Atharva Veda 19.21.1: Kanda 19, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 21, Mantra 1
Sukta 21
छन्दांसि। गा॒य॒त्र्यु॑१ष्णिग॑नु॒ष्टुब् बृ॑ह॒ती प॒ङ्क्तिस्त्रि॒ष्टुब् जग॑त्यै
chándāṃsi | gāyatrī́ uṣṇík anuṣṭúb bṛhatī́ paṅktís triṣṭúb jágatī́ íti
The metres: Gāyatrī, Uṣṇih, Anuṣṭubh, Bṛhatī, Paṅkti, Triṣṭubh, Jagatī—thus.
Các thể thơ (chandas): Gāyatrī, Uṣṇih, Anuṣṭubh, Bṛhatī, Paṅkti, Triṣṭubh, Jagatī—như vậy.
Rishi: Notionally Atharvanic/technical (often unattributed in a personal r̥ṣi sense)
Devata: Chandas (the meters personified/collectivized)
Chandas: List-form (not a single meter; meta-liturgical)
Primary: shanta
Secondary: adbhuta
Sāyaṇa treats the enumeration of chandas as a liturgical-technical statement: meters are not mere form but powers (śakti) of mantra. Listing them can function as a compact invocation of the totality of Vedic speech-forms, useful for securing completeness and correctness in recitation.
To invoke/acknowledge the chandas as efficacious powers, ensuring completeness and stability of the rite and its protective speech.
Speech-therapy style warm-up: rhythmic naming to prime articulation and breath pacing.
unspecified
To invoke/acknowledge the chandas as efficacious powers ensuring completeness, stability, and correctness of the rite.
Naming-as-activation; mnemonic completeness charm (saṃgraha) to ‘include all’ metrical supports.
Ritual error, loss of efficacy, instability of recitation.
A liturgical enumeration of the principal Vedic metres (chandas): Gāyatrī, Uṣṇih, Anuṣṭubh, Bṛhatī, Paṅkti, Triṣṭubh, Jagatī.
Metres are cognitive containers: naming them aligns speech, breath, and attention. The list functions as a mental ‘inventory’ ensuring nothing is missing—completeness reduces ritual anxiety and instability.
Form is power: structured rhythm stabilizes meaning and community memory. When speech is well-formed, it becomes a reliable vehicle for intention and healing.
- छन्दांसि (chandāṃsi)
- structuring principles; protective ‘frames’ that hold potent speech
- गायत्री (gāyatrī)
- clarity, morning light, concise potency
- उष्णिक् (uṣṇik)
- warmth/expansion; energizing cadence
- अनुष्टुप् (anuṣṭubh)
- everyday speech-power; domestic accessibility
- बृहती (bṛhatī)
- breadth, protection through largeness
- त्रिष्टुप्/जगती (triṣṭubh/jagatī)
- public/heroic scope; world-supporting rhythm
Attention to rhythmic form: each metre-name as a breath-count bead.
Vishuddha (speech center)
One slow inhale/exhale per metre-name, keeping the voice even and unstrained.
Seven luminous bands around the throat/heart representing the metres as protective rings.
Ordered clarity (saṃyama on vāc).
Use as a 2–3 minute vocal warm-up before longer Atharvanic recitations; keep tone neutral and precise.
Even, mnemonic recitation; treat each item as a separate beat.
Slight stress on the first syllable of each metre-name; keep pace consistent.
उष्णिक्: final -k is audible but light, त्रिष्टुप्: retroflex ṭ; do not soften to ‘tristub’, जगती: soft j-, long ī at end
Clear, instructional, unornamented.
Useful as a ‘reset’ if recitation feels unstable; re-establishes the frame of chandas before proceeding.
Beginning a chanting practice; worry about correctness; preparing for a protective/healing rite.
At the start of a session; before teaching/learning recitation; before complex Atharvanic sequences.
Greater steadiness of voice and attention; reduced performance anxiety; improved rhythmic consistency.
Avoid over-intellectualizing during healing rites—use it briefly, then move into the main mantra.
पदच्छेदः: छन्दांसि | गायत्री | उष्णिक् | अनुष्टुप् | बृहती | पङ्क्तिः | त्रिष्टुप् | जगती । पाठे 'गायत्र्यु॑१ष्णिग॑नु॒ष्टुब्' इति संहितारूपे दीर्घ-संधि/लोप-प्रवृत्त्या एकस्मिन् खण्डे दृश्यते; वस्तुतः सूची-समास/अनुक्रम-शैलीया गणना—अत्र क्रियापदं नास्ति, सर्वे प्रथमा-एकवचन-रूपेण छन्दोनामानि (छन्दांसि इति शीर्ष-बहुवचनम्) निर्दिश्यन्ते। अन्ते 'जगत्यै' इति दत्तपाठः अपेक्षितः, किन्तु अत्र मन्त्रपाठे 'जगती' (प्रथमा) दृश्यते; यदि 'जगत्यै' पठ्येत तर्हि तत् स्त्रीलिङ्ग-दत्तिव-एकवचन (सम्प्रदान) स्यात्।
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.
