Atharva Veda 9.2.22: Kanda 9, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 22
Sukta 2
याव॑ती॒र्भृङ्गा॑ ज॒त्वःऽ कु॒रूर॑वो॒ याव॑ती॒र्वघा॑ वृक्षस॒र्प्योऽ बभू॒वुः । तत॒स्त्वम॑सि॒ ज्याया॑न् वि॒श्वहा॑ म॒हांस्तस्मै॑ ते काम॒ नम॒ इत् कृ॑णोमि
yā́vatīr bhṛ́ṅgā jatváḥ kurū́ravo yā́vatīr vághā vṛkṣasárpyo babhūvúḥ | tatás tvám asi jyā́yān viśváhā mahā́ṁs tásmai te kā́ma náma ít kṛṇomi
As many as are the bees, the winged swarms, the harsh-crying; as many as are the smiters, the tree-creeping serpents that have come to be—therefrom art thou the greater, evermore the mighty: to thee, O Kāma, I do indeed make reverent homage.
यावत्यो भृङ्गाः जत्वः कुरूरवो यावत्यो वघा वृक्षसर्प्यः बभूवुः । ततस्त्वमसि ज्यायान् विश्वहा महान्; तस्मै ते काम नम इति कृणोमि ।
The meaning
What it says
Kāma is praised as greater than all bees/swarms and all smiters and tree-creeping serpents; homage is offered to Kāma.
The inner meaning
Even the buzzing swarm of thoughts (bees) and primal fears (serpents) are subordinate to desire; by honoring Kāma, one directs these energies rather than being chased by them.
The truth in it
Motivational force outranks both distraction and fear: when intention is centered, the mind’s swarms and threats lose dominion.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika (Prosperity) / Apotropaic framing within wish-fulfilment
Its aim
To magnify and secure the patron’s desire by asserting Kāma’s superiority even over innumerable dangerous creatures and harms.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यावतीः । भृङ्गाः । जत्वः । कुरूरवः । यावतीः । वघाः । वृक्षसर्प्यः । बभूवुः । ततः । त्वम् । असि । ज्यायान् । विश्वहा । महान् । तस्मै । ते । काम । नमः । इत् । कृणोमि ।
- यावतीः
- as many (as)as many as; all that exist (totality)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- भृङ्गाः
- beesbees/wasp-like insects; stinging, swarming agents (metaphor of multitude)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot भृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
- जत्वः
- lac-insects / resin-producerswinged creatures/locust-like swarms (uncertain; taken as a class of biting/flying pests in Atharvanic usage)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot जत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- कुरूरवः
- (a kind of insect/creature; lit. ‘harsh-crying’)crying harshly, clamorous; noisy swarms (epithet of pests)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot कुरूरव (प्रातिपदिक)
- यावतीः
- as many (as)as many as; all such (reiterated)Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot यावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- वघाः
- biters/stingers; harmful creaturessmiter-harms; injurers (hostile beings/pests)Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot वघ (प्रातिपदिक)
- वृक्षसर्प्यः
- tree-creepers / tree-serpents (creeping creatures)tree-creepers/arboreal serpents; creatures that ‘crawl on trees’ (dangerous fauna)Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनRole KartāRoot वृक्षसर्पी (प्रातिपदिक)
- बभूवुः
- they have become / came to behave been/come to be; exist in the worldVerbलिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्श), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनRoot भू (धातु)
- ततः
- therefrom / thentherefrom; henceIndeclinableअव्ययRole ApādānaRoot ततः (अव्यय)
- त्वम्
- youthouPronounउत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- असि
- areartVerbलट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot अस् (धातु)
- ज्यायान्
- greater, superiorgreater; surpassingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणम्)Root ज्यायस् (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक)
- विश्वहा
- at all times, alwaysever; at all timesIndeclinableअव्ययRole AdhikaraṇaRoot विश्वहा (अव्यय)
- महान्
- greatgreat; mightyAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole Kartā (विशेषणम्)Root महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तस्मै
- to him/that (one)to that onePronounपुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचनRole SampradānaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- of you / yourto thee/thyPronounषष्ठी, एकवचन (एन्क्लिटिक)Role Sampradāna (सम्बन्धः)Root युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- काम
- O Desire (personified)O Kāma; compelling desire-forceNounपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- नमः
- obeisanceobeisance; propitiatory submissionNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगः)Role KarmaRoot नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- इत्
- indeed, justindeed; emphaticIndeclinableअव्ययRoot इत् (निपात)
- कृणोमि
- I make / I performI perform/make (the homage)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचनRoot कृ (धातु)
Sandhi Notes
- पाठे ‘जत्वःऽ’ = ‘जत्वः’ (अवग्रहः: विसर्जनीय-पूर्वकः पदविभागसूचकः)
- ‘वृक्षसर्प्योऽ’ = ‘वृक्षसर्प्यः’ (अवग्रहः). अन्यत्र स्पष्ट संधि-परिवर्तनं न आवश्यकम्
- ‘नम इत्’ इति पदद्वयम् (नमः + इत्) अर्थे ‘नमः एव’ इति निपात-बलम्।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic seer attribution within Kāma-hymn complex (varies by anukramaṇī).
- Devata
- Kāma
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Bhayankara
Sāyaṇa treats the catalogue of stinging/creeping beings as an index of innumerable, fearsome multiplicity; even such proliferating ‘harms’ are exceeded by Kāma. The point is not zoology but magnitude: Kāma is ‘jyāyān’ because it impels and overmasters all moving beings and their impulses.
Kāma-hymn complex seer (anukramaṇī varies; Atharvanic attribution)
Paustika magnification hymns that place human aims above fear and distraction by invoking a cosmic principle.
Integrates apotropaic imagery (dangerous creatures) into a prosperity framework: desire, rightly invoked, dominates threats.
Kāma
Attraction/impulse that can marshal life-energy even amid dangers and distractions; creative compulsion that subordinates fear.
Counters fear-based inhibition and lethargy; restores purposeful vitality.
Apotropaic by supremacy: Kāma is invoked as stronger than stinging swarms and creeping poisons (symbolic dangers).
4 × 8; first half enumerative, second half refrain identical to 9.2.21.
Animal lists can cause phonetic density; refrain regularizes and stabilizes the meter in performance.
Buzzing cluster of consonants in the first half evokes swarming; refrain resolves into firm cadence.
Transforms anxious imagery into controlled devotion; ‘tasmai te kāma’ acts as a calming pivot.
Recite while ritually ‘encircling’ the space with the gaze (dig-bandha by attention), treating pests/harms as the outer limit.
At ‘tatas tvam asi jyāyān’, the priest touches the patron’s chest or head lightly (saṃsparśa) to ‘seat’ the desire.
At ‘namaḥ’, the patron offers a small internal vow (niyama) or verbalizes the wish softly.
Kauśika Sūtra: Kāma-related stuti used in saubhāgya/āśā-siddhi recitations (edition-dependent numbering).
Atharvan as controller of hostile multiplicities through praise that subordinates them to Kāma.
Recite when fear of obstacles, rivals, or ‘stinging talk’ (gossip) surrounds a household aim; also as a protective preface before travel or negotiation.
Before leaving home; before speaking requests; when anxiety spikes.
Householder recites; Atharvanic priest may integrate into paustika rite for success/protection.
Use as a brief intention-and-courage chant before high-stakes communication; pair with a grounding breath.
No physical substances: the mantra uses creature-symbols as ‘mental toxins’ and vāc as antidote, subordinating them to a higher intent.
Fear/anxiety framed as swarming/creeping threat; secondarily poison/fear-of-poison symbolism.
Cognitive reframe: threats are placed under a higher organizing force (Kāma as centered intention), reducing panic and restoring agency.
Fear/anxiety relates to vāta aggravation; centering intention and steady recitation can be vāta-pacifying (manasika śamana).
Anxiety management via values-based intention (ACT-like); reducing threat salience by anchoring to purpose.
Kāma; indirectly the patron’s wish and courage.
To secure the patron’s desire by proclaiming Kāma’s superiority even over innumerable stinging/creeping dangers; protective strengthening of resolve.
Enumerative intimidation of threats + supremacy praise; converts apotropaic imagery into paustika empowerment.
Distraction (swarm), fear (harsh cries), sudden harms (smiters), hidden threats (serpents).
success of aims despite obstacles
- भृङ्गाः (bhṛṅgāḥ)
- restless thoughts, attractions, sensory buzzing; also sweetness-seeking drive
- जत्वः (jatvaḥ)
- multiplicity of impulses; rapid scattering
- कुरूरवः (kurūravaḥ)
- alarming inner noise; anxiety signals
- वघाः (vaghāḥ)
- sudden harms, attacks, setbacks
- वृक्षसर्प्यः (vṛkṣasarpyaḥ)
- hidden dangers climbing the ‘tree’ of life; creeping fears/toxic influences
- ज्यायान् / महान् (jyāyān / mahān)
- desire as master-force
- नमः (namaḥ)
- channeling and governing desire through reverent alignment
Hold purpose steady amid buzzing distraction and creeping fear; let desire be refined into dharmic intention.
Maṇipūra (courage/will) and Anāhata (refined desire).
Bhrāmarī-like gentle humming (optional) before recitation to mirror ‘bees,’ then silent breath on the refrain to settle.
Bees and serpents at the periphery dissolve into a central golden lotus labeled Kāma; the center remains unmoved.
From hyperarousal to centered will.
Name one fear and one distraction; recite once, then take one purposeful action that aligns with the refined desire.
Keep the first half slightly quicker (evoking swarm), then broaden and slow into the refrain.
Do not dramatize fear-words; let the refrain carry sovereignty with calm emphasis.
Steady and composed; refrain slightly fuller tone.
If used for anxiety, keep volume moderate and emphasize ‘namaḥ’ as release of grasping.
9 times
When distracted by many temptations, or when fear of hidden obstacles undermines resolve; before negotiations/exams/travel.
Morning to set purpose; immediately before a challenging task; during acute anxiety as a grounding refrain.
Reduced threat-reactivity; stronger focus; courage anchored in purpose.
If anxiety is severe, use alongside professional care; avoid using the mantra to justify obsessive craving—refine desire ethically.
None is explicit; the verse uses fauna/pests as a rhetorical measure of innumerability. The ‘technology’ is comparative magnitude: Kāma is declared greater than all proliferating life-forms.
It presumes a world where threats (pests, serpents) are managed not only materially but by priestly speech-acts. The priest mediates between the patron’s private desire and the cosmic ordering of beings.
The piling-up of creature-classes and the incantatory refrain are Atharvanic stylistics. Some lexemes (e.g., jatváḥ, vṛkṣasarpī) are rarer/less transparent than typical RV diction, reflecting Atharvanic vernacular or specialized registers.
By Atharvanic theory, naming and subordinating classes of beings through mantra places them under a higher principle; Kāma, once praised as supreme, becomes the authorized agent for accomplishing the patron’s aim.
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