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
For concord
Like-heartedness, like-mindedness, non-hostility do I make for you; do ye show affection (hary) the one toward the other, as the inviolable [cow] toward her calf when born.
Be the son submissive to the father, like-minded with the mother; let the wife to the husband speak words (vā́c) full of honey, wealful.
Let not brother hate brother, nor sister sister; becoming accordant (samyáñc), of like courses, speak ye words auspiciously (bhadráyā).
That incantation in virtue of which the gods do not go apart, nor hate one another mutually, we perform in your house, concord for [your] men (púruṣa).
Read the remaining 3 verses of III.30
Having superiors (jyā́yasvant), intentful, be ye not divided, accomplishing together, moving on with joint labor (sádhura); come hither speaking what is agreeable one to another; I make you united (sadhrīcī́na), like-minded.
Your drinking (prapā́) [be] the same, in common your share of food; in the same harness (yóktra) do I join ⌊yuj⌋ you together; worship ye Agni united, like spokes about a nave.
United, like-minded I make you, of one bunch, all of you, by [my] conciliation; [be] like the gods defending immortality (amṛ́ta); late and early be well-willing yours.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.30 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK VII ALSO CITED
For success in the assembly
Read comparison hymn VII.12 (13) (4 verses)
Let both assembly (sabhā́) and gathering (sámiti), the two daughters of Prajāpati, accordant, favor me; with whom I shall come together, may he desire to aid (? upa-çikṣ) me; may I speak what is pleasant among those who have come together, O Fathers.
We know thy name, O assembly; verily sport (naríṣṭā) by name art thou; whoever are thine assembly-sitters, let them be of like speech with me.
Of these that sit together I take to myself the splendor, the discernment (vijñā́na); of this whole gathering (saṁsád) make me, O Indra, possessor of the fortune (bhagín).
Your mind that is gone away, that is bound either here or here—that of you we cause to turn hither; in me let your mind rest.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VII.12 (13) at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK VI ALSO CITED
To win a man's love
Read comparison hymn VI.130 (4 verses)
Of the Apsarases, chariot-conquering, belonging to the chariot-conquering, [is] this the love (smará): ye gods, send forth love; let yon [man] burn for (anu-çuc) me.
Let yon [man] love (smṛ) me; being dear, let him love me: ye gods, send etc. etc.
That yon [man] may love me, not I him at any time, ye gods, send etc. etc.
Craze (un-māday-) [him], O Maruts; O atmosphere, craze [him]; O Agni, do thou craze [him]; let yon [man] burn for me.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.130 at Wikisource ↗
III.30 fills a room with voices
III.30 begins with a wish that a household share mind and avoid hostility. It then asks a wife to speak honeyed, beneficial words to her husband and siblings to address one another auspiciously. Later the group is told to speak agreeably while undertaking common work. The hymn thus places verbal conduct inside a network of continuing relations. It does not single out one absent beloved or stage a summons from afar. Its family roles are historically particular; a modern private phone call between equals should not be projected back onto them. The value of the comparison lies in noticing how many people the concord hymn addresses when a contemporary wish concerns only two.
An assembly is heard by many
VII.12 (13) asks assembly and gathering to favor the speaker. Its first verse wishes to speak pleasingly among those present, and the second hopes the seated members will speak in accord. The voice has an audience, but it is a public deliberative one. Whitney reports a later application in debate; that later use and the hymn's own words both differ from a personal call. The final verse's attempt to draw wandering minds toward the speaker shows that public attention too can be sought forcefully. Juxtaposing these passages distinguishes a room of kin, a room of assembly members, and an intimate conversation that contemporary technology carries across distance.
VI.130 repeats a plea without hearing him
The nearby love hymn VI.130 provides a third kind of voice. A woman asks gods to make a man burn with desire. Her refrain returns through the verses, and the last one invokes Maruts, atmosphere, and Agni, but the desired man has no answering line. Verse 3 even wants his feeling to be stronger than hers. Calling this a dialogue would erase its asymmetry. A phone call could contain an exchange; the ancient petition contains only the speaker's desired outcome. The contrast is useful because it asks whether a modern reader seeks conversation itself or merely a sign that the other person has been moved to act.
The Open Call is a new scenario
“Make a target person call when I wish to hear from them” and The Open Call are original modern content. No cited hymn includes a telephone, an agreed calling time, or evidence that the person will respond to a private wish. III.30 can illuminate the work of speaking well within a relationship, while VI.130 reveals the difference between a plea and an answer. The timing of a call remains another person's decision in life. This exact benefit is a contemporary imaginative extension attached to historical discussion, not a Vedic communication technology hidden inside the old word for speech.
WORKED READING
Count the answering voices
In III.30.3, siblings are asked to speak well to one another. In VII.12.2, assembly members are asked to be of compatible speech with the speaker. In VI.130.2, the desired man is asked to love, but he speaks no words at all. These small differences matter more than a shared theme of communication. The first two scenes imply social groups in which speech circulates; the third is a one-sided petition. A modern phone call would require an additional event: the desired person initiates or accepts a reciprocal channel. None of these verses promises that event.