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 V IN FOCUS
Against niggardliness and its effects
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.
Read the remaining 6 verses of V.7
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 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 ↗
V.7 personifies resistance
The first verses of V.7 speak to a niggard and ask that a sacrificial gift not be blocked. Strikingly, the poem repeats homage to this figure rather than simply insulting or dismissing it. Verse 4 brings in pleasant speech, and verse 5 imagines asking someone through words so that confidence might meet the listener. Whitney suggests a euphemistic offering to stinginess. The hymn therefore concerns a difficult social approach to generosity. A buyer seeking goods or services is not a ritual donor, so the ancient scene cannot be mapped directly onto a sale. It can, however, show why the modern wish imagines openness on the other side of the encounter.
III.15 treats price as part of exchange
In III.15, the trader needs a route and an encounter before verse 4 asks that bargain and sale be successful. Verse 5 hopes that wealth used in trade increases rather than decreases. Profit here is hoped for, not already possessed. A generous buyer in a modern market may accept a higher price for value they perceive, but that remains a negotiation. The hymn does not announce a correct price, prescribe a markup, or require all customers to be lavish. Its commercial logic is more exact than V.7's giving language for a paid service, because both sides exchange something they judge valuable.
Generosity is not the same as overpayment
The modern adjective generous can mean that a buyer pays promptly, accepts a fair professional rate, adds a voluntary tip, or pays more than a seller expected. These are distinct actions. III.15's bargain can illuminate an agreed fee; V.7's concern with giving better suits a free addition or patronage; VII.12 may fit the public moment when services are presented and evaluated. None of the hymns says a customer should disregard their own interests or pay an arbitrary amount. The textual distinction prevents a flattering word from obscuring whether the interaction is a sale, gift, or recognition of skill.
The modern spell and its limit
The attached working seeks generous buyers for the user's services. It is an original present-day intention. The Atharvaveda passages supply historical images of soliciting, trading, and being heard, but they do not verify that buyers will appear or declare anyone's spending decision inevitable. A substantive reading can instead ask what the seller actually hopes to receive: a willing audience, a profitable bargain, or voluntary extra support. Those outcomes can coexist but do not follow automatically from one another. The sources become useful when they clarify the economic relationship rather than pretending that a Vedic sacrificial gift was an ancient customer checkout.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: fee and tip
A craft worker names a fee for a repair. A buyer agrees to the fee and later adds a tip. III.15 is the closer comparison for the agreed sale, with its hope that bargaining yields fruitful return. V.7 is a looser analogy for the buyer's voluntary addition, because it concerns the overcoming of reluctance to give. If another visitor praises the worker but purchases nothing, VII.12's favorable audience is nearer. The spell's desired generous buyers could include all three kinds of response, but the hymns show why they should not be presented as one ancient payment event.