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 III ALSO CITED
To Agni and other gods: for various blessings
Read comparison hymn III.20 (10 verses)
This is thy seasonable womb (yóni), whence born thou didst shine; knowing it, O Agni, ascend thou; then increase our wealth.
O Agni, speak unto us here; be turned toward us with good-will; bestow upon us, O lord of the people (víç); giver of riches art thou to us.
Let Aryaman bestow upon us, let Bhaga, let Brihaspati, let the goddesses; let the divine Sūnṛtā also assign wealth to me.
King Soma [and] Agni we call to aid with [our] songs (gír); [also] Āditya, Vishṇu, Sūrya, and the priest (brahmán) Brihaspati.
Do thou, O Agni, with the fires (agní), increase our worship (bráhman) and sacrifice; do thou, O god, stir us up to give, unto giving wealth.
Indra-and-Vāyu, both of them here, we call here with good call, that to us even every man may be well-willing in intercourse, and may become desirous of giving to us.
Do thou stir up Aryaman, Brihaspati, Indra, unto giving; [also] Vāta (wind), Vishṇu, Sarasvatī, and the vigorous (vājín) Savitar.
In the impulse (prasavá) of vigor (? vā́ja) now have we come into being, and all these beings within. Both let him, foreknowing, cause him to give who is unwilling to give, and do thou confirm to us wealth having all heroes.
Let the five directions yield (duh) to me, let the wide ones yield according to their strength; may I obtain all my designs, with mind and heart.
A kine-winning voice may I speak; with splendor do thou arise upon me; let Vāyu (wind) enclose (ā-rudh) on all sides; let Tvashṭar assign to me abundance.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.20 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 ↗
III.15 measures hope against exposure
The trader asks Indra to clear a road of dangers, then speaks of acquiring riches through dealing. By verse 4, bargain and sale are central, and verse 5 hopes that the wealth used to bargain grows rather than diminishes. A project fee is a modern way of measuring a return against effort and risk. The ancient trader does not itemize labor hours or scope, yet the hymn makes the stake visible: resources must be committed before gain is known. A large fee can still be poor exchange if a project consumes far more time or materials than expected. The poem's concern with fruitful return makes that distinction more useful than a flat wish for a bigger number.
III.20 is not a wage hymn
III.20 begins with Agni and a request to increase wealth. Its third verse asks several deities to bestow riches, and verse 6 hopes people met in intercourse will be well disposed and desirous of giving. Whitney notes that the hymn gathers material also found in the Rigveda and that its final verses are not simply one continuous original composition. Its language of gifts and divine favor can illuminate the emotional wish for a generous opportunity. But a client paying for a project is entering an exchange, not performing the hymn's sacrificial giving. Calling the hymn a salary or project-rate text would flatten its ritual setting.
The fee and the undertaking belong together
The modern benefit says high-paying project, not merely high payment. It contains both a commitment of work and an anticipated sum. III.15 joins a journey, bargaining, and a fruitful return, allowing those parts to be considered together. VII.12 can add the moment of presenting a proposal to a decision-making group, but a favored presentation is not yet a commission. A strong article therefore asks how the project becomes defined: what has been offered, who accepts, and what return is expected? The historical sources do not answer the modern price question. They make the relationship between venture and gain visible.
Modern scope and honest limit
The attached working imagines a substantial paid project arriving. It is an original contemporary spell intention. Neither III.15 nor III.20 guarantees that a project will appear, that a client will accept a fee, or that an apparently large payment will be profitable. The ancient trader's prayer reflects hope precisely because trade could fail. The fire hymn reflects the desire for favor and abundance within another ritual frame. A reader gains an honest comparison by distinguishing a generous gift from a negotiated fee and a high headline sum from a fruitful return. That distinction adds meaning to the modern wish without claiming a Vedic technique for attracting contracts.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: the impressive fee
A studio is offered a large commission, but the work requires costly supplies and months of effort. III.15's request that wealth placed into bargaining come back as more, not less, highlights the difference between gross fee and fruitful return. III.20's request for wealth describes the attractiveness of receiving, but it says less about the work being promised. If the studio only receives flattering interest, VII.12's public favor may be the nearer comparison. The spell seeks a project that actually pays well; the hymns help clarify why the size of an offer alone does not settle that question.