Atharva Veda 3.23.4: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 23, Mantra 4
Sukta 23
यानि॑ भ॒द्राणि॒ बीजा॑न्यृष॒भा ज॒नय॑न्ति च । तैस्त्वं पु॒त्रं वि॑न्दस्व॒ सा प्र॒सूर्धेनु॑का भव
yā́ni bhadrā́ṇi bī́jāny ṛṣabhā́ janáyanti ca | táis tvaṃ putráṃ vindasva sā́ prasū́r dhenúkā bhava |
What auspicious seeds the bulls beget and bring to birth—with those do thou obtain a son; be thou a fruitful mother, cow-like in abundance.
వృషభులు జనింపజేసి పుట్టించే శుభమైన బీజాలు ఏవో—వాటితో నీవు కుమారుణ్ని పొందుగాక; నీవు ప్రసూతగా, ధేనువలె సమృద్ధిగా, ఫలవంతంగా ఉండుగాక.
The meaning
What it says
Invokes auspicious ‘seeds’ that bulls generate; with those, may the woman obtain a son; may she be a fruitful mother, cow-like in abundance of nourishment.
The inner meaning
Transmutation of potency into nurture: ‘seed’ is not only conception but also the resources and steadiness to sustain what is conceived. The cow-image reorients the mind from mere birth to ongoing nourishment and capacity.
The truth in it
Fertility is inseparable from nourishment; what is generated must be fed. True abundance is the ability to sustain life, not only to produce it.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Strīkarmāṇi / Paustika (Fertility and nourishment)
Its aim
To secure conception of a son through auspicious generative ‘seed’ and to ensure maternal abundance for successful rearing.
Word by Word
Pada patha
यानि । भद्राणि । बीजानि । ऋषभाः । जनयन्ति । च । तैः । त्वम् । पुत्रम् । विन्दस्व । सा । प्रसूः । धेनुका । भव ।
- यानि
- which (things)which; whatever (relative plural)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- भद्राणि
- auspicious, goodauspicious, fortunate, beneficent (fertility-favoring)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot भद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- बीजानि
- seedsseeds; generative ‘seed’ (also semen by extension)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम्Role KarmaRoot बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
- ऋषभाः
- bulls (stud-bulls)bulls; virile males (as generators)Nounपुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्Role KartāRoot ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- जनयन्ति
- beget, generatebeget, generate, produceVerbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot √जन् (जनीँ प्रादुर्भावे) → caus. √जनय्
- च
- andand; alsoIndeclinableसमुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम्Root च (निपात)
- तैः
- by/with thosewith those; by means of those (seeds/potencies)Pronounनपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वम्
- youthou (the woman addressed)Pronounप्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- पुत्रम्
- a sona son; male childNounपुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- विन्दस्व
- obtain, find (for yourself)find, obtain; win (as successful conception and birth)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), आत्मनेपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot √विद्/√विन्द् (विन्दति ‘प्राप्नोति’)
- सा
- she/that (woman)thou, that (woman), being soPronounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रसूः
- a mother, one who bears (a child)a bringer-forth; fruitful motherNounस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot प्रसू (प्रातिपदिक)
- धेनुका
- a milch-cow; (as epithet) cow-like, yieldingcow-like; rich in milk (metaphor for abundant nourishment/fertility)Noun/Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot धेनुका (प्रातिपदिक; ‘धेनु’ + -क)
- भव
- become, bebecome; be (imperative/blessing)Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Role क्रियाRoot √भू (भवति)
Sandhi Notes
- बीजान्यृषभाः → बीजानि + ऋषभाः (इ + ऋ = यृ)
- तैस्त्वं → तैः + त्वम् (विसर्ग-लोपः, स्-आदेशः)
- विन्दस्व सा → विन्दस्व + सा (पद-सन्धिः नहीं/विराम)
- प्रसूर्धेनुका → प्रसूः + धेनुका (विसर्गः + ध = र्-आदेशः, ‘विसर्जनीयस्य सः/रुः’ प्रकार)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic domestic seers (traditional attribution)
- Devata
- Prajā (progeny), with bovine abundance as supporting power
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (approx.)
- Rasa
- Shringara and Adbhuta
Sāyaṇa expands ‘bīja’ to include the generative potency of semen and the general principle of fecundity. ‘Ṛṣabhāḥ’ are virile males whose ‘bhadra bījāni’ are auspicious, untainted, and effective. ‘Dhenukā’ is interpreted as one who nourishes well (milk/food), i.e., a mother whose fertility is matched by capacity to sustain the child.
Atharvanic domestic seers (Śaunakīya anukramaṇī attribution)
Paustika fertility charms linking conception to nourishment (milk/cow symbolism) and household prosperity.
Characteristic Atharvan move: reproductive success is framed as a prosperity ecology—seed, auspiciousness, and nourishing abundance are one continuum.
Prajā with Dhenu (nourishing abundance) as supporting power
Coordinates generative potency (bīja) with sustenance (dhenu), ensuring not only birth but thriving.
Supports conception and postpartum nourishment (symbolically lactation and maternal strength).
Guards against ‘dryness’/insufficiency—lack of nourishment, weakness, failure to thrive.
4×~8; occasional Atharvanic lengthening in clusters (ṛṣabhā janayanti).
Semantic parallelism (seed → obtain son → be fruitful) guides delivery more than strict metrics.
Agrarian and abundant; forward-moving with a concluding benediction.
Elicits a felt sense of fecundity and nourishment; ‘dhenu’ imagery softens and stabilizes.
Recite the mantra as a blessing over the couple, emphasizing ‘bhadrāṇi bījāni’.
If a consecrated drink is used, give it to the woman (or both spouses) as the ‘carrier’ of auspicious bīja.
Optionally, touch or show a cow/calf (or dairy product) as a concrete token of ‘dhenukā’ abundance while reciting the final pāda.
Seal the rite with a benediction for safe pregnancy and adequate lactation.
Kauśika Sūtra: fertility rites employing prosperity imagery and blessings for milk/nourishment (general rubric; exact numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan as prosperity-fertility specialist: aligns generative potency (bīja) with domestic nourishment (dhenu) through mantra and tokens.
Recited as a blessing with agrarian symbols (grain, milk, ghee) in a domestic setting; may accompany food-giving or milk-offering gestures as prosperity reinforcement.
Preconception; early pregnancy; postpartum as a blessing for lactation and thriving.
Atharvan officiant frames the household as a ‘field’ (kṣetra) of auspicious seed and nourishment.
AVŚ 3.23 linked to fertility/prosperity domestic rites in Kauśika tradition; exact sūtra reference depends on edition.
Chanted as a fertility-and-nourishment prayer; can be adapted as a gender-neutral blessing for healthy child and abundant milk/food.
bīja (seed/semen as generative substance); cow (dhenu) as nourishment-symbol
Bīja is the archetypal ‘substance of causality’; dhenu is the archetypal ‘substance of sustenance’. Together they form an Atharvanic reproductive pharmacology: potency must be matched by nourishment.
Subfertility; weak conception; concerns about maternal nourishment/lactation and infant thriving (implicit).
Invokes ‘auspicious seed’ as causal medicine; converts virility imagery (bull) into maternal abundance (cow), balancing conception with nourishment.
Ojas-building and rasāyana-like nourishment themes; supports śukra dhātu (seed) and stanya (lactation) in later Ayurvedic mapping.
Preconception nutrition and postpartum lactation support; holistic reproductive health emphasizing both conception and maternal resources.
Mother/couple; household fertility and nourishment ecology.
To secure a son through auspicious generative factors and to ensure the mother becomes abundantly nourishing (successful rearing).
Sympathetic magic via animal archetypes (bull→seed, cow→nourishment) and transfer of auspicious generativity (tais…vindasva).
Weak conception, poor nourishment, failure-to-thrive anxieties.
Milk/food abundance, healthy offspring, household well-being.
- bījāni
- semen/generative potential; auspicious causal factors
- bhadrāṇi
- healthy conditions, right timing, благоприятные factors
- ṛṣabhāḥ
- virility, strength, generative drive
- vindasva
- successful attainment through aligned conditions
- prasūḥ
- productive capacity and safe delivery
- dhenukā
- nourishing abundance; lactation; maternal prosperity
Abundance that nourishes: cultivate the felt sense of ‘enough’ (food, milk, care, rest).
Svādhiṣṭhāna (fertility) and Anāhata (nurture)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing with gentle belly expansion to embody ‘fruitfulness’.
Golden seeds descending into a fertile field; then a white milk-river flowing from a gentle cow symbol into mother and child.
Warm, generous, embodied calm.
Pair chanting with acts of nourishment—feeding, hydration, rest—as lived ritual (ācāra) supporting the mantra’s intent.
ṛṣabhāḥ: vocalic ṛ; aspirated bh; bhadrāṇi: retroflex ḍh? (actually bhadra- with dental d); keep cluster clean; vindasva: clear nd; dhenukā: long ā; dh aspirated
Plain Atharvanic recitation; keep bhadrāṇi and bījāni crisply articulated.
Let the cadence rise slightly on bhadrāṇi bījāni, then settle on dhenukā bhava (benediction close).
Warm, nourishing, blessing-like.
This verse pairs well with offerings of milk/ghee in later domestic adaptation, though the text itself is substance-light.
11 times
Fertility support; pregnancy nourishment; postpartum lactation/thriving intentions.
Before meals as a household blessing; during pregnancy/postpartum rest periods.
A felt sense of abundance and nourishment; devotional support for reproductive and caregiving phases.
Avoid reinforcing gender bias; reframe ‘son’ as ‘healthy child’ if desired by practitioner; seek professional lactation/medical support when needed.
‘Bīja’ is the key substance-term, bridging botany and reproduction: seed as plant-propagule becomes a model for semen and fecundity. The mantra leverages this cross-domain analogy to naturalize and ‘activate’ conception.
The verse ties successful reproduction to male virility (‘ṛṣabhāḥ’) and to the woman’s role as nourisher (‘dhenukā’). It reflects a household ideology where lineage (son) and subsistence (milk) are central, and where fertility is ritually managed.
The bovine metaphor is RV-familiar, but the explicit reproductive program (obtain a son; become ‘prasū’) is more programmatic and domestic than typical RV praise-hymns.
Gopatha’s Atharvanic reasoning often grounds efficacy in homology: seed → semen → progeny; cow → milk → thriving child. This mantra exemplifies that chain, making prosperity and fertility mutually reinforcing powers installed by speech.
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