Atharva Veda 9.2.25: Kanda 9, Anuvaka 1, Sukta 2, Mantra 25
Sukta 2
यास्ते॑ शि॒वास्त॒न्वःऽ काम भ॒द्रा याभिः॑ स॒त्यं भव॑ति॒ यद् वृ॑णी॒षे। ताभि॒ष्ट्वम॒स्माँ अ॑भि॒संवि॑शस्वा॒न्यत्र॑ पा॒पीरप॑ वेशया॒ धियः॑
yā́s te śivā́s tanvàḥ kā́ma bhadrā́ yā́bhiḥ satyáṁ bhávati yád vṛṇī́ṣe | tā́bhis tvám asmā́ṁ abhí sáṁviśasvā́nyátra pāpī́r ápa veśayā dhíyaḥ
Those gracious forms of thine, O Kāma—those goodly powers whereby what thou choosest becomes true—therewith do thou enter in upon us and abide; but elsewhere drive thou away the evil thoughts.
ఓ కామా! నీ శివమైన (కల్యాణకరమైన) తనువులు/రూపాలు, నీవు ఎంచుకున్నది సత్యమయ్యేలా చేసే ఆ శుభశక్తులు—వాటితో నీవు మా లోనికి ప్రవేశించి మాతో నివసించు. ఇతరత్ర పాపమైన, దుష్ట ధారణలు (ధియః) అన్నిటిని దూరంగా తరిమివేయి.
Rishi: Atharvanic seer attribution within Kāma-hymn complex (varies).
Devata: Kāma (as beneficent indwelling power)
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa distinguishes Kāma’s ‘śivāḥ tanvaḥ’ as beneficent manifestations that make the chosen aim ‘satya’ (realized). The petition has two movements: (1) āveśa/saṃveśa—Kāma’s indwelling in the patron for success; (2) apaveśa—expulsion/relocation of pāpī dhīḥ, i.e., harmful counsels, doubts, or hostile intentions that obstruct fulfilment.
To invite Kāma’s auspicious powers to indwell the patron and to expel inauspicious or obstructive thoughts (internal and/or hostile).
Manasika doṣa: intrusive thoughts, anxiety-laden rumination, harmful impulses (conceptualized as pāpī dhī).
Mind/heart (implicit via dhī and indwelling).
Mantric cognitive re-patterning: invitation of sattvic motivation + apotropaic displacement of harmful ideation; stabilizes intention and emotional tone.
Supports sattva; pacifies rajas/tamas; useful where vāta (chanchalatā) and rajas (agitation) dominate mental field.
Intrusive-thought management; values-based action (ACT) + cognitive boundary setting; supportive for stress-related rumination.
mixed
Self/household mind-field; also potentially hostile thought-influences from others (implicit).
To install Kāma’s auspicious powers in the patron and expel harmful thoughts to ‘elsewhere,’ protecting intention and household peace.
Āveśa/nyāsa-like ‘enter and dwell’ formula + apavāhana/expulsion (anyatra… apa veśaya).
Pāpī dhī—maladaptive cognition, envy, obsession, ill-wishing, self-sabotage.
Sustained success through clean motivation; relational harmony.
Invokes Kāma’s auspicious (śivāḥ, bhadrāḥ) forms by which what he chooses becomes true; asks him to enter and dwell in “us,” and to drive evil thoughts elsewhere.
Desire is requested to become an indwelling regulator of cognition: not craving as agitation, but kāma as benevolent intentionality that makes chosen aims ‘true’ through sustained attention and value-alignment. Intrusive, self-sabotaging, or hostile thoughts are expelled as apotropaic mental hygiene.
What we repeatedly choose and dwell upon shapes reality through action, perception, and social consequence; inner ecology matters—cultivating auspicious motivations while relocating destructive thoughts is a universal discipline.
- शिव (śiva)
- benevolent alignment; non-harming desire that supports wholeness
- भद्र (bhadra)
- prosperity-bringing potency; good omens within psyche
- तन्वः (tanvaḥ)
- multiple modalities of desire—affection, ambition, creativity, devotion
- सत्यं भवति (satyaṃ bhavati)
- efficacy: intention crystallizes into lived reality
- अभि संविशस्व (abhi saṃviśasva)
- internalization/installation of a power (mantra as inner amulet)
- पापीः धियः (pāpīḥ dhiyaḥ)
- intrusive cognition: envy, obsession, self-hate, harmful impulses
Refine kāma into śiva/bhadra intention; practice noticing and relocating pāpī dhī without feeding it.
Anahata (heart-intention)
Exhale-focused practice: silently say anyatra on exhale, imagining release; inhale with saṃviśasva imagining entry of auspiciousness.
Golden light entering the chest and settling; dark thought-clouds gently pushed beyond a boundary line around the body/house.
Sattvic steadiness (prasāda) with gentle vigilance.
Before recitation, name one ‘bhadra’ desire (wholesome aim). After recitation, take one small action aligned to it to make satyaṃ bhavati experiential.
Gentle rising on śivāḥ/bhadrāḥ; firmer downward command on saṃviśasva and apa veśaya.
Keep caesura after kāma; emphasize satyaṃ bhavati; sharpen anyatra and apa (banishing markers).
तन्वः: pronounce tan-vaḥ (not tan-nvaḥ)., वृणीषे: retroflex ṇ; long ī., अभिसंविशस्व: keep saṃ- nasalization; avoid dropping the ‘m̐’ quality in slow chant.
Warm, reassuring; banishing portion spoken clearly but not angrily.
Works as ‘inner amulet’: touch the sternum lightly on saṃviśasva (optional modern gesture) to mark indwelling; then gesture outward on anyatra.
11
When plagued by intrusive thoughts, jealousy, compulsive craving, household conflict, or self-sabotage.
At bedtime; before difficult conversations; during craving spikes (pause-and-recite).
Cleaner motivation, calmer mind, improved self-control and relational tone.
For severe anxiety/OCD/depression, use as support—not replacement—for clinical care; avoid using ‘evil thoughts’ framing to shame oneself.
पदच्छेद (सम्भाव्य): याः ते शिवाः तन्वः, काम, भद्राः; याभिः सत्यं भवति यत् वृणीषे। ताभिः इष्ट्वम् अस्मान् अभि-सम्-विशस्व; अन्यत्र पापीः अप वेशय धियः। 1) ‘तन्वःऽ’ इति अवग्रहः: तन्वः + (इति/अथ) पदविराम-चिह्न; वास्तविक संधिः न, पदविभागसूचकः। 2) ‘ताभिष्ट्वम्’ = ताभिः + त्वम् (विसर्ग/उच्चारण-समाससदृश संधिः; इष्ट्वम् इति पाठभेद/संहितापाठ-रूप: ‘इष्ट’ (विशेषण) + त्वम्)। 3) ‘अभिसंविशस्व’ = अभि + सम् + विशस्व (√विश्, लोट्, आ.). 4) ‘पापीरप’ = पापीः + अप (विसर्गलोपः/संहितायां संयोगः).
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Atharva Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
