THE TEXT · ATHARVAVEDA
Hymns discussed in this article
Begin with the verses shown here. Open the other cited hymns to compare their images and aims.
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK III IN FOCUS
Morning invocation to various gods, especially Bhaga
Early (prātár) do we call Agni, early Indra, early Mitra-and-Varuṇa, early the (two) Açvins, early Bhaga, Pūshan, Brahmaṇaspati, early Soma and Rudra do we call.
The early-conquering formidable Bhaga do we call, the son of Aditi who is disposer (vidhartár), to whom every one that thinks himself weak [or] strong, ⌊to whom even the king⌋ says: "apportion [me] a portion."
O Bhaga, conductor, Bhaga, thou of true bestowal, Bhaga, help upward this prayer (dhī́), giving to us; O Bhaga, cause us to multiply with kine, with horses, O Bhaga, with men,—rich in men may we be.
Both now may we be fortunate (bhágavant), and in the advance (? prapitvá) and in the middle of the days; and, O bounteous one, at the up-going of the sun, may we be in the favor of the gods.
Read the remaining 3 verses of III.16
Let the god Bhaga himself be fortunate; through him may we be fortunate; on thee here, Bhaga, do I call entire; do thou, O Bhaga, be our forerunner here.
The dawns submit themselves (? sam-nam) to the sacrifice (adhvará), as Dadhikrāvan to the bright place; hitherward let them convey for me Bhaga, acquirer of good things, as vigorous (vājín) horses a chariot.
Let excellent dawns, rich in horses, rich in kine, rich in heroes, always shine for us, yielding (duh) ghee, on all sides drunk of: do ye protect us ever with well-beings.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.16 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK II ALSO CITED
Praise and prayer to Indra
Read comparison hymn II.5 (7 verses)
O Indra, enjoy thou—drive on;—come, O hero—with thy two bays;—drink of the pressed [soma]—intoxicated here—loving the sweet [draught], fair one, unto intoxication.
O Indra, [thy] belly—like one to be praised—fill thou with the sweet [draught]—like the heavens—with this soma—like the sky (svàr)—; unto thee have gone the well-voiced intoxications.
Indra, a swiftly-overcoming friend, who slew Vritra—like moving [streams]—, [who] split Vala—like Bhṛgu—, who overpowered his foes in the intoxication of soma.
Let the pressed [somas] enter thee, O Indra; fill thy (two) paunches; help, O mighty one! for our prayer (dhī́) come to us; hear [my] call, enjoy my songs; hither, O Indra, with self-harnessed [steeds]; revel here unto great joy.
Now will I proclaim the heroisms of Indra, which first he of the thunderbolt (vajrín) did; he slew the dragon (áhi); he penetrated to the waters; he split ⌊forth⌋ the bellies (vakṣáṇā) of the mountains.
He slew the dragon that had resorted (çri) to the mountain; Tvashṭar fashioned for him the whizzing (?) thunderbolt; like lowing kine, flowing (syand), at once the waters went down to the ocean.
Acting like a bull, he chose the soma; he drank of the pressed [draught] in the tríkadrukas; the bounteous one (maghávan) took his missile thunderbolt; he slew that first-born of dragons.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read II.5 at Wikisource ↗
Morning frames the request
III.16 locates its request at the start of the day by repeating an early call to several gods. It names Agni, Indra, Mitra and Varuṇa, the Aśvins, and others before giving Bhaga a prominent role as disposer of a share. II.5 concentrates instead on Indra, the pressed soma, and remembered victories over hostile powers. The arrival of day widens the divine address in III.16, while praise of one heroic god organizes II.5.
III.16 places a wish under the fresh timing of morning and invokes Bhaga; II.5 invokes Indra in another setting. The difference is not simply a change of divine name. Morning itself becomes part of how a favorable future can be imagined beginning.
Bhaga and hoped-for fortune
Beginning the day becomes a ritual moment for naming desired opportunities and relationships. III.16 returns to the word early as it calls its many addressees; the repeated timing makes the appeal feel renewed at daybreak. Bhaga's portion is then sought within that opening scene. II.5 has a different emphasis, inviting Indra to drink and recalling his feats. Morning changes timing and audience together in III.16; it is a scene, not a fixed lucky hour.
III.16 beside II.5
II.5 addresses Indra with a more concentrated praise-and-request structure. Its first verses invite him to the soma draught, and its later verses recall his defeat of Vṛtra and release of waters. The comparison rests on a change in scene and argumentative movement. III.16's repeated dawn calls turn toward a requested share from Bhaga; II.5 builds its appeal by recalling what Indra has done.
Bhaga is asked to apportion a share
III.16.1 calls many powers at morning, but verse 2 singles out Bhaga as disposer of a portion. Weak and strong alike approach him; Whitney’s translation also brackets the king among petitioners. The point is not that status disappears, but that several kinds of person seek a favorable allotment. Verse 3 gives the request material and social content through cattle, horses, and people. It is wider than a private cash wish. The poem asks for prosperity within a populated world where a share has meaning among others. No line states that a deserved portion is automatically delivered at dawn.
The poem stretches one morning across the day
Verse 4 hopes for good fortune now and through later parts of the day. Verse 6 imagines dawns bringing Bhaga toward the speaker, and verse 7 asks that excellent dawns continue to shine with cattle, horses, and heroes. These repeated time markers turn morning into more than a lucky instant. The prayer begins with a call and develops into a continuing hope for provision and favor. The image is cyclical without being a schedule of payment. A modern reader may speak of a new opportunity at sunrise, but the hymn’s actual requests are for a divinely apportioned share and flourishing household resources.
Indra’s praise is another kind of address
II.5 is a praise and prayer to Indra, beginning with an invitation to drink pressed soma and later recounting the defeat of Vṛtra. Its heroic sequence and soma setting differ from the morning distribution of III.16. Both can be called auspicious, but the term hides their different verbal arguments. In II.5 power and remembered victory support the appeal to Indra; in III.16 the direct request to Bhaga turns on portion and the arrival of dawns. Whitney notes that III.16 has close parallels in the Rigveda and other Vedic collections, with few Pāippalāda variants. That transmission supports its recognizable morning structure while leaving the desired share a petition, not a guaranteed allotment.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: III.16 beside II.5
II.5 addresses Indra in focused praise. III.16 names Bhaga within a morning appeal to several gods. The new day changes the timing and the range of divine address. The daily threshold in III.16 makes the appeal repeatable with sunrise, while II.5 needs to be heard through its own addressee and request. Shared hopes for good fortune cannot erase those distinct verbal scenes. The dawn setting is the first interpretive clue. Begin at III.16.2, where weak and strong request a portion from Bhaga, and follow verse 3 into cattle, horses, and people. Then trace verses 4, 6, and 7 as the wish continues through day and dawn. II.5 opens instead by inviting Indra to soma and later recalls a dragon-slaying victory; its energy is not the same as Bhaga’s act of apportionment.