Mantra 3
Sukta 17
हस्तेनैव ग्राह्यऽआधिरस्या ब्रह्मजायेति चेदवोचत्। न दूताय प्रहेया तस्थ एषा तथा राष्ट्रं गुपितं क्षत्रियस्य
hasténaivá grāhyò ’ā́dhir asyā brahmajā́yéti céd ávocāt | ná dūtā́ya prahéyā tastha eṣā́ táthā rāṣṭráṃ gupitáṃ kṣatríyasya
By the hand alone is her pledge to be taken, if one pronounce, ‘She is the Brahman’s Wife.’ She is not to be sent away to a messenger: thus she stood; thus is the Kshatriya’s realm kept guarded.
Rishi: Atharvanic tradition (anonymous)
Devata: Brahmanical order (brahman), with rāṣṭra as the protected object; implicit Mitra-Varuṇa legal sphere
Chandas: Mixed/irregular
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