Atharva Veda 3.12.3: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 12, Mantra 3
Sukta 12
ध॒रु॒ण्य॒ऽसि शाले बृ॒हच्छ॑न्दाः॒ पूति॑धान्या । आ त्वा॑ व॒त्सो ग॑मे॒दा कु॑मा॒र आ धे॒नवः॑ सा॒यमा॒स्पन्द॑मानाः
dharúṇy asi śāle bṛhácchandāḥ pū́tidhānyā | ā́ tvā vatsó gamed ā́ kumārā́ ā́ dhénavaḥ sāyám aspándamānāḥ ||
A bearer art thou, O Hall, broad-measured, rich in cleansed grain. To thee may the calf come, to thee the young son; to thee may the milch-cows come at evening, coming home unshaken and unafraid.
Nosicielką jesteś, o Salo, o szerokich wymiarach, bogata w oczyszczone ziarno. Do ciebie niechaj przyjdzie cielę, do ciebie młody syn; do ciebie niechaj przyjdą krowy mleczne wieczorem, wracając niezachwiane i nieustraszone.
The meaning
What it says
The Śālā (hall/granary by extension) is praised as a firm bearer, wide in measure, filled with well-cleaned grain; may calf, young son, and milch-cows return to it safely at evening.
The inner meaning
The well-built inner ‘house’ (psyche/body) is trained to hold abundance without spilling—stable routines, protected boundaries, and the calm return of one’s ‘vital herds’ (energy, attention, family cohesion) after the day’s dispersal.
The truth in it
Prosperity endures when the container is sound: nourishment, lineage, and livelihood flourish where there is structural stability, cleanliness, and a protected place of return.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Prosperity) with protective (Rakṣā) coloring
Its aim
To make the hall a stable support of food-security and to ensure safe return and fertility of cattle and children.
Word by Word
Pada patha
धरुणि । असि । शाले । बृहत्-छन्दाः । पूति-धान्या । आ । त्वा । वत्सः । गमेत् । आ । कुमारः । आ । धेनवः । सायम् । अस्पन्दमानाः ।
- ध॒रु॒ण्यः
- (you are) the supporting/firm oneNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (असि इत्यस्य कर्तृ/विधेय-आधारः)Root धरणि- (प्रातिपदिक; ‘धारयित्री/आधारभूता’)
- असि
- you arethou art (declarative identification; mantra as naming)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (धातु)
- शाले
- O hall/barn (granary)O HallNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRole सम्बोधनRoot शाला- (प्रातिपदिक)
- बृहत्
- great, loftyAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (छन्दाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root बृहत्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- छन्दाः
- meter; sacred chantNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वैदिक रूप: -आः)Role Kartā/विधेय-नाम (असि इत्यस्य)Root छन्दस्- (प्रातिपदिक)
- पूतिधान्या
- having purified grain; with clean grainwith purified/cleansed grain (or ‘well-winnowed grain’; abundance of wholesome food)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (शाला/धरणि इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root पूति-धान्य- (समास; प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards, hitherhither, to (inviting approach)Indeclinableउपसर्गः (गमे/गमेत् इत्यादौ)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- त्वा
- youto thee (the hall)Pronounद्वितीया, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role KarmaRoot युष्मद्- (सर्वनाम)
- वत्सः
- calfNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot वत्स- (प्रातिपदिक)
- गमेत्
- may comeVerbविधिलिङ् (आशीर्लिङ्/विधि), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot गम् (धातु)
- आ
- hitherIndeclinableउपसर्गः (गमेत् इत्यस्य)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- कुमारः
- boy, young manboy, young son (human progeny; household continuation)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (गमेत् इत्यस्य; ‘वत्सः’ इत्यस्य सह-कर्तृभावे)Root कुमार- (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- hitherIndeclinableउपसर्गः (आस्पन्दमानाः इत्यस्य/आगमनार्थे)Root आ (उपसर्ग/निपात)
- धेनवः
- cowsmilch-cows (productive cattle; milk-wealth)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot धेनु- (प्रातिपदिक)
- सायम्
- in the eveningIndeclinableकालवाचक-अव्ययRole Adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरणम्)Root सायम् (अव्यय)
- आस्पन्दमानाः
- trembling/moving (as they come)Participle (Adjective)पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (धेनवः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Root स्पन्द् (धातु) + मान (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय; वर्तमान कृदन्त) + आ- (उपसर्ग)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘ध॒रु॒ण्य॒ऽसि’ = ‘ध॒रु॒ण्यः असि’ (अः + अ → ’/अवग्रह). ‘बृ॒हच्छ॑न्दाः’ = ‘बृहत् छन्दाः’ (त् + छ → च्छ). ‘आ त्वा’ इत्यत्र संधिः न कृतः (पदविभागे ‘आ’ + ‘त्वा’). ‘ग॑मे॒दा’ पाठभेद/स्वरभेदयुक्तं
- पदविभागे ‘गमेत् आ’ (विधिलिङ् + उपसर्ग/निपात ‘आ’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition
- Devata
- Śālā (Hall) as support; allied with domestic prosperity
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Shanta and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa takes ‘dharuṇī’ as the hall’s function: it supports (dhṛ) the family and goods. ‘Bṛhaccchandāḥ’ is interpreted as ‘wide/lofty in span’ and also as protected by great sacred measure. ‘Pūtidhānyā’ is wholesome grain, free from impurity—food-security. The evening return ‘aspandamānāḥ’ is a charm against cattle-theft, predators, and panic.
Anonymous Atharvanic household seer (Śālā-sūkta stratum)
Gṛhya consecration and paustika stabilization—securing food-storage, cattle-return, and household continuity through personified domestic space.
Represents the Atharvan stance that ‘place’ (home/hall) is a living power; prosperity is invoked by sacralizing the domestic container itself.
Śālā (personified Hall)
Microcosmic ‘earth’ of the household—supporting life, storing food, and receiving returning beings at liminal times (evening).
Apotropaic stability: prevents fright, loss, dispersal, and ‘trembling’ (panic/raiders/predators) during return to the homestead.
4 pādas of ~8 syllables; slight Atharvanic elasticity around compounds (bṛhacchandāḥ, pūtidhānyā).
Domestic hymns often tolerate sandhi-heavy compounds that ‘feel’ longer; recitation keeps pāda-beat by lightening internal consonant clusters.
Steady, homely, processional—suited to circumambulating or standing at the threshold.
Creates a ‘settling’ effect: stabilizes attention and evokes safe return/containment.
After the structure is set, place or display grain (dhānya) within the hall as a token of food-plenty.
Recite 3.12.3 while touching the grain-store area or central space, identifying the hall as ‘dharuṇī’.
At dusk, when cattle are brought to the byre/near the hall, repeat the mantra to secure their calm return (‘aspandamānāḥ’).
Kauśika Sūtra: house-consecration with cattle/food blessings (exact numbering varies by edition)
Atharvan priest as protector of domestic economy: he links the building to herd-cycles and food storage through timed recitation.
Recite while entering a newly built hall, touching a main post/doorframe, or while bringing first grain into storage; can be spoken at dusk as cattle are penned.
Evening (sāyam), especially at the moment of cattle return; also at first occupancy/first storage.
Householder (gṛhapati) may recite; Atharvan priest optional for formal consecration.
KauśS: Śālā-pratiṣṭhā/house-consecration context (general; exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Use as ‘house blessing’ verse during moving-in; recite at evening to mark family reconnection and safety.
Dhānya (grain); Dhenū (milch-cows), Vatsa (calf)
Grain = stored life-force; cow/calf = renewable wealth and nourishment; evening return = reintegration of dispersed energies into a protected container.
Indirect well-being via security, food sufficiency, and reduction of fear-stress at day’s end.
Supports ojas-building conditions (adequate food, safety, routine); aligns with dinacaryā emphasis on evening settling.
Household safety and food security as determinants of mental health; evening decompression reducing anxiety/hypervigilance.
Household hall/granary and its dependents (cattle, children).
Stabilize the hall as a prosperity-vessel; ensure safe, fearless return and fertility of cattle and children.
Personification-invocation of the dwelling; ‘homecoming’ charm keyed to evening liminality (sāyam).
Loss of livestock, evening dangers, fear, scattering, theft/predation (implied).
Grain security, cattle increase, progeny continuity.
- शाला (śālā)
- the stable container of life—home, body, community, and the ‘field’ of security
- धरुणि (dharuṇi)
- groundedness; the capacity to sustain responsibilities and resources
- बृहच्छन्दाः (bṛhacchandāḥ)
- spaciousness of provision; a life with room for growth and guests
- पूतिधान्या (pūtidhānyā)
- clean earnings; clarified sustenance; prosperity without moral/ritual ‘taint’
- वत्स (vatsa)
- new vitality; the next generation of wealth (livestock) and tender beginnings
- कुमार (kumāra)
- human progeny; continuity of the household’s dharma and future
- अस्पन्दमानाः (aspandamānāḥ)
- fearlessness; livestock/people returning without anxiety or shock
Bhāvanā of ‘inner home’: stabilize the heart-mind as a safe hall that receives all returning thoughts without fear.
Anāhata (home/heart) or Mūlādhāra (support/containment).
Evening nadi-śodhana (gentle) or lengthened exhale to evoke ‘aspandamāna’ steadiness.
Visualize a broad, luminous hall filling with clean grain; loved ones and ‘inner cows’ return calmly at dusk.
Grounded, settled, inwardly sheltered.
Recite slowly at threshold-time; end with a brief silence imagining the household sealed in protective calm.
Simple Atharvanic recitation; keep udātta on marked syllables (per śākhā accent), with gentle descent at pāda ends.
Do not over-stress compounds; maintain pāda cadence by slight pauses after śāle / pūtidhānyā / gāmeda.
Warm, steady, ‘homecoming’ tone; avoid sharpness.
Best recited at dusk at the cattle-pen/threshold; the ‘calling’ (ā … ā … ā …) should sound invitational, not commanding.
3 times
Clean and organize storage area (pūtidhānya principle).; Light a small evening lamp at threshold.; Offer a small portion of food to household fire/ancestors according to custom.
Moving into a new home; setting up pantry/food security; anxiety about family members returning safely; livestock/cattle safety.
At first entry into the hall; at dusk when family gathers; before storing staple grains.
Sense of stability, improved household cohesion, and traditional sacralization of food and homecoming routines.
Not a substitute for practical safety measures (locks, animal enclosures, lighting).
Grain (dhānya) is the botanical anchor: ‘pūtidhānyā’ installs the ideal of clean, safe, storable food. The mantra binds agricultural surplus to architectural space, making the hall a ritual container for calories and continuity.
The household is imagined as a productive unit whose status depends on cattle, grain, and sons. The charm’s focus on safe evening return implies real threats (theft, predators, conflict) and the need for priestly protection over property.
The domestic temporal marker ‘sāyam’ and the pragmatic concern for herd-return are more typical of AV’s everyday ritual world than RV’s sacrificial cosmology. The adjectival ‘pūtidhānyā’ reflects a concrete purity-concept applied to food stores.
Gopatha’s Atharvanic frame treats prosperity as secured by correct placement (deśa) and correct utterance (vāc). This verse exemplifies that: it maps cattle, child, and grain onto the hall as a ritually stabilized node.
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