-magic (śūrpa) + sympathetic repetition (fan upon fan) + infusion (āveśa) of auspicious power into the grain-mass.
Spoilage, impurity, loss of share, scarcity.
Agricultural yield, household stores, equitable distribution.
- स्वसा (svasā)
- Intimate helper-power; allied household fortune; a familiar protective presence within the ‘same family’
- आवेशितम् (āveśitam)
- Imbuing matter with potency; charging the raw with auspicious force
- पसः (pasaḥ)
- Undifferentiated life-material containing both value and waste
- फल (phala)
- Result, yield, fruition of effort
- शूर्प (śūrpa)
- Discernment, purification, rhythmic labor that multiplies usable wealth
- शूर्पे शूर्पम् (śūrpe śūrpaṃ)
- Iterative abundance—repetition that increases share
Discernment that repeatedly selects the nourishing (viveka as winnowing).
Svadhisthana (household sustenance/flow) or Manipura (resource transformation).
Even breathing synchronized with a gentle hand motion (as if winnowing).
Content, steady, practical mindfulness.
Use the refrain-like rhythm to cultivate patience: prosperity comes through repeated right action, not single dramatic effort.
Plain recitation; allow a gentle rhythmic stress on ‘śūrpe śūrpaṃ’.
Mark ‘आवेशितम्’ (infusion) and ‘भजेमहि’ (may we partake) as intention points.
Warm, steady, domestic (less ‘commanding’ than expulsion mantras).
Pair with actual winnowing/sorting motion for ‘kriyā-sahita’ efficacy (word + act).
9 times
Harvest time, pantry restocking, financial planning, or when household feels ‘leaky’ (wasteful).
While sorting grain/food, before storing, or before cooking for guests.
Sense of sufficiency, reduced waste, orderly distribution; traditional intent: increased yield and clean stores.
Avoid magical thinking that replaces agronomic care; keep storage hygienic and pest-proof.
The botanical economy (tree-fruit, grain) is operationalized through a separation technology (śūrpa). The mantra sacralizes the processing step—purification and apportionment—so that agricultural produce becomes ritually guaranteed prosperity.
It shows priestly ritualization of agrarian processing: the household’s subsistence practice (winnowing) is framed as a controlled rite. The optative ‘may we partake’ encodes collective household benefit, mediated by Atharvanic speech-technology.
The implement-centered lexicon (śūrpa) and procedural deixis (itthám) are more typical of Atharvanic/domestic registers than RV’s sacrificial-poetic diction, indicating a pragmatic ritual-technical style.
Gopatha’s general stance that Atharvanic rites secure both purification and prosperity maps well: winnowing is a concrete model of removing pāpmán (refuse) and retaining śrī (the good portion), thereby making abundance socially and ritually intelligible.
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