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 VI IN FOCUS
For relief from guilt or debt
What I eat (?) that is borrowed, that is not given back; with what tribute of Yama I go about—now, O Agni, I become guiltless (anṛṇá) as to that; thou knowest how to unfasten all fetters.
Being just here we give it back; living, we pay it in (ni-hṛ) for the living; what grain I have devoured having borrowed [it], now, O Agni, I become guiltless as to that.
Guiltless in this [world], guiltless in the higher, guiltless in the third world may we be; the worlds traversed by the gods and traversed by the Fathers—all the roads may we abide in guiltless.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.117 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK III ALSO CITED
For success in trade
Read comparison hymn III.15 (8 verses)
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.
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 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 ↗
VI.117 starts from acknowledged borrowing
The speaker of VI.117 refers to material borrowed and not returned, then says in verse 2 that the debt is given back while still alive. Borrowed grain eaten by the speaker supplies a concrete case. Verse 3 broadens the wish for freedom from obligation beyond this world. The hymn's logic presumes the borrower knows a debt exists. A modern payment dispute may involve precisely the opposite problem: one party denies that a debt exists or contests its amount. Reading the source carefully therefore prevents a false inference. The poem can show what settlement means once an obligation is recognized; it cannot decide whether the modern claimant is right.
III.15 asks that a bargain bear fruit
The trader's hymn imagines a journey with risks, then seeks successful bargain, sale, and return dealing. In verse 5 wealth used in bargaining should become more, not less. This means profit is hoped for but not a given. A dispute over an agreed price, delivered work, or changed terms belongs to the zone of exchange illuminated by this hymn more directly than a simple debt label. The poem does not offer an ancient contract form or rule of evidence, yet it directs attention to the agreement that created the expectation. Asking what each party thought was being exchanged is more precise than treating the dispute as obstructed luck.
Favor is not a finding of fact
VII.12 seeks favor in assembly and pleasant speech among those gathered. Verse 3 adds a wish for discernment and good standing within the gathering. A present-day person facing a payment review may long for just such a hearing. Yet an audience's favor and the accuracy of a financial claim are not identical. Whitney also cautions that verse 4 may not be connected with the rest of VII.12, limiting attempts to turn the whole hymn into a coherent procedure for bending minds. The text offers a public setting for persuasion, not proof that one speaker's preferred result is just.
The contemporary wish and its historical boundary
The attached working asks for a disputed payment to resolve in the user's favor. That exact benefit is modern and cannot be ascribed to VI.117 or the other hymns. A defensible analysis can acknowledge the desire while keeping space for the other party's account. The old texts help separate three questions: was there a bargain, is something owed, and will a gathering hear the case? The answer to each may differ. No cited verse guarantees a favorable ruling, identifies the truthful party, or translates into a banking dispute procedure. Their value is in exposing the stages that a broad phrase like disputed payment hides.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: a fee with changed scope
Imagine a photographer and a client agree on one session, then add another without settling the new price. III.15 helps locate the contested bargain; the parties must understand what exchange they actually made. VII.12 is a comparison for presenting that account to a mediator or group. VI.117 would illuminate any portion both sides agree remains unpaid. The uncertain extra fee cannot be declared a Vedic debt simply because one side wants it. This example keeps the modern spell's hoped-for resolution separate from historical evidence about trade, acknowledged borrowing, and public persuasion.