Atharva Veda 7.40.1: Kanda 7, Anuvaka 4, Sukta 40, Mantra 1
Sukta 40
सरस्वान्। यस्य॑ व्र॒तं प॒शवो॒ यन्ति॒ सर्वे॒ यस्य॑ व्र॒त उ॑प॒तिष्ठ॑न्त॒ आपः॑ । यस्य॑ व्र॒ते पु॑ष्ट॒पति॒र्निवि॑ष्ट॒स्तं सर॑स्वन्त॒मव॑से हवामहे
sárasvān | yásya vratáṃ paśávo yánti sárve yásya vratá upatíṣṭhanta ā́paḥ | yásya vraté puṣṭápatiḥ níviṣṭas táṃ sárasvantam ávase havāmahé
Sarasvant—whose ordinance all cattle follow, whose ordinance the Waters attend; in whose ordinance the Lord of Nourishment is established: him, Sarasvant, for aid we invoke.
สระสวันต์—ผู้ซึ่งสัตว์เลี้ยงทั้งปวงดำเนินตามพรต (vrata) ของท่าน ผู้ซึ่งสายน้ำทั้งหลายเข้ามาประนมรับใช้ตามพรตของท่าน; ในพรตของท่านนั้น “เจ้าแห่งความอุดมเลี้ยงดู” (Puṣṭapati) ได้ตั้งมั่นอยู่: เราทั้งหลายขออัญเชิญสระสวันต์นั้นเพื่อการคุ้มครองช่วยเหลือ.
Rishi: Traditionally Atharvanic/Angirasa attribution for this paustika complex (hymn-level ascription varies by Anukramaṇī)
Devata: Sarasvant (with the Waters and Puṣṭi/puṣṭapati as associated powers)
Chandas: Mixed/Triṣṭubh-like cadence (hymn-level metrical assignment varies in recensions)
Primary: shanta
Secondary: vira
Sāyaṇa glosses vrátam as niyama/ājñā, a compelling ordinance by which beings are held in order. Paśavaḥ are chiefly gāvaḥ (cattle as wealth). Āpaḥ ‘attend’ as ministering powers of purification and healing. Puṣṭapati is taken as the presiding power of increase (often aligned with prosperity-bestowing deities); its being ‘installed’ indicates stable, resident efficacy. The mantra is thus a paustika invocation framed as cosmic obedience to Sarasvant’s rule.
To secure increase of cattle-wealth, nourishment, and the stabilizing presence of prosperity through Sarasvant and the Waters.
Puṣṭi resonates with dhātu-nourishment and ojas-building, but the verse is primarily prosperity-oriented.
Food security and hydration as determinants of health; stress reduction through perceived stability of resources.
paustika
Household/herd-owner/community
Secure cattle-wealth, waters’ support, and established nourishment by invoking Sarasvant’s ordinance as the organizing power.
Authority-by-description: proclaiming the deity’s rule over cattle and waters functions as a performative ‘binding’ of these resources to the patron’s order.
Drought, herd loss, scarcity, disorder in provisioning
Cattle, nourishment, stable resource governance
Sarasvant is invoked for aid: all cattle follow his ordinance; the Waters attend his ordinance; within his ordinance the Lord of Nourishment is established.
‘Vratam’ is the inner law of coherence: when one’s guiding discipline is stable, resources (cattle/wealth), emotions/fluids (waters), and nourishment (puṣṭi) organize themselves around it. Sarasvant becomes the psyche’s principle of ordered flow—prosperity that follows rhythm rather than force.
Abundance follows order: when life is aligned with a sustaining rule, both material resources and the ‘waters’ of vitality naturally support it.
- Sarasvān
- ordered flow, nourishing speech, prosperity through coherence
- vrata
- self-regulation; cosmic order internalized
- paśavaḥ
- movable wealth, productive energy, livelihood
- āpaḥ
- life-force, fertility, emotional and ecological support
- puṣṭapati
- the governing principle of growth, nutrition, prosperity management
- avase
- seeking alignment rather than domination
Establishing inner vrata (discipline) so that ‘resources follow’—aligning habits with nourishment.
Maṇipūra (resource metabolism) and Viśuddha (saras/speech-flow)
Slow diaphragmatic breathing; on exhale silently repeat ‘vrataṃ’ to anchor discipline
A clear river flowing through a pasture; cattle calmly following; nourishment (milk/grain light) settling in the abdomen as stable warmth.
Grounded steadiness.
Adopt one sustainable vow (sleep, food, spending). The mantra supports consistency; prosperity is framed as the fruit of order.
Steady, declarative; mark the anaphora ‘yasya’ consistently; give ‘tam sarasvantam’ a concluding lift.
Slight pause after each relative clause; emphasize puṣṭapatiḥ and avase.
Keep retroflex ṣ in puṣṭa-, Articulate upatiṣṭhante with clear ṭh, Maintain nasalization in sarasvantaṃ (final -m)
Grave, steady, pastoral.
Effective when paired with actual water handling (sprinkling/bringing water), aligning spoken ‘āpaḥ’ with sensed element.
11
Food/water insecurity, livelihood instability, agricultural or dairy work seeking steadiness and increase.
At dawn before work, before watering animals/plants, or when setting a new discipline around diet and spending.
Greater steadiness, improved stewardship, sense of ecological support and order.
Pair prayer with practical resource management; do not neglect veterinary/agricultural best practices.
पदच्छेदः (सन्धि-विग्रहः): सरस्वान् । यस्य व्रतम् पशवः यन्ति सर्वे । यस्य व्रते उपतिष्ठन्ते आपः । यस्य व्रते पुष्टपतिः निविष्टः तम् सरस्वन्तम् अवसे हवामहे । प्रमुख-सन्धयः: (1) व्रत उ+पतिष्ठन्त → व्रत उपतिष्ठन्त (उकार-प्रग्रह; संहितायां ‘व्र॒त उ॑प…’) (2) उपतिष्ठन्त + आपः → उपतिष्ठन्त आपः (स्वर-संहितायां दीर्घ/विराम-प्रभावः) (3) पुष्टपतिः + निविष्टः → पुष्टपतिः निविष्टः (विसर्गः परे नकारे यथावत्) (4) सरस्वन्तम् + अवसे → सरस्वन्तम् अवसे (अनुस्वार/विराम-प्रभावः).
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