Atharva Veda 3.23.3: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 23, Mantra 3
Sukta 23
पुमां॑सं पु॒त्रं ज॑नय॒ तं पुमा॒ननु॑ जायताम्। भवा॑सि पु॒त्राणां॑ मा॒ता जा॒तानां॑ ज॒नया॑श्च॒ यान्
púmāṃsaṃ putráṃ janaya táṃ pumā́n ánu jāyatām | bhávāsi putrā́ṇāṃ mātā́ jātā́nāṃ janayā́si ca yā́n |
Bring forth a manly son; let that male be born in due succession. Thou art the mother of sons already born, and those whom thou shalt yet bring forth.
Lahirkanlah seorang anak lelaki yang gagah; biarlah lelaki itu lahir menurut giliran yang sepatutnya. Engkaulah ibu bagi anak-anak lelaki yang telah lahir, dan bagi mereka yang kelak akan engkau lahirkan.
The meaning
What it says
A fertility/lineage charm: command to bear a manly son; may that male be born in succession; affirmation that the woman is mother of sons already born and those yet to be born.
The inner meaning
Affirmation and continuity: the mantra speaks identity into being—‘you are a mother’—transforming fear of barrenness into a stable self-concept of generativity and ongoing capacity.
The truth in it
What we repeatedly name and affirm becomes a lived pathway; continuity is sustained through confidence, care, and time.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Strīkarmāṇi (Fertility; lineage-continuity)
Its aim
To ensure the birth of a male child and establish ongoing capacity for bearing sons, stabilizing the patriline.
Word by Word
Pada patha
पुमांसम् । पुत्रम् । जनय । तम् । पुमान् । अनु । जायताम् । भवासि । पुत्राणाम् । माता । जातानाम् । जनयासि । च । यान् ।
- पुमांसम्
- a male (man)a male; male (child) (accusative as desired product)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- पुत्रम्
- a sonson; male offspringNounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनय
- beget / producebeget, generate; bring forth (imperative to the woman/womb)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम-एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √जन् (जनने) → caus. √जनय्
- तम्
- him / that (one)him; that (son)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचनRole कर्मRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पुमान्
- a male (as subject)a male (again, emphatic specification)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृRoot पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- अनु
- after; in successionafter; in succession; accordingly (continuity of male line)Indeclinableअव्ययRole उपसर्ग/क्रियाविशेषणRoot अनु (अव्यय)
- जायताम्
- let (him) be born / ariselet be born; let come forthVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), तृतीय-एकवचन, आत्मनेपदRole क्रियाRoot √जन् (जायते) / √जन् (जनने)
- भव
- become; beVerbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यम-एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √भू (भवति)
- असि
- you areVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यम-एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √अस् (अस्ति)
- पुत्राणाम्
- of sons / of childrenof sons; of male childrenNounपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-बहुवचनRole सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- माता
- mothermother; bearer (socially valorized role)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचनRole कर्तृ/विशेष्य (नाम)Root मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
- जातानाम्
- of the born (already born)of those already born; existing childrenAdjective (past participle)पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-बहुवचन (पुत्राणाम् इति विशेषणम्)Role सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)Root √जन् → जात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- जनयाः
- you beget / you generateVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यम-एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole क्रियाRoot √जन् (जनने) → caus. √जनय्
- च
- andand; alsoIndeclinableअव्ययRole समुच्चयRoot च (अव्यय)
- यान्
- whom / which (sons)whom; which (sons) (relative pronoun anticipating future births)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-बहुवचनRole कर्मRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- पुमांसम् | पुत्रम् | जनय | तम् | पुमान् | अनु | जायताम् || भव | असि | पुत्राणाम् | माता | जातानाम् | जनयाः | च | यान् । Sandhi:
- (1) भवा॑सि = भव + असि (अ + अ → आ)
- (2) जनया॑श्च = जनयाः + च (visarga before c → श्)
- (3) पुमा॒ननु॑ = पुमान् + अनु (न् + अ → न् retained; written as continuous)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic domestic seers (traditional attribution)
- Devata
- Prajā/Putra (progeny) as desired outcome; generative śakti
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (approx.)
- Rasa
- Shanta and Shringara
Sāyaṇa treats the imperatives as direct address to the woman (or her yoni/garbha-śakti). ‘Anu’ is read as continuity—sons following sons—securing lineage. The second hemistich blesses both present and future fertility, extending the rite from a single conception to enduring reproductive capacity.
Atharvanic domestic seers (Śaunakīya anukramaṇī attribution)
Domestic prosperity and fertility charms; stabilizing lineage (prajā) through performative affirmation.
Shows Atharvanic vāc as ‘social medicine’: it repairs continuity-anxiety by declaring an auspicious maternal identity across time (already-born and yet-to-be-born).
Prajā / Putra (progeny as operative power)
Ensures generational succession and household perpetuation; aligns family continuity with ṛta (proper order).
Addresses reproductive ‘lack’ as a condition remedied by strengthening generative capacity and confidence.
Protects lineage from interruption; guards the mother’s status and the household’s future.
4×~8; Atharvanic prose-like directness in imperatives and relative clauses may slightly loosen strict syllable counts.
Household charms often retain anuṣṭubh ‘feel’ while tolerating sandhi-driven expansions; emphasis falls on semantic parallelism (born / to be born).
Declarative and reassuring; parallel phrases create a ‘continuity rhythm’.
Builds confidence through repetition of ‘mother/sons/birth’ lexicon.
Recite the mantra in the woman’s presence, ideally with the husband seated nearby (lineage context).
Touch the abdomen or tie a protective thread/amulet (if prescribed in the local prayoga) while uttering ‘janaya’.
Repeat the second half as a standing blessing over the household, affirming existing and future progeny.
Kauśika Sūtra: fertility/puṃsavana recitations over the woman with touch and blessing (general rubric; exact numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan as domestic liturgist: authorizes and stabilizes reproductive identity (‘mother of sons’) through formal blessing.
Recited as a blessing over the woman (and sometimes over symbolic ‘lineage objects’ like a thread/garland), reinforcing continuity and confidence.
Preconception or early pregnancy; also after a successful birth to ‘seal’ future fertility.
Household Atharvan/elder voices the blessing; community witnesses can reinforce its social efficacy.
Associated with AVŚ 3.23 strīkarmāṇi applications in Kauśika tradition; exact numbering varies.
Used as a family blessing, ideally reframed ethically as ‘healthy child and healthy motherhood’ where appropriate.
none explicit; emphasis on generative capacity as a ‘power’ (śakti)
No physical substances are named; the ‘substance’ is maternal identity itself, forged through vāc. In Atharvan logic, speech can be the primary pharmakon when no herb/amulet is specified.
Infertility/subfertility; anxiety around lineage interruption; secondary infertility implied by ‘yet to be born’.
Identity-affirmation (bhavāsi mātā) plus performative imperative (janaya) functions as psychosomatic stabilization; ritually ‘opens’ future fertility.
Supports garbhadhāna intention-setting; indirectly vātānulomana/stability by reducing stress and fear (manovaha srotas support).
Fertility counseling/affirmation practices; stress management; family planning support (non-medical).
Mother and household lineage.
To secure birth of a male child and sustain ongoing fertility and lineage continuity.
Performative imperative + status-declaration (you are mother) + temporal totalization (past-born and future-born).
Childlessness, interrupted succession, social insecurity tied to progeny.
Family continuity; social capital through offspring.
- pumānsaṃ putram
- continuity, social security, ‘active’ generative principle (within the text’s patriarchal frame)
- janaya
- creative power; capacity to manifest
- anu jāyatām
- orderly continuity; rhythmic unfolding of life-events
- mātā
- source, nurturer, stable ground of lineage
- jātānām / yān janayāsi
- past blessings and future potential held together
Continuity and reassurance: rest attention on the felt sense of ‘capacity’ and ‘future unfolding’.
Svādhiṣṭhāna
Gentle bhrāmarī or lengthened exhale to calm anticipatory anxiety.
A lineage-thread of light extending behind (ancestors/children born) and ahead (children yet to come), anchored in the heart and lower abdomen.
Settled, nurturing awareness.
Chant as a blessing, not a demand; cultivate non-attachment to outcomes while committing to care and health.
Plain recitation; keep cadence even across parallel clauses.
Stress janaya and bhavāsi mātā as the performative core; avoid rushing anu jāyatām.
Reassuring, maternal/benedictive tone.
As a ‘status-declaration’ charm, it is effective when spoken with communal recognition and the mother’s consent.
7 times
Fertility journeys, pregnancy blessings, family continuity concerns.
Weekly on a chosen day; before medical appointments; during family prayer time.
Emotional steadiness, hope, and a felt sense of continuity/support.
Be sensitive to grief, infertility, and gender expectations; do not use to coerce or shame.
Again, no plant is named; the rite is primarily juridical-performative: it confers and stabilizes fertility as a social-religious status. Any accompanying substance (thread, water, ghee) functions as a token of installed capacity rather than as a medicine.
Motherhood is valorized specifically as ‘mother of sons’; the verse encodes patrilineal priorities and the household’s dependence on male heirs for ritual and inheritance continuity.
The repeated specification ‘pumān/pumāṃsam’ and the direct imperative to generate are more explicit than typical RV hymnic address, reflecting AV’s domestic-ritual pragmatics.
Gopatha often treats blessings as ‘naming into being’: declaring a woman ‘mother of sons’ is itself efficacious. The mantra’s force lies in its authoritative speech-act that reconfigures reproductive fate.
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