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 III IN FOCUS
To command a woman's love
Let the up-thruster thrust (tud) thee up; do not abide (dhṛ) in thine own lair; the arrow of love (kā́ma) that is terrible, therewith I pierce thee in the heart.
The arrow feathered with longing (ādhī́), tipped with love, necked with resolve (? saṁkalpá-)—having made that well-straightened, let love pierce thee in the heart.
The well-straightened arrow of love which dries the spleen, forward-winged, consuming (vyòṣa)—therewith I pierce thee in the heart.
Pierced with consuming pain (çúc), dry-mouthed, do thou come creeping to me, gentle, with fury allayed, entirely [mine], pleasant-spoken, submissive.
Read the remaining 2 verses of III.25
I goad thee hither with a goad (ā́janī), away from mother, likewise from father, that thou mayest be in my power (krátu), mayest come unto my intent.
Do ye, O Mitra-and-Varuṇa, cast out the intents from her heart; then, making her powerless, make her [to be] in my own control.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.25 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 ↗
A common mind can include unequal roles
III.30 opens by asking for like-mindedness and an end to hostility. It then moves through a son and parents, a wife and husband, siblings, and the household's shared labor and provision. The group is urged to speak agreeably and act together. This is a vision of concord, but not a declaration that every wish in the group has identical weight. Verse 2 in particular names ranked family relations, and the hymn does not give each member a separate speech defending an individual preference. A present-day claim that “my wishes should matter” can draw a question from the poem: how can shared purpose be built when the participants have different positions? The poem does not resolve that modern issue for us.
The assembly seeks public standing
VII.12 (13) personifies assembly and gathering and asks them to favor the speaker. Its speaker wants to say pleasing words among those assembled and to possess standing there. This is closer to being taken seriously in a public forum than to having a partner validate a private preference. The final verse attempts to draw wandering minds back toward him, showing that favorable attention is actively sought. Whitney reports a later debate application, which is distinct from the text's own request. Compared with III.30, the scene changes from domestic coordination to public deliberation. The kind of respect requested changes with it.
III.25 explicitly empties another wish
In III.25 the speaker aims a love arrow at a woman's heart, goads her toward him, and finally asks divine powers to remove her intentions so she falls under his control. This is an ancient expression of desire pursued at the expense of the target's own wishes. It must not be treated as the same ethic as asking to be respected. Placed beside III.30 and VII.12, it reveals a sharp distinction between seeking a place within a shared or public conversation and eliminating the other participant's independent view. A modern claim for one's wishes to matter can itself become coercive if it requires another person's wishes to vanish.
The Weight of a Wish is contemporary
“Make a target person treat my wishes as important” and The Weight of a Wish are original modern benefit and working. No cited hymn guarantees that a named person will consider a particular wish, and none determines how conflicting wishes should be balanced now. The historical texts can sharpen that question: shared mind in III.30, public hearing in VII.12, and domination in III.25 are different forms of influence. Their comparison supports neither an automatic yes nor a claim that an ancient rite grants priority to the modern speaker. Whether a wish has been respected depends on actual listening and decisions in the relationship, not on a verse's desired result.
WORKED READING
Three locations for an intention
Read III.30.1's like-minded household, VII.12.3's request for standing in a gathering, and III.25.6's demand that a woman lose her own intentions. The first places thought among people living together; the second seeks public recognition for one speaker; the third erases an opposing will. The same modern concern about being valued may make all three sound relevant, but their social logic diverges. A present-day reader can ask to be heard without claiming control of another person's answer. The worked contrast keeps that boundary visible in the ancient wording itself.