Atharva Veda 3.18.3: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 2, Sukta 18, Mantra 3
Sukta 18
न॒हि ते॒ नाम॑ ज॒ग्राह॒ नो अ॒स्मिन् र॑मसे॒ पतौ॑ । परा॑मे॒व प॑रा॒वतं॑ स॒पत्नीं॑ गमयामसि
ná hí te nā́ma jagrā́ha nó asmín ramáse pátau | párām evá parāvátaṃ sapatnī́ṃ gamayāmasi
For truly thy name hath taken no hold upon this husband, our delight. Far, yea far away to the distant region we send the rival forth.
Pois o teu nome não se firmou neste marido, nossa alegria. Para longe, sim, bem longe, para a região distante, enviamos a rival.
The meaning
What it says
The speaker declares that the rival’s ‘name’ has not taken hold on the husband; therefore the rival is sent far away to a distant region.
The inner meaning
‘Name’ (nāman) is the psychological hook of identity-claim and narrative. The mantra denies the rival’s claim-story and replaces it with the speaker’s preferred reality.
The truth in it
Social bonds are partly constituted by recognition and naming; withdrawing recognition is a potent (and risky) instrument of power.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Strīkarmāṇi / Abhicārika (Expulsion)
Its aim
To invalidate the rival’s claim and expel her to a far-off place.
Word by Word
Pada patha
न । हि । ते । नाम । जग्राह । नः । अस्मिन् । रमसे । पतौ । पराम्-एव । परावतम् । सपत्नीम् । गमयामसि
- नहि
- indeed not / surely notIndeclinableनिषेधार्थ-अव्ययम् (emphatic negation)Root नहि (न + हि)
- ते
- of you / yourthy/your; addressed to the rivalPronounषष्ठी-एकवचनम् (genitive singular)Role सम्बन्ध (possessor)Root युष्मद्
- नाम
- namename; identity-claim, legal/social entitlementNounद्वितीया-एकवचनम् (accusative singular), नपुंसकलिङ्गम्Role कर्म (object)Root नामन्
- जग्राह
- has seized / has takenhas seized/has taken; ‘has any claim’ (magically denied)Verbलिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष-एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्Role क्रियाRoot ग्रह्
- नः
- of us / to usof us/our; the operator’s partyPronounषष्ठी-बहुवचनम् (genitive plural) [वैकल्पिकं: चतुर्थी-बहुवचनम् ‘to us’],Role सम्बन्ध (our) / सम्प्रदान (to us)Root अस्मद्
- अस्मिन्
- in thisin this; in this very situation/householdPronounसप्तमी-एकवचनम् (locative singular), नपुंसकलिङ्गम्Role अधिकरण (location)Root इदम्
- रमसे
- you delight / you take pleasurebeloved/delightful; the one in whom pleasure is takenVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष-एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्Role क्रियाRoot रम्
- पतौ
- in (your) husband / in the husbandin the husband; locus of contestNounसप्तमी-एकवचनम् (locative singular), पुल्लिङ्गम्Role अधिकरण (in/with regard to the husband)Root पति
- पराम्
- far awayAdjectiveद्वितीया-एकवचनम् (accusative singular), स्त्रीलिङ्गम्Role कर्म (object; qualifying ‘सपत्नीम्’)Root परा (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिकम्)
- एव
- indeed / justIndeclinableअवधारणार्थ-अव्ययम्Root एव
- परावतम्
- to a distant placeto the far distance; beyond the community’s boundsNoun (used adverbially)द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (accusative singular), नपुंसकलिङ्गम्; गत्यर्थे अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगःRole गत्यर्थ-उपपद (goal/direction)Root परावत्
- सपत्नीम्
- the co-wife / rival wifethe rival womanNounद्वितीया-एकवचनम् (accusative singular), स्त्रीलिङ्गम्Role कर्म (object)Root सपत्नी
- गमयामसि
- we cause (her) to go / we sendwe cause to go/send; performative expulsion by speech-actVerbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष-बहुवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्, णिच् (प्रेरणार्थ/कारणार्थ)Role क्रियाRoot गम् (णिच् causative: गमय-)
Sandhi Notes
- नहि | ते | नाम | जग्राह | नः | अस्मिन् | रमसे | पतौ | पराम् एव | परावतम् | सपत्नीम् | गमयामसि ।
- 1) ‘परामेव’ = पराम् + एव (म् + ए → मे, अनुस्वार/मकार-सन्धिः)
- 2) ‘नहि’ is the fixed indeclinable combination न + हि used for emphatic negation
- 3) ‘परावतम्’ is an accusative of goal/direction, often functioning adverbially (‘to far away’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic seer (varies).
- Devata
- Oṣadhi/Mantra as operative force; target is the sapatnī
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Raudra and Bhayankara
Sāyaṇa reads ‘nāma jagrāha’ as ‘no right/claim has attached’—a juridical-magical denial of the rival’s entitlement. The community pronoun ‘we’ marks collective enforcement. ‘Parāvat’ is interpreted as removal beyond reach, preventing return and re-attachment.
Unknown (Anukramaṇī varies; Atharvanic domestic corpus)
Vāc-based binding and unbinding: using ‘name/claim’ language to invalidate rival attachments; expulsion charms (nirṛti-directional displacement).
Shows Atharvanic philology in action: nāman is treated as a real force that can adhere or fail to adhere, like a charm that either sticks or drops away.
Mantra/Vāc (operative speech) with oṣadhi-support implicit
Vāc regulates social reality by granting or withdrawing binding recognition; the mantra performs a juridical-like annulment of a rival’s claim.
Protects marriage from rival inscription; wards off ‘naming’ as a binding spell.
4x8 (with Atharvanic sandhi compressions)
Strong negation opening (na hi…) is a typical Atharvanic rhetorical strike; second hemistich expands distance with parām eva parāvatam.
Declarative-judicial first half; expansive ‘sending away’ second half.
Creates cognitive ‘unhooking’: first deny adhesion, then enact removal.
Recite the verse while facing away from the household center, toward an ‘outside’ direction.
Use a substitute carrier (a clod, leaf, or plant-remnant from the prior verses) representing the rival.
On ‘parām… parāvatam’, cast the substitute beyond the threshold/into running water or toward wasteland, enacting ‘distance’.
Optionally seal the threshold (sweeping, sprinkling) to prevent re-entry.
Kauśika Sūtra: rival-expulsion formulas (sapatnī-nirhāra), often with directional sending and disposal of a substitute object (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan priest calibrates the substitute logic (pratinidhi) and the disposal location, ensuring the ‘sending away’ is ritually complete.
Recited in a private domestic setting; may accompany sweeping outward, throwing dust/clods toward a direction, or symbolically ‘sending’ via water flow/road gesture.
When rivalry is suspected; at liminal times (sunset) for expulsion rites.
Optional Atharvanic practitioner to specify directionality and disposal of carrier substances.
Use as internal practice of releasing fixation on rivals; avoid public shaming or harassment.
speech-act of ‘name’ (nāman) as a binding/claiming technology
The ‘name’ functions like a binding ligature; the charm declares it non-adherent and then transports the rival beyond the community’s effective space.
Narrative reframing and de-attachment practices; boundary-setting around relational “claims” and social labeling.
Sapatnī (rival) and her ‘name-claim’ upon the husband.
Invalidate the rival’s claim and ritually send her away to a far place.
Name-magic (nāman) negation + directional exile formula (parāvatam gamayāmasi).
Social/sexual rivalry; reputational threat; household fragmentation.
- nāman
- Claim, social inscription, binding right; the ‘handle’ by which one holds a person in narrative/legal-emotional terms
- jagrāha
- Attachment as possession; the rival’s attempted binding fails
- ramase patau
- Husband as locus of pleasure/household stability; the contested center
- parāvatam
- Ritual exile—removal beyond the social horizon
- gamayāmasi
- Collective agency of household/kin backing the expulsion
Unhooking from comparison; dissolving the ‘label’ that binds attention.
Viśuddha (speech/claim) and Maṇipūra (agency).
Nāḍī-śodhana (gentle) then a firm exhale on parāvatam to ‘release outward’.
The rival’s written name fades from the husband’s aura; letters scatter into wind and vanish beyond mountains.
Clear, decisive, detached.
Practice non-harming: aim to free your own mind from obsession; combine with truthful communication and self-respect.
Plain Atharvanic tone; emphasize negations and distance-words (na hi… parām eva parāvatam).
Keep ‘na hi te nāma’ crisp; lengthen parām eva parāvatam slightly to sonically enact distance.
Dry, declarative, almost juridical.
Effective when paired with a symbolic ‘sending’ action (casting away, sweeping out, or disposing a carrier object).
21 times
Feeling threatened by a third party; needing to reclaim self-respect and relational clarity.
Before setting boundaries; after intrusive thoughts arise; as a private release ritual.
Reduced fixation on the rival; strengthened sense of legitimacy and agency.
Avoid using this to rationalize controlling behavior toward a partner; address trust issues directly.
Even when the verse foregrounds ‘name’ and social claim, it typically rides on the prior herb-handling: the plant or its substitute becomes the vehicle by which the rival is ‘sent’. The mantra converts social entitlement into a detachable bond that can be ritually broken.
It encodes marriage as a domain where claims can be contested through ritualized speech, implying communal recognition of such technologies. The ‘we’ suggests household/allies, while the priestly framework legitimizes exclusionary outcomes.
The legal-magical use of ‘nāman’ as a claim-marker is prominent in Atharvanic discourse. The collective performative ‘gamayāmasi’ is a charm-style verb of causation, less typical of RV praise contexts.
Gopatha’s concern with binding/unbinding through speech supports the idea that ‘name’ is a ritual bond. Denying attachment (‘nāma… na jagrāha’) is a formal unbinding, made effective by correct recitation and corresponding disposal acts.
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