6 shlokas · Before conception – Week 8

Before pregnancy: shlokas for couples hoping for a baby

These are some of the oldest Indian prayers for a new life. Three verses come from a Rig Veda hymn written for a coming pregnancy. Two are from the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna uses pregnancy as his picture of creation, and one of them is a lovely verse for fathers. You'll also find the one line of the Santan Gopal mantra that asks simply for a child.

These verses are meant to be said together, as a couple, while you are trying for a baby, and you can keep going until about week 8. Pick one verse. Sit together in the morning and chant it slowly, 3 or 11 times. If the Sanskrit feels new, start by reading the meaning aloud. The words will come with time.

These verses are prayers of hope, not a fertility treatment, and they cannot make a pregnancy happen. If conceiving is taking longer than you hoped, please talk to a doctor. There is no need to wait. And every child is a blessing, whoever they turn out to be. Read our disclaimer

Last updated 11 October 2026

How to practise these verses

For every verse below, unless it says otherwise.

Best time: Morning, together as a couple
How to practise: Chant slowly 3 or 11 times
Who can chant: Mother and father together
Best weeks: Before conception – Week 8

Honest noteA blessing and an expression of hope. It is not a fertility treatment.

Blessing for conception and the forming baby

May Vishnu Prepare the Womb

विष्णुर्योनिं कल्पयतु त्वष्टा रूपाणि पिंशतु ।आ सिञ्चतु प्रजापतिर्धाता गर्भं दधातु ते ॥

vishnur yonim kalpayatu tvashta rupani pimshatu, a sinchatu prajapatir dhata garbham dadhatu te

Rig Veda 10.184.1 (also used in Charaka Samhita, Sharira Sthana 8)

Meaning

May Vishnu prepare the womb. May Tvashta shape the baby's form. May Prajapati give the seed. May Dhata place the baby in you.

Why we suggest this

This is one of the oldest Indian prayers written for a coming pregnancy. Couples hoping to conceive and mothers in the first weeks use it.

What you can expect

A quiet moment of hope as a couple. Saying it together can ease the stress of trying to conceive.

Holding the early pregnancy

Sustain the Baby, Sinivali and Sarasvati

गर्भं धेहि सिनीवालि गर्भं धेहि सरस्वति ।गर्भं ते अश्विनौ देवावा धत्तां पुष्करस्रजा ॥

garbham dhehi sinivali garbham dhehi sarasvati, garbham te ashvinau devav a dhattam pushkarasraja

Rig Veda 10.184.2

Meaning

Hold the baby, Sinivali. Hold the baby, Sarasvati. May the healer-twins, the Ashvins, wearing lotus garlands, hold your baby.

Why we suggest this

Two mother goddesses and the healer gods are asked to hold the early pregnancy. It fits weeks 1–12, when many mothers worry most.

What you can expect

A feeling of being held and cared for. A gentle verse to whisper with a hand on your belly.

Prayer for a full-term baby

Born in the Tenth Month

हिरण्ययी अरणी यं निर्मन्थतो अश्विना ।तं ते गर्भं हवामहे दशमे मासि सूतवे ॥

hiranyayi arani yam nirmanthato ashvina, tam te garbham havamahe dashame masi sutave

Rig Veda 10.184.3

Meaning

The baby the Ashvins kindled, like fire from golden fire-sticks: we call that baby to be born in the tenth month.

Why we suggest this

It completes the Vedic pregnancy hymn and looks ahead to a full-term birth. The Vedic 'ten months' are lunar months, about our nine.

What you can expect

A hopeful picture of a full-term baby. Good to repeat in the first weeks and again near the due date.

Honouring pregnancy as creation

I Am the Great Womb

मम योनिर्महद्ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् ।सम्भवः सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत ॥

mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbham dadhamy aham, sambhavah sarva-bhutanam tato bhavati bharata

Bhagavad Gita 14.3

Meaning

Great Nature is my womb. In it I place the seed. From this, all beings are born.

Why we suggest this

Krishna uses pregnancy itself as the picture of creation. It honours what your body is doing.

What you can expect

A sense of dignity and wonder about pregnancy, helpful on days of tiredness or body worries.

A verse for fathers

The Seed-Giving Father

सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः ।तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता ॥

sarva-yonishu kaunteya murtayah sambhavanti yah, tasam brahma mahad yonir aham bija-pradah pita

Bhagavad Gita 14.4

Meaning

For every form born from any womb, Nature is the mother and I am the father who gives the seed.

Why we suggest this

A lovely verse for fathers to read. It shows both parents as sacred partners.

What you can expect

It invites the father to take part from the very start.

Who can chant: Father (with mother)

Prayer while hoping for a child

Santana Gopala Mantra

देवकीसुत गोविन्द वासुदेव जगत्पते ।देहि मे तनयं कृष्ण त्वामहं शरणं गतः ॥

devaki-suta govinda vasudeva jagatpate, dehi me tanayam krishna tvam aham sharanam gatah

Santana Gopala Stotram (devotional; popular temple verse)

Meaning

O Krishna, son of Devaki, Govinda, Lord of the world: bless me with a child. I take refuge in you.

Why we suggest this

One of the most widely used prayers for couples hoping for a baby. In old texts 'tanaya' can mean son or child; we read it as 'child', as many families do. Every child is a blessing.

What you can expect

Comfort and hope while trying to conceive. If conception is taking time, please also see a fertility specialist.