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 success in trade
I stir up (cud) the trader Indra; let him come to us, be our forerunner; thrusting [away] the niggard, the waylaying wild animal, let him, having the power (īç), be giver of riches to me.
The many roads, travelled by the gods, that go about (sam-car) between heaven-and-earth—let them enjoy me with milk, with ghee, that dealing (krī) I may get (ā-hṛ) riches.
With fuel, O Agni, with ghee, I, desiring, offer the oblation, in order to energy (táras), to strength;—revering with worship (bráhman), so far as I am able—this divine prayer (dhī́), in order to hundred-fold winning.
This offense (? çaráṇi) of ours mayest thou, O Agni, bear with (mṛṣ), what distant road we have gone. Successful (çuná) for us be bargain and sale; let return-dealing make me fruitful; do ye two enjoy this oblation in concord; successful for us be our going about and rising.
Read the remaining 4 verses of III.15
With what riches I practise (car) bargaining, seeking riches with riches, ye gods—let that become more for me, not less; O Agni, put down (ni-sidh) with the oblation the gain-slaying gods.
With what riches I practise bargaining, seeking riches with riches, ye gods—therein let Indra assign me pleasure (? rúci), let Prajāpati, Savitar, Soma, Agni.
Unto thee with homage do we, O priest Vāiçvānara ('for all men'), give praise; do thou watch over our progeny, our selves, our kine, our breaths.
Every day may we bring constantly for thee as for a standing horse, O Jātavedas; rejoicing together with abundance of wealth, with food, may we thy neighbors, O Agni, take no harm.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.15 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK V ALSO CITED
Against niggardliness and its effects
Read comparison hymn V.7 (10 verses)
Bring to us, stand not about, O niggard; do not prevent (? rakṣ) our sacrificial gift as led [away]; homage be to baffling (vīrtsā́), to ill-success; homage be to the niggard.
What wheedling (? parirāpín) man thou puttest forward, O niggard, to him of thine we pay homage: do not thou disturb my winning (vaní).
Let our god-made winning progress (pra-kḷp) by day and by night; we go forth after the niggard; homage be to the niggard.
Sarasvatī, Anumati, Bhaga, we going call on; pleasant (juṣṭá) honeyed speech have I spoken in the god-invocations of the gods.
Whomever I solicit (yāc) with speech, with Sarasvatī, mind-yoked, him may faith find today, given by the brown soma.
Do not thou baffle our winning nor speech. Let Indra and Agni both bring good things to us. De ye all, willing today to give to us, welcome the niggard.
Go thou far away, O ill-success; we conduct away thy missile; I know thee, O niggard, as one putting (? mīv) down, thrusting down.
Likewise, greatly making thyself naked, thou fastenest on (sac) a person in dreams, O niggard, baffling the plan and design of a man (púruṣa).
She that, being great, of great height (-unmāna), permeated all regions—to her, the golden-haired, to perdition have I paid homage.
Gold-colored, fortunate, gold-cushioned, great—to her, the golden-mantled, to the niggard have I paid homage.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read V.7 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 ↗
The merchant addresses risk, not buyer control
The first verse of III.15 asks Indra to precede the trader and remove a niggard and an animal lurking on the route. In verse 2, many roads become the paths through which dealing might bring riches. Later the speaker asks for a successful bargain and sale. The trader's wish is understandable because exposure to travel, refusal, and loss makes gain uncertain. Nothing in the hymn says a particular buyer must select the trader's wares. The modern phrase choose my business inserts a competitive marketplace with named sellers and customer preference. III.15 is relevant because it knows commercial uncertainty, not because it abolishes it.
V.7 treats reluctance as an actor
V.7 addresses niggardliness directly and repeatedly offers homage to the niggard while hoping not to lose a gift or a winning. Verse 4 speaks of pleasant speech, and verse 5 hopes that a person solicited by words will respond with confidence. Whitney interprets the hymn as a euphemistic offering to stinginess. This odd mixture of reverence and frustration recognizes that the giver may not be easily moved. A customer is not the same as a donor, so V.7 can only be an analogy for the challenge of gaining a favorable response. It cannot justify treating a customer's decision as something owed to the seller.
Attention may be collective; purchase is particular
VII.12 asks assembly and gathering to favor the speaker. It asks for speech that works among those gathered and for discernment in the group. A storefront or advertisement can receive attention from many people, but a purchase requires a particular person's need, judgment, and agreement. The assembly hymn's public favor is therefore one step removed from III.15's bargain. Reading them side by side avoids the easy but false equation of popularity with sales. A shop may be praised by visitors who cannot buy, while a quiet customer may purchase without publicly praising it. The texts keep different social moments visible.
The present intention is a contemporary invention
The working attached to this page hopes that a customer will choose the user's business. Its commercial setting, competition, and identifiable customer are modern. The ancient hymns can illuminate a seller's hopes for a path, receptive speech, and a completed exchange, but they cannot guarantee a sale or tell us which business a buyer should prefer. An honest reading respects the buyer as an independent participant. It also resists describing III.15 as a universal customer-attraction manual; its vivid details belong to a traveler, oblation, and divine forerunner. The comparison becomes useful when it names what a business can hope for without pretending the historical poem decides another person's choice.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: praise, browsing, and purchase
Imagine three visitors enter a craft stall. One praises the maker's skill and leaves; VII.12's favorable audience gives a loose comparison. Another asks a question but hesitates over cost, recalling V.7's difficult response to a request. A third agrees on a price and buys, nearest to III.15's successful bargain. The modern spell seeks the third outcome from the right customer. The ancient passages make each stage intelligible, but none turns the first two visitors into debtors or removes the third visitor's choice. III.15 verse 5 further asks that resources risked in bargaining return as more, so even the completed sale must be considered against the maker’s costs.