Kritya :: Our Masters

Love Songs in atharvaveda

As we got a number of positive response for love songs of Atharvaveda, we are giving them in detail in separate link with a detailed note. ( this note is part of an upcoming book “The seeds of mind” written by Rati Saxena, editor of “Kritya”)

As man becomes more cultured and refined, he moves away from nature and towards artificiality. The distance from nature seems to keep him away from purity and reality too. In this process he starts to scoff at normal and natural behavior. For instance, love between man and woman is a natural phenomenon; this is especially so for human beings. But most of the ancient philosophies and religions appear to ignore this truth. It is as if love is another name of sin for them. The story about Adam and Eve is a good example for this type of mentality. In Indian philosophy too, things are not very different. Vedic literature is considered to be the repository of the oldest philosophy of the Indian subcontinent. This literature has always been seen as highly philosophical without any earthy touch. It is an irony that the culture, which has produced a whole book on the science and art of love, is not able to accept the reality.
Human life cannot be imagined without love — love of all types. In fact, in the early stages, man could survive only because of this ability to love. Of course, human love is not oriented towards sex alone. Social harmony, family bond, and attachment to life and life-oriented things are also part of love. For man/woman, love is a dominant emotion, which gives him/her such great strength that every difficulty becomes easy to overcome.
Love includes physical and mental feelings. It is true that emotional response is a characteristic of human beings alone. Most creatures other than man are attracted to each other only physically, that is a purely sex-oriented relationship. That may be the reason, why in human society sex-oriented love is not taken in a good sense. But love is the fact and reality of life, and it is necessary for the existence of the world. Human race cannot continue to exist without physical love. For making it viable, physical love has to be combined with emotions. In this case, the best form of love is a good combination of physical and emotional relationship. That is what we see in most love songs in the folk tradition.
However, in the traditional or conventional reading of these songs, there has been an attempt on the part of the so-called elitist scholars and academics to ignore this and concentrate on the purely emotional aspects. Cut off from their physical basis, these emotions tend to become drained of reality and the result is that excessive emphasis is laid on the spiritual dimension. This is an unhealthy approach to our philosophy or religion or culture.
It is in this light that we now have to read and analyze the love songs in Vedas. Contrary to the popular assumption that Vedas are not connected to everyday life in this world, we have to look at them as total expressions of human reality, instead of isolating the spiritual or the metaphysical.

The famous nAsadIya sUkta of Rgveda talks about kAma (passion) as a power of tadeka (supreme God). It says that long before universe, there was nothing in existence; neither truth nor untruth; not even space and sky; no death and no amrita; not even night or day. In that airless situation there was the existence of the supreme God. Besides him there was only apraketa salila (non-creative water), which too was covered by darkness. The supreme God collected his mental power, and with the force of passion, gave birth to kAma. That kAma was the cause of this world. It was the mental power of the supreme God (manaso retah). Atharvaveda accepted this theory, but at the same time it accepted the expanded meaning also. kAma is not only passion, but an understanding, a friendly behaviour and a mutual understanding which induces friendship between human beings. It is strength and will power as well. From that supreme emotion, this earthy love or passion has originated. In this case kAma is the giver and kAma is the taker. In the 9th Chapter of Atharvaveda, kAma is worshipped as a deity, which can give power. It can even protect man from enemies. It is greater than any other power. It is the only power that could create all the human beings.
There are many hymns in Atharvaveda, where love in its physical or earthy form is described. Love between lovers, as between husband and wife, their passion and excitement are described in a manner that is closer to the tradition of folk songs. A man falls in love with a woman. Now he searches for the sweet medicine, which can make him as sweet as that. When his behaviour becomes very sweet, the woman will surely be attracted to him. While using this medicine, he sings:

1

Sweet, O, very sweet
Sweeter, sweetest
Born in the sweet month
O sweet-growing medicine!
I am digging you for sweetness
You are sweet, make me also sweet,
Make the tip of my tongue sweet
Make the root of my tongue sweet
May my speech be sweet
May my thought also become so sweet
That she worships my mind
May my coming and going become sweet
May my sitting and standing also become sweet
O sweety! As you look beautiful
On the trees in the jungle
I too become equally sweet
Irrigate us with love sweet like sugarcane
My beloved should love me so much
She should never tolerate my distance
O sweet, sweeter medicine!
Make me sweet for my beloved!

Atharvaveda-1.34.1,2,3,4,5

2

As the wind blows
on the earth
and churns every straw
I too churn the mind of my beloved
O beloved, you too long for me
become my beloved
never tolerate distance
O azwin kumar!
We, lovers, walk together
Live together
Move forward together
With the feeling of togetherness
With the togetherness of hearts
As the arrow hits the golden bird
May my love-arrow also hit
The heart of my beloved
Her feeling should come out
Outer love should enter within
Outer and inner all together
I see the beloved cosmic form
See, my beloved has come
With eagerness for her lover
I too come like a horse
Our friendship should become happy
Our relation beautiful
Heart meets with heart
Body with body

Atharvaveda.2/30./1,2,3,4,5

3

O beloved!
Do not go far
You come around my body
Like a creeper
Climb on the tree
Come, hug me
Do not go away
As a bird’s wings are cut
I too have cut your wings
And put my heart in your heart
As the sun covers the earth
I too cover your body
Make you my earth
Sow the seed in you
Come, my lover,
Come into my heart
Do not go away
O lover!

Atharvaveda-.6.8.1-3

4

My beloved
Wish for my body
Wish for my thigh
My eyes
With your loving eyes
Your hair
Burn me
Wish for my body
I fill you in my arms
I hug you
You come and live in my heart
In my work
O beloved!
Wish for me.
O beloved
You, who have beautiful navel,
You, who have a healthy body
Made of cows’ butter
You, bring your mind under my control
Follow me.

Atharvaveda-.6.9.1,2,3

5

O beloved!
Let your mind go after me
Stay under me in my command
As a horse that is controlled by the horse keeper
Always follows him,
O beloved! I catch your attention
As the keeper drags the horse with rope
Your mind should turn around my mind.
As a straw spins in heavy wind,
O beautiful woman,
I massage the paste of
anjana, mayugha, kootha and nala on you
With my hands, with a lot of fondness.

Atharvaveda 6, 102,1-3

6
As the string is removed from the bow
I am removing your anger
We must carry on our friendship
And be able to work together.
Being friends we work together
I remove your anger
Keep it under the heavy rock
Stand on the rock, so that you can come
Under my control
And follow my mind.

Atharvaveda-6.42.1-3

7

O sahasraparNi!
Giving me good luck
You grow
Spreading thirty three branches
O beloved!
With the thousand leaves
I dry up your heart
Let your heart and mouth dry up
In my love
O seven leaves!
You yellow, full of flower
Blissful climber!
Look beautiful in jungle.
You dry up her heart
Attract her heart towards me
Let her dry up with passion for me
Join our hearts,
As mongoose joins the snake
After cutting it into pieces

Atharvaveda. 6.139.1-5

8
I am digging this plant
With tears in my eyes
Let me see my lover
Let him who has gone, come back
This Asuri plant is so powerful
It could even help indra.
To control all deities
I am using same medicine
To get control over you.
You tell in court-
You will remain always mine
Never go anywhere else.
Never sing songs for others
If you disappear or
Go across the river
This medicine will bring you back bound
And make you stand
In front of.

Atharvaveda . 7.38.1-5

This love comes from apsaras
Who are victorious and
who provides victory?
The deities send this love to him
Let him burn for me
I wish, he longs for me
Being lover he shall long for me
O deities, send forth this love
Let him burn for me
Let that yonder man long for me
May he burn for me
O Marut! Arouse him
O Space! Make him passionate
O Agni ! You please arouse him
May he burn for me

Atharvaveda. 6.130.1-4

10

Get up my love
Do not sleep
I am waking you up
Your beloved
Hitting your heart
With the heavy and sharp arrow of kAm
Drying your pious heart
Getting hit in the heart
Come soon, come
With a soft heart
Speaking sweet
Come near me
I got you from
Your father and mother
You help me in my work
Enter my heart
Follow me
Come, soon
O beloved!
Do not remain sleeping
Come with love
O Mitra -VaruN
help me to mesmerize her
so that
she remains under my control
forgetting everything

Atharvaveda . 3.25.1-6

11

O sahasraparNi!
Giving me good luck
You grow
Spreading thirty-three branches
O beloved!
With the thousand leaves
I dry up your heart
Let your heart and mouth dry up
In my love
O seven leaves!
You yellow, full of flower
Blissfull climber!
Look beautiful in the jungle.
You dry up her heart
Attract her heart towards me
Let her dry up with passion for me
Join our hearts,
As the mongoose joins the snake
After cutting it into pieces

Atharvaveda -6.139.1-5

O lover!
I am dipping you in my love
from head to bottom
O deities!
Please drive passion towards him
so he thinks of me
nothing else
O deity Anumati!
he should think of me
O deity Akuty
make him in my favor
O deities
Please drive passion towards him
so he thinks of me
nothing else
either you are going three miles away
or five miles away
even if
you are running away on a horse
you will come back to me
and be a father of my sons
O lover!
I am dipping you in my love

Atharvaveda-131-1-3

the passion
which was immersed in water
by deities
which dries away the heart
I am burning you with passion
with the obligation of Varuna.

the passion
which was immersed in water
by all the deities of world
which dries away the heart
I am burning you with passion
with Dharma of Varuna

the passion
which was immersed in water
by IndraNi deity
which dries away the heart
I am burning you with passion
with the help of

the passion
which was immersed in water
by Mtra and Varuna
which dries away the heart
I am burning you with passion
with the help of Varun

Atharvaveda-6-132-1-5

(marriage songs)

Let us see together
beauty
with our beautiful eyes
Let our faces shine
You take my heart in yours
and give yours to me
think together,
live together
with the same thoughts
and the same feelings

Atharvaveda-7.36.1

15

I am giving you
this cloth
which was given to us
by Manu
you remain with me
and never think of
any one else

Atharvaveda-7.37.1

(wish for a wife)

I am calling the deities
who have come here
I am calling the deities
who are about to come
please tell me the way
so that I get a wife
the way Savitri got Surya

O deity of wealth
O Shachipati Indra
show me the way
to get a wife

Atharvaveda- 6.82.1-3

(wish for a husband)

the deity Aryama
is coming from east
while spreading the rays
let him fulfill the wish of
the young woman
who wishes for a husband
let Aryama help her
to get a husband with the same feelings
and same figure
Dhata who caries the earth
Dhata who carries the sun
May the same Dhata help her
to get a husband
for whom
she wishes

Atharvaveda-6.60.1-3

18

O Agni!
please help this
intelligent and fortunate woman
to get a husband with good destiny

let this young fortunate woman get
a husband of her choice
O deities fulfill her wish
King Soma has made her
beautiful
let this woman get
a competent husband
be a mother of sons
live happily
as a cave gives shelter
to birds and animal
let this woman give
happiness to a family
live together with her husband
never go against him
lt her wish get fulfilled
let her live
happily with
a competent husband
O Savita! please send a
man towards her
who wishes for her as a wife
O deities
we are offering you
Havish!

Atharvaveda-2.36.1-8

I am digging this powerful
medicine
so that my co-wife run away
I can get back
my husband again
O beautiful medicine
with large leaves
you are worshiped by all deities
please help me to shoot away
my co-wife
May I get back my husband
may I get the highest place
may the co-wife get the lowest place
in life
I get all growth in life
give me strength
so that
I have control over
the co-wife
as a calf runs after a cow
as water rushes to shore
let your mind
rush towards me
O my husband

Atharvaveda-3.18.1-6

and more in next issue.......