Atharva Veda 7.26.5: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 26, Mantra 5
Sukta 26
त्रीणि॑ प॒दा वि च॑क्रमे॒ विष्णु॑र्गो॒पा अदा॑भ्यः । इ॒तो धर्मा॑णि धा॒रय॑न्
trī́ṇi padā́ ví cakrame víṣṇur gopā́ adā́bhyaḥ | itó dhármāṇi dhāráyan
Three steps did Viṣṇu stride forth, the Guardian, unbeguiled; from hence he holdeth up the ordinances.
विष्णु ने तीन कदम चले। वो रक्षक हैं, कोई उनको बेवकूफ नहीं बना सकता। यहाँ से वो धरम को संभाले हुए हैं।
The meaning
What it says
Viṣṇu strode three steps—the Guardian, unbeguiled; from here he upholds the ordinances (dharmas).
The inner meaning
Protection is not merely force but clarity: the ‘unbeguiled guardian’ sustains right order. The three steps become a stable platform from which norms and obligations are upheld.
The truth in it
A society (or psyche) remains healthy when protective power is aligned with dharma—order that supports life. True guardianship resists deception and maintains principled structure.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Rakṣoghna (Protection) / Paustika (Stability and welfare)
Its aim
To invoke an unassailable guardian-power that sustains ‘dharma’—used to protect household, herd, or community order against disruption and hostile magic.
Word by Word
Pada patha
त्रीणि । पदा । वि । चक्रमे । विष्णुः । गोपा । अदाभ्यः । इतः । धर्माणि । धारयन् ।
- त्रीणि
- threeAdjective (numeral)नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्म (पदानि इति विशेषणम्)Root त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) → त्रि/त्रय
- पदानि
- steps/footprintsNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot पद (प्रातिपदिक)
- वि
- apart, widely (intensifier)forth, apart (expansive distribution of protection)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (क्रियाविशेषकः)Root वि (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- चक्रमे
- strode/steppedhe strode (performed the cosmic pacing that claims and secures space)Verbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/अनद्यतन-भूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole — (क्रिया)Root क्रम् (धातु) + वि
- विष्णुः
- ViṣṇuNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
- गोपाः
- protector/guardianNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वैदिक-रूपम्: -आः = -आ)Role कर्तृ (विष्णोः विशेषणम्)Root गोपा (प्रातिपदिक; गो + पा ‘रक्षक’)
- अदाभ्यः
- invincible, not to be deceived/overpoweredunassailable, not to be deceived/overreached (invincible protector; cannot be ‘cheated’ by sorcery)Adjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विष्णोः विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विष्णोः विशेषणम्)Root अदाभ्य (प्रातिपदिक; a- + दाभ्य ‘to be harmed/overreached’)
- इतः
- from here; thereuponfrom here, hence (from this established station; deictic anchoring of dharma)Indeclinableअव्ययम् (अपादानार्थक/दिशार्थक) ‘from here/thereupon’Role अपादान (धारणक्रियायाः प्रारम्भ-बिन्दु/उत्पत्तिसूचक) अथवा क्रियाविशेषणम्Root इतः (अव्यय; इदम्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
- धर्माणि
- laws/ordinances; supportsordinances, supports of order (cosmic/social norms that ‘hold’ the world)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
- धारयन्
- bearing, upholdingholding, sustaining (maintaining stability; ritual ‘supporting’ function)Verbal participleवर्तमान-कर्तरि कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विष्णोः विशेषणम्)Role कर्तृ (विष्णोः सह समानाधिकरणम्)Root धृ (धातु) → धारयत् (वर्तमान-कृदन्त)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: त्रीणि | पदानि | वि | चक्रमे | विष्णुः | गोपाः | अदाभ्यः | इतः | धर्माणि | धारयन् ।
- 1) ‘पदा’ इति संहितायां ‘पदानि’ (नपुंसक-द्वि.बहु.)।
- 2) ‘वि चक्रमे’ इति उपसर्ग-योगः
- संहितायां ‘वि च’ इति पृथक्।
- 3) ‘विष्णुर्गोपा’ = ‘विष्णुः गोपाः’ (विसर्ग-सन्धिः: उः + ग → उर्ग)।
- 4) ‘अदा॑भ्यः’ इति वैदिक-स्वरचिह्नयुक्तं रूपम्
- पदरूपे ‘अदाभ्यः’।
- 5) ‘इतो धर्माणि’ संधिः न विशेषः
- ‘धारयन्’ कृदन्तं ‘विष्णुः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- RV-parallel tradition (Viṣṇu hymn complex); Atharvanic compiler preserves for domestic protection.
- Devata
- Viṣṇu (as Gopā, protector)
- Chandas
- Triṣṭubh-like (RV 1.154 resonance)
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
Sāyaṇa emphasizes Viṣṇu as gopā—protector of beings (like cattle) and of the sacrificer; adābhya marks inviolability against hostile acts. ‘ito dharmāṇi dhārayan’ is read as: from the established stations he sustains dharma—thus the mantra is apt for rites securing lawful order and warding disorder.
RV-parallel Trivikrama hymn complex preserved in AV
Domestic rakṣā with dharma-stabilization: using Viṣṇu as guardian of herd, home, and social order.
Integrates paustika welfare with ethical-cosmic order: prosperity is secured by a guardian who sustains dharma, not merely by coercion.
Viṣṇu (Gopā, Adābhya)
Upholder of dharma through cosmic measurement; establishes the stable ‘from-here’ (ito) vantage of order.
Strong apotropaic guardianship for herd and household; protection against deception, sorcery, and disorder.
3 pādas in AV form; cadence echoes RV triṣṭubh with compact closure.
Domestic recitation favors punchy epithets (gopā adābhyaḥ) as ‘protective seals’.
Assured, declarative; epithets strike like protective stamps.
Elicits confidence in an untrickable guardian; steadies moral resolve (‘dharmāṇi dhārayan’).
Perform a threefold stepping/circumambulation around the protected object (house, cattle-pen, patient).
At each ‘step’, recite the mantra segment emphasizing gopā and adābhyaḥ to ‘seal’ inviolability.
Conclude by verbally ‘installing dharma’ (ito dharmāṇi dhārayan) as a juridical-cosmic safeguard.
Kauśika Sūtra: Viṣṇu ‘three-step’ verses used in protective circuits and boundary-guarding (general application; edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan priest: leads the protective perambulation, enunciates inviolability, and ritually asserts normative order (dharma) over the space.
Chant at cowshed/threshold; reaffirm household rules/agreements; can accompany tying a protective thread at gate or marking three points of entry (symbolic ‘three steps’).
Morning protection round; before cattle are led out; during disputes to re-center on dharma.
Householder or Atharvan specialist; communal recitation possible in village setting.
KauśS: rakṣā and paustika applications for herd/home (edition-dependent).
Use as a household ‘integrity mantra’—recite when setting boundaries, routines, and shared responsibilities.
No explicit dravya: the ‘substance’ is dharma itself—order as the protective medium sustained by the deity.
Resilience and integrity practices; maintaining ‘rules’ that support mental health and community stability.
Invoke invulnerable guardianship to uphold household/community order and protect herd/home from disruption.
Guardian invocation + dharma-stabilization formula; often paired with boundary-walking or placing protective markers.
Deception, hostile magic, theft, disorder in household norms
Cattle/household welfare; stability of ‘dharma’ (rules, routines, agreements)
- त्रीणि पदा (trīṇi padā)
- complete coverage of life-domains; stable stations of conduct
- गोपा (gopā)
- protector of wealth and vulnerability; steward of order
- अदाभ्यः (adābhyaḥ)
- invulnerable clarity; protection immune to trickery and hostile magic
- धर्माणि (dharmāṇi)
- principles that hold life together—ethical and cosmic supports
- धारयन् (dhārayan)
- sustaining function; maintenance rather than conquest
Dharma-holding: maintain one’s vows and routines; visualize an unbeguiled guardian at the mind’s gate.
Mūlādhāra
Slow nasal breathing with a brief hold after inhale (steadiness), releasing on ‘dhārayan’ (holding).
Steady resolve and protected calm.
Recite before commitments; let ‘adābhyaḥ’ remind you not to be deceived by impulses, fear, or flattery.
Keep epithets ‘gopā adābhyaḥ’ clearly articulated with firm stress; maintain a steady cadence into ‘dharmāṇi dhārayan’.
Slight pause after ‘adābhyaḥ’ to let the protective seal land; then flow into the sustaining phrase.
Confident, protective, not aggressive.
Traditional use often pairs with a brief circumambulation or standing at the threshold facing outward—projecting guardianship to the perimeter.
9 times
Need to protect home, herd, or community order; maintaining routines and agreements amid disruption.
At the start of day, before opening the home/office, before leading animals out, or when re-establishing boundaries after conflict.
Stability, clarity, sense of guarded order; traditional protection against deception and hostile influence.
Mantra supports but does not replace practical safeguards, legal/ethical action, or conflict resolution.
No plant is invoked; the ‘technology’ is spatial and juridical: triplication (three steps) plus the semantic field of guarding (gopā) and inviolability (adābhyaḥ). The mantra functions like a verbal fence.
By calling Viṣṇu ‘gopā’, the verse naturalizes pastoral economy and its protection as a religious priority. The priestly voice claims competence to maintain dharma—linking ritual speech to social regulation.
The phraseology is conservative and RV-derived; Atharvan innovation lies chiefly in redeploying a high-mythic stanza as a domestic apotropaic instrument.
Gopatha’s hermeneutic tends to treat dharma as a cosmic support upheld by sacrificial/ritual correctness. This stanza’s ‘dhārayan’ readily becomes a proof-text: correct recitation ‘holds up’ order in the practitioner’s sphere.
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