Atharva Veda 7.82.2: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 9, Sukta 82, Mantra 2
Sukta 82
मय्यग्रे॑ अ॒ग्निं गृ॑ह्णामि स॒ह क्ष॒त्रेण॒ वर्च॑सा॒ बले॑न । मयि॑ प्र॒जां मय्यायु॑र्दधामि॒ स्वाहा॒ मय्य॒ग्निम्
máyy ágre agníṃ gṛhṇāmi sahá kṣatréṇa várcasā bálena | máyi prajā́ṃ máyy ā́yur dadhāmi svā́hā máyy agním ||
In me, first, I take Agni—together with ruling power, with splendour, with strength. In me I set offspring, in me I set life: svāhā! in me be Agni.
എന്നിൽ, ആദ്യം, ഞാൻ അഗ്നിയെ ഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു—ക്ഷത്രം (ആധിപത്യം) സഹിതം, വർചസ് (തേജസ്) സഹിതം, ബലം സഹിതം. എന്നിൽ ഞാൻ പ്രജയെ സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നു, എന്നിൽ ഞാൻ ആയുസ്സിനെ സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നു: സ്വാഹാ! എന്നിൽ അഗ്നി ഇരിക്കട്ടെ.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker ‘takes’ Agni into oneself first, together with sovereignty, splendor, and strength; then installs offspring and life within oneself; sealing with svāhā: ‘in me be Agni.’
The inner meaning
A nyāsa-like internalization: the psyche claims its executive function (kṣatra), radiance (varcas), and capacity (bala) by centering on inner heat/clarity (agni). Offspring and lifespan are framed as outcomes of inner order and vitality.
The truth in it
What you repeatedly ‘install’ in yourself—discipline, courage, clarity—becomes your lived power; longevity and generativity follow coherent inner governance.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Prosperity) / Āyuṣya (Longevity) with self-installation (nyāsa)
Its aim
To internalize Agni as sovereign power, splendour, strength, offspring, and long life.
Word by Word
Pada patha
मयि । अग्रे । अग्निम् । गृह्णामि । सह । क्षत्रेण । वर्चसा । बलेन । मयि । प्रजाम् । मयि । आयुः । दधामि । स्वाहा । मयि । अग्निम् ।
- मयि
- in mePronounसप्तमी (Locative), एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अस्मद्
- अग्रे
- in front; beforehandfirst, in the beginning (initial act; precedence in ritual sequence)Noun (used adverbially)सप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अग्र
- अग्निम्
- Agni; fireAgni (fire-power; inner heat and ritual agency)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Acc.), एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अग्नि
- गृह्णामि
- I take; I graspI take, I seize, I grasp (appropriative ritual act; ‘taking’ power into oneself)Verbलट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot ग्रह्
- सह
- together withIndeclinableअव्ययRole (सह-सम्बन्ध) करण/सहचर्यRoot सह
- क्षत्रेण
- with dominion; with royal powerwith kṣatra, ruling power (sovereign force; capacity to command/protect)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instr.), एकवचनRole करणRoot क्षत्र
- वर्चसा
- with radiance; splendorwith splendour, sacred brilliance (charisma; bodily radiance)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot वर्चस्
- बलेन
- with strengthNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनRole करणRoot बल
- मयि
- in mePronounसप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अस्मद्
- प्रजाम्
- offspring; progenyoffspring (fertility; continuity)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot प्रजा
- मयि
- in mePronounसप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अस्मद्
- आयुः
- life; lifespanlife-span, vital duration (health and longevity)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot आयुस्
- दधामि
- I place; I establishI place, I set (ritual emplacement; fixing qualities)Verbलट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot धा
- स्वाहा
- svāhā (offering-call)svāhā (offering-call; seals the oblation and makes it reach the gods)Indeclinable (ritual exclamation)अव्ययRole (मन्त्र-निपात) संबोधन/उद्गारRoot स्वाहा
- मयि
- in mePronounसप्तमी, एकवचनRole अधिकरणRoot अस्मद्
- अग्निम्
- Agni; fireAgni (reinstalled; fire as internalized sovereignty and vitality)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole कर्मRoot अग्नि
Sandhi Notes
- मयि अग्रे अग्निम् गृह्णामि सह क्षत्रेण वर्चसा बलेन । मयि प्रजाम् मयि आयुः दधामि स्वाहा मयि अग्निम् । मुख्य-सन्धयः:
- (1) मय्यग्रे = मयि + अग्रे (इ/अ संयोगे य्-आदेशः)
- (2) मय्यायुर्दधामि = मयि + आयुः + दधामि (इ/आ संयोगे य्-आदेशः; आयुः + दधामि इति विसर्गस्य र्-आदेशः)
- (3) मय्यग्निम् = मयि + अग्निम् (इ/अ संयोगे य्-आदेशः)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Agni (as internalized power)
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (probable; requires metrical verification)
- Rasa
- Vira and Shanta
Sāyaṇa reads the repeated ‘mayi’ as deliberate nyāsa (installation): Agni is internalized as tejas and protective capacity. Kṣatra, varcas, bala are co-installed as the social and bodily correlates of fire. Svāhā marks an offering/confirmation, sealing the placement of Agni, progeny, and lifespan in the patron.
Atharvanic tradition (Anukramaṇī attribution)
Āyuṣya-paustika formulas; self-installation (nyāsa) of protective/empowering forces; domestic magic of ‘placing’ powers in the body.
A hallmark Atharvan move: relocating the altar into the person—Agni becomes an internal guardian and generator of life, lineage, and authority.
Agni (internalized as tejas)
Transforms offerings; within the person, becomes metabolism, courage, and discernment that ‘cooks’ experience into power.
Supports vitality and recovery through strengthening tejas/ojas (conceptually).
Creates a boundary of heat/light against depletion, fear, and disorder.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; mantra-style compression with repeated mayi producing a drum-like cadence.
Repetition (mayi…mayi…) functions as performative ‘placement’ more than metrical ornament; slight irregularities may occur in oral pacing around svāhā.
Incantatory and anchoring; each ‘mayi’ is a peg driven into the body.
Creates a somatic sense of ‘installing’ power—like sealing a protective circuit.
The patron sits; the priest touches the patron’s chest/head in sequence while reciting each ‘mayi’.
A small offering of ghee is made at ‘svāhā’ (or, in purely domestic performance, the word functions as a sealing formula without oblation).
The priest concludes by having the patron inhale gently (prāṇa-gesture) to ‘take Agni’ inward, aligning breath with internal fire.
Kauśika Sūtra: rites of self-installation and prosperity with fire/mantra (general rubric; exact sūtra-number varies by edition).
Atharvan as officiant of nyāsa: he coordinates touch, breath, and (optional) oblation to ‘fix’ kṣatra-varcas-bala and āyus in the patron.
Recite while touching the chest/solar plexus (nyāsa gesture) before tending the household fire or beginning duties; optionally with a tiny ghee offering if a lamp/fire is present.
At dawn; before leadership decisions; during āyuṣya observances (birthday, recovery period).
Householder/individual; no specialist required.
Used as a short morning ‘inner-fire’ consecration with a lamp and a moment of breath awareness.
Agni (fire as internal heat/tejas); svāhā (offering-seal)
Agni explicitly as inner fire/tejas; svāhā indicates offering-act
No external substances required: the ‘substance’ is vāc itself, installing Agni as an embodied power; svāhā functions as the ritual bind/seal.
Debility, low vitality, failure of strength/varcas; indirectly infertility/weak progeny (as a prosperity-health concern).
Tejas-activation and psychosomatic consolidation: affirming inner sovereignty reduces depletion and supports stable life-force (āyuḥ).
Agni (jāṭharāgni) and bala/ojas support; varcas aligns with tejas; āyuḥ with prāṇa and ojas maintenance.
Resilience/energy practices; self-efficacy affirmations paired with breath and routine to reduce burnout.
Self (and by extension household lineage)
To consecrate the self as the locus of Agni, gaining authority, radiance, strength, offspring/creativity, and longevity.
Nyāsa by repetition (‘mayi’), svāhā as sealing-word; internal oblation conceptually offered into the self-fire.
Depletion, loss of status, weakness, barrenness (broadly construed)
Power/status (kṣatra), charisma (varcas), strength (bala), progeny (prajā), lifespan (āyuḥ)
- मयि (mayi)
- interiorization; self-as-altar
- अग्रे (agre)
- priority; establishing the core before outcomes
- गृह्णामि (gṛhṇāmi)
- deliberate adoption; agency
- क्षत्र (kṣatra)
- inner sovereignty; boundaries; executive control
- वर्चस् (varcas)
- confidence, charisma, healthy radiance
- बल (bala)
- resilience; capacity to sustain effort
- प्रजा (prajā)
- creativity; continuity; projects and relationships
- आयुः (āyuḥ)
- life-force; continuity of being
- स्वाहा (svāhā)
- seal of consecration; commitment
‘I am the altar’—stabilize attention at the navel flame; affirm inner governance (kṣatra).
Manipura (bala/tejas) with support to Anahata (life/continuity)
Slow inhalation imagining warmth rising; exhale with a soft internal ‘svāhā’ (mental), 8–12 cycles.
A steady golden ember in the navel expanding into a protective aura; ‘prajā’ visualized as healthy continuity (family/projects).
Collected, sovereign, luminous.
Chant 3 or 9 times, then sit 2 minutes feeling warmth and boundary; conclude with a practical intention for the day.
Differentiate mayy- (geminated y) in connected speech without swallowing the vowel.; Keep kṣa- cluster clear in kṣatreṇa.; Do not over-aspirate gṛhṇāmi; retain ṛ vowel.
Plain Atharvanic recitation; keep each mayi clearly separated; svāhā slightly lengthened as a seal.
Give a gentle stress to agre and gṛhṇāmi; kṣatreṇa-varcasā-balenā as a triad; pause after svāhā.
Warm, inward, steady; not loud.
Works as nyāsa: optionally touch navel/chest on ‘mayi’ to embody the placement; can be done mentally when fire is not available.
9 times
Low confidence, burnout, starting a demanding role, wishing for longevity/continuity in family or projects.
Morning; before important meetings; during recovery; before meals to honor agni (conceptually).
Greater steadiness, sense of inner authority, improved consistency in habits; traditional aim of āyuṣya and prajā support.
If practicing with breath/heat techniques, avoid strain in pregnancy, hypertension, or acute illness; keep it gentle.
No plant is named; the rite is somatic-technological: Agni is treated as an internal substance (heat/tejas) installed by speech and touch. The mantra is a template for embodied transfer rather than pharmacology.
The explicit desire for kṣatra (ruling capacity) indicates aspiration to authority and protection; mantra becomes a means to acquire elite attributes (splendour, strength, progeny, longevity) under priestly management.
The repetitive ‘mayi’ and the self-installation style are more typical of Atharvanic domestic/individual ritualization than RV public praise; it anticipates later nyāsa-like patterns of internal emplacement.
Gopatha tends to equate Agni with life and with the sacrificer’s internal order. The mantra’s efficacy would be explained as establishing Agni in the person, thereby stabilizing āyus and enabling social power (kṣatra) through brahman.
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