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 VII IN FOCUS
To the home: on returning or leaving
Bearing sustenance (ū́rj), good-winning, very wise, with mild friendly eye, I come to the houses, well-willing, greeting; be quiet, be not afraid of me.
These houses [are] kindly, rich in sustenance (ūrjas-), rich in milk, standing filled with what is pleasant; let them recognize us coming.
On whom the absent one thinks (adhi-i), in whom is abundant well-willing—the houses we call on; let them recognize us coming.
Called on [are] they of much riches, companions, enjoying sweets together; be ye hungerless, thirstless; ye houses, be not afraid of us.
Read the remaining 3 verses of VII.60 (62)
Called on here [are] the kine, called on the goats and sheep; likewise [is] the sweet drink of food called on in our houses.
Full of pleasantness, well-portioned, full of refreshing drink (írā), merry (hasāmudá), thirstless, hungerless be ye; O houses, be not afraid of us.
Be ye just here; go not after; adorn yourselves with all forms; I shall come along with what is excellent; become ye more abundant through me.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VII.60 (62) at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK VII ALSO CITED
For some one's success
Read comparison hymn VII.8 (9) (1 verse)
Go thou forth from what is excellent to what is better; be Brihaspati thy forerunner. Then do thou make this man, on the width of this earth, remote from foes, with all his heroes.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VII.8 (9) at Wikisource ↗
The returning person must announce goodwill
Verse 1 presents the speaker as carrying sustenance and greeting the houses with a mild eye. The surprising command is addressed to the houses: be quiet and do not fear. A dwelling becomes a partner in the reunion, not a passive container. Whitney notes a very different Pāippalāda version that also has the speaker coming joyfully toward houses. The variant changes wording and order but preserves the reciprocal scene of approach.
The later Kauśikasūtra used the hymn when someone absent for a time returned and stood before a house. That ritual application fits the opening closely. Yet the verse's emotional work is already in the words: the speaker does not assume an automatic welcome. He offers goodwill and asks for recognition. Prosperity begins as a relationship restored after absence, with food and safety carried across the threshold.
A full house has memory and food
Verses 2 and 3 call the houses rich in sustenance and milk, filled with pleasant things, and able to recognize those arriving. The absent person had thought of these houses while away. Material plenitude and remembered attachment reinforce each other. The poem does not list luxury items; it names the provisions that let inhabitants live without hunger and keep a place familiar. Recognition is as central as supply.
Whitney records differences among parallels to verse 3 over whether the houses recognize those arriving or those who know them. That small change alters the direction of the relationship. Does the house identify a traveler, or does the traveler already belong? Either reading makes homecoming a mutual act. A modern keyword such as prosperity can obscure this emotional precision unless the verse's address to the house remains in view.
The household is a living economy
Verse 4 asks the houses to be without hunger or thirst and again tells them not to fear. Verse 5 calls on cattle, goats, sheep, and nourishing drink. Verse 6 repeats fullness, refreshment, cheer, and freedom from want. A prosperous home is thus a network of people, animals, stores, and daily nourishment. The poem treats a house as a working household, not merely architecture.
The Pāippalāda reading of verse 4 emphasizes houses always being full, while another parallel stresses that they be full of people. The difference is meaningful: fullness may be stores, occupants, or both. What remains stable is the desire that the dwelling not become depleted during a journey. The wording keeps returning to appetite because a welcome without food and water would be thin.
The final verse also knows departure
The closing verse tells the houses to remain and not follow when the speaker leaves, then promises to return with something excellent and make them more abundant. The poem therefore covers both arrival and another departure. Later ritual use of this verse on setting out for a journey makes sense of that movement. Homecoming is not a single frozen moment; it is a cycle in which a place must be kept and replenished.
Whitney records a Pāippalāda verse order that moves the sixth verse earlier, so even the sequence of fullness and return was not fixed in every witness. The paired benefit captures the positive arc of coming home with more. Its six-phase member working is original modern symbolic writing. The close reading shows a deeper wish: that a house and its people recognize each other across time and remain capable of welcome.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: follow the threshold in both directions
Read VII.60.1–3 as an arrival. The speaker approaches gently, the houses are rich in milk, and the returning person asks to be recognized. Read verses 4–6 for the economy supporting that welcome: freedom from hunger and thirst, livestock, drink, and cheer. Finally read the last verse as another departure. The speaker tells the houses to stay while promising to return with what is excellent. Whitney's later ritual notes place the hymn at both entry and departure, but the poem itself already permits that cycle. The prosperous homecoming is a relationship maintained across absence, not a one-time transfer of wealth.