Love
Atharva Veda 3.23: A charm to remove a woman's sterility, and to assure the birth of boys
Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith (1895–96) · From The Hymns of the Atharva-Veda (1895–96)
From thee we banish and expel the cause of thy sterility.
This in another place we lay apart from thee and far removed.
As arrow to the quiver, so let a male embryo enter thee.
Then from thy side be born a babe, a ten-month child, thy hero son.
Bring forth a male, bring forth a son. Another male shall follow him.
The mother shalt thou be of sons born and hereafter to be born.
With that auspicious general flow wherewith steers propagate their kind, Do thou obtain thyself a son: be thou a fruitfu! mother-cow.
I give thee power to bear a child: within, thee pass the germ of life!
Obtain a son, O woman, who shall be a blessing unto thee. Be thou a blessing unto him.
May those celestial herbs whose sire was Heaven, the Earth their mother, and their root the ocean.
May those celestial healing Plants assist thee to obtain a son.
Cite this poem
MLA
Veda, The Rishis of the Atharva. “Atharva Veda 3.23: A charm to remove a woman's sterility, and to assure the birth of boys.” Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/atharvaveda-rishis/86/.
Chicago
Veda, The Rishis of the Atharva. “Atharva Veda 3.23: A charm to remove a woman's sterility, and to assure the birth of boys.” Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/atharvaveda-rishis/86/.
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More by The Rishis of the Atharva Veda
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- Atharva Veda 5.12: An Apri or propitiatory hymn
- Atharva Veda 6.88: A benediction addressed to a newly elected King
- Atharva Veda 7.57: A charm for some physical disorder
- Atharva Veda 18.1: An accompaniment to funeral ceremonies and sacrificial offerings to ancestral spirits