Atharva Veda 3.25.2: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 25, Mantra 2
Sukta 25
आ॒धीप॑र्णां॒ काम॑शल्या॒मिषुं॑ संक॒ल्पकु॑ल्मलाम्। तां सुसं॑नतां कृ॒त्वा कामो॑ विध्यतु त्वा हृ॒दि
ādhī́parṇāṃ kā́maśalyā́m íṣuṃ saṅkalpá-kulmálām | tā́ṃ súsannatāṃ kṛtvā́ kā́mo vidhyatu tvā hṛdí ||
The love-barbed arrow, leaf-feathered, budded with firm intent—having wrought it well-bent—let Kāma pierce thee in the heart.
ఆకు-పక్షాలతో కూడిన, కామ-శల్యమున్న ఆ ఇషు—దృఢ సంకల్పపు మొగ్గతో కూడినది—దానిని బాగా వంచి సిద్ధం చేసి; అప్పుడు కాముడు నిన్ను హృదయంలో విదించుగాక.
The meaning
What it says
Kāma’s arrow—leaf-feathered, love-barbed, budded with resolve—is fashioned well-bent; may Kāma pierce you in the heart.
The inner meaning
A vaśīkaraṇa psychology: desire is engineered through imagery of a crafted projectile—attention (saṅkalpa) is the ‘charge,’ and the heart is the seat of attachment; the operator ritualizes attraction as inevitability.
The truth in it
Desire is constructed: repeated images, intention, and sensory cues ‘bend’ the mind toward attachment; what we craft inwardly can pierce us (or others) emotionally.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Strikarmani (Women's/Love Rites) / Vaśīkaraṇa (Subjugation)
Its aim
To implant desire and bring the target under the operator’s emotional control by ‘piercing’ the heart with Kāma’s arrow.
Word by Word
Pada patha
आधी-पर्णाम् । काम-शल्याम् । इषुम् । संकल्प-कुल्मलाम् । ताम् । सु-संनताम् । कृत्वा । कामः । विध्यतु । त्वा । हृदि ।
- आधीपर्णाम्
- the ‘over-leafed’ (leafy) one (as an arrow/plant/amulet)having the leaf (párṇa) of ādhī-; i.e., a leaf employed as the ‘feathering/leaf’ of the love-arrow; (Sayana: a leaf used as the upakaraṇa for Kāma’s iṣu, magically efficacious).Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot आधीपर्णा (प्रातिपदिक) < आधि- + पर्ण
- कामशल्याम्
- the desire-barbed (arrow)love’s barb/shaft (śalyā), the piercing element of desire; the painful, implanting ‘splinter’ of Kāma.Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot कामशल्या (प्रातिपदिक) < काम + शल्या
- इषुम्
- arrowarrow; here the personified missile of Kāma used for subjugation/attraction.Nounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इषु (प्रातिपदिक)
- संकल्पकुल्मलाम्
- (an arrow) whose ‘sin/taint’ is resolve/intent; intent-ladenwith the ‘bud/knob’ (kulmala) of resolve/intent (saṅkalpa); i.e., an arrow ‘knotted’ with fixed intention—ritually ‘programmed’ to hit.Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम्—इषुम्)Role KarmaRoot संकल्पकुल्मला (प्रातिपदिक) < संकल्प + कुल्मल
- ताम्
- that (her/it)that (arrow), the aforesaid missile.Pronounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- सुसंनताम्
- well-bent, well-aimedwell-bent, well-aimed; properly ‘strung/curved’ for striking (ritual correctness + efficacy).Adjectiveस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (विशेषणम्—ताम्/इषुम्)Role KarmaRoot सु- + सं-√नम् (धातु) → संनत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
- कृत्वा
- having madehaving made/fashioned (i.e., ritually constructed and empowered).Verbक्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive): ‘having made/done’Role (क्रियाविशेषणम्) पूर्वक्रियाRoot √कृ (धातु)
- कामः
- Desire (Kāma)Kāma (Desire) as a deity/force; the agent who shoots.Nounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनRole KartāRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- विध्यतु
- may (he) piercelet (him/it) pierce, strike through; technical verb for magical ‘wounding’ of the heart.Verbलोट् (आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole मुख्यक्रियाRoot वि-√व्यध् (धातु)
- त्वाम्
- youPronounद्वितीया, एकवचनRole KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- हृदि
- in (the) heartin the heart; locus of mind/affect, hence the ritual target.Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनRole AdhikaraṇaRoot हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- आधीपर्णाम् | कामशल्याम् | इषुम् | संकल्पकुल्मलाम् | ताम् | सुसंनताम् | कृत्वा | कामः | विध्यतु | त्वाम् | हृदि।
- 1) ‘कामो विध्यतु’ इत्यत्र ‘कामः’ + (उदात्त/स्वर-प्रभावेण) ‘विध्यतु’—विसर्गलोप/ओ-आदेशः पदपाठ-परम्परानुसारः (संहितायां ‘कामो’)
- 2) ‘त्वा हृदि’ → ‘त्वाम् हृदि’ (पदपाठे कर्मकारक-रूपं ‘त्वाम्’; संहितायां अनुस्वार/लोपादि-प्रवृत्त्या ‘त्वा’)
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- Atharvanic tradition (often anonymous/collective for kāma/vaśīkaraṇa material)
- Devata
- Kāma (Desire), personified as archer
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (predominant)
- Rasa
- Shringara and Adbhuta
Sayana treats the ‘arrow’ as a ritually fashioned instrument of Kāma: its parts (leaf/feathering, barb, and the ‘bud’ of saṅkalpa) encode the operator’s intention. ‘Well-bent’ implies correct preparation and aiming; ‘pierce in the heart’ specifies the psychological seat to be seized (vaśīkaraṇa through affect).
Anonymous/collective Atharvanic tradition (kāma/vaśīkaraṇa material)
Strīkarman / vaśīkaraṇa: erotic binding, attraction rites, and persuasive charm-poetics using crafted imagery of arrows and piercing.
Frames desire as a quasi-ritual technology: intention (saṅkalpa) and symbol (arrow) are treated as operative forces shaping interpersonal bonds.
Kāma (Desire) as archer
Kāma is the impelling force that turns potential into pursuit—binding beings into relationship, reproduction, and worldly continuity.
Ambivalent: can ‘protect’ union/marriage by rekindling affection, but can also bind and disturb if misused.
4×8; crafted compounds create a ‘fletched’ texture.
Dense nominal compounds (kāmaśalyā, saṅkalpakulmalā) typical of AV charm-style—semantic packing over strict simplicity.
Smooth but pointed; the cadence mimics bending and release.
Suggestive and incantatory; builds an image of inevitability culminating in ‘hṛdi’.
The Atharvan operator prepares a symbolic ‘arrow’ (or substitutes a pointed implement/grass-stalk) and ritually ‘bends/aims’ it.
While reciting the mantra, he mentally fixes saṅkalpa (the target’s name and desired compliance).
He performs a mimetic ‘shooting’ gesture toward the target’s direction or toward a proxy (effigy/mark), aiming at the heart-region.
The act is sealed by a second recitation or silent fixation of intent, treating Kāma as the active shooter.
Kauśika Sūtra: vaśīkaraṇa/strīkarman sections for Kāma-mantras (AV 3.25) (exact sūtra numbering varies by edition).
Atharvan/Brahman as ritual technologist: fashions the implement, fixes saṅkalpa, and performs the mimetic strike; may also supervise purity/auspicious timing.
Within ethical bounds: used as a prayer to rekindle affection between spouses/partners (mutual consent), spoken over a shared offering (sweet drink/food) as a ‘soft’ domestic adaptation.
Evening or liminal times (twilight), when intimacy/union is culturally foregrounded.
Often private/household performance; an Atharvan specialist may officiate in formal charm contexts.
KauśS strīkarman/vaśīkaraṇa sections (edition-dependent) for love-charms employing speech, symbolic arrows, and scented substances.
Consent-based relationship intention-setting ritual; paired with honest conversation rather than coercion.
iṣu (arrow) as ritual implement; párṇa (leaf) as feathering/empowering element; saṅkalpa (intent) as operative ‘charge’
Here the ‘substance’ is largely imaginal: leaf-fletching and budded intention indicate that sensory cues and mental resolve are the real materials that guide desire’s flight and fixation.
Conceptual link to manas/hṛdaya as loci of emotion; kāma as rajas-aggravating force; can be framed as rekindling ‘sneha’ (affective lubrication) in relationships.
Relationship/attachment priming; can resemble guided imagery for affection—ethically sensitive due to consent issues.
A desired person (explicit ‘tvā’).
To implant desire and emotionally ‘pierce’ the target, drawing them into attraction/bonding under the operator’s intention.
Vaśīkaraṇa by crafted metaphor: manufacturing the arrow (intent + symbol) and invoking Kāma to ‘strike’ the heart.
Union, affection, sexual attraction (domestic continuity).
- कामा-शल्या (kāma-śalyā)
- The hook-like quality of craving and fixation.
- आधी-पर्णाम् (ādhī-parṇām)
- Nature’s subtle agencies—fragrance, touch, memory—guiding desire’s flight.
- संकल्प-कुल्मलाम् (saṅkalpa-kulmalām)
- Desire germinates from deliberate mental planting; intention as seed-bud.
- सु-संनताम् (su-saṃnatām)
- Carefully conditioned mind-state; readiness and directionality.
- हृदि (hṛdi)
- Affective center: attachment, longing, and vulnerability.
Observe desire as a constructed arrow: notice intention forming, bending, and ‘piercing’ attention.
anāhata (heart) and svādhiṣṭhāna (desire/attraction)
Slow, smooth nāḍī-śodhana to keep desire from tipping into compulsion; chant softly on exhale.
Visualize a green leaf-feathered arrow dissolving into light at the heart, transforming craving into affectionate goodwill.
Tender, receptive awareness with ethical restraint (ahiṃsā).
Use as a contemplation on saṅkalpa: set an intention of mutual well-being; release coercive aims and let the ‘arrow’ become a blessing rather than a hook.
Gentle, even recitation; slight lift on ‘kāmo vidhyatu’ and soften into ‘hṛdi’.
Bind compounds clearly: kāma-śalyām, saṅkalpa-kulmalām; avoid rushing ‘su-saṃnatām’.
Soft, intimate, warm; not forceful.
If used domestically, frame as mutual-attraction blessing; Atharvan love-charms are potent and ethically double-edged—intention (saṅkalpa) should be explicitly non-coercive.
21 times
Rekindling affection in a consenting relationship; cultivating attraction as a shared blessing rather than control.
In private, calm setting; before a shared meal or during reconciliation.
Warmer emotional tone, increased tenderness, clearer intention toward connection.
Do not use for coercion, stalking, or overriding consent; if obsession/anxiety is present, avoid and seek grounding support.
The ‘leaf’ (parṇa) functions as the arrow’s feathering and as a portable botanical carrier of efficacy: the plant-part is not merely descriptive but a material anchor for saṅkalpa. The mantra ‘codes’ the implement (iṣu) with intention, turning vegetal matter into a directed affective weapon.
It presumes access to Atharvanic expertise: the operator can ritually manufacture coercive affect. Such knowledge marks a specialist stratum (Atharvan/Brahman) mediating private desire through sanctioned speech-acts, implying asymmetry between ritual-knower and target.
The diction is Atharvanic-technical: compounding like saṅkalpa-kulmala foregrounds intentionality as a quasi-material component, a tendency more explicit in AV domestic magic than in RV praise-poetry. The imperative vidhyatu retains older injunctive/imperative force but is deployed in a coercive, not hymnic, register.
Gopatha’s general theory treats Atharvanic mantras as operative speech that ‘binds’ (bandha) and ‘directs’ forces through correct application and intention. This verse exemplifies that model: saṅkalpa is explicitly built into the missile, and efficacy depends on correct formation and targeted deployment.
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