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
To Agni and other gods: for various blessings
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.
Read the remaining 6 verses of III.20
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 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 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 ↗
What III.20 actually asks
III.20 opens by asking Agni to increase wealth from his place of fire. Verse 2 wants the deity to turn kindly toward the speaker and give riches; verse 3 names several powers that may bestow them. Later, verse 6 wishes that people encountered be well disposed and willing to give. The poem thus moves between divine abundance and human generosity. Whitney notes that verses 2 through 7 largely reuse a Rigvedic hymn, while the last two verses have a different textual status. A reader should not turn the whole ten-verse sequence into a single ancient employment spell. No verse specifies a salary, employer, pay period, or job offer.
A salary requires exchange
III.15's trader asks for safe roads, fruitful bargain, and a return greater rather than smaller than the riches put at stake. A salary is not a trader's profit, but it does arise from an exchange of labor for agreed compensation. That gives III.15 a closer structural analogy than the openhanded giving of III.20. A higher offer also has conditions: responsibilities, time, location, and continuity can change along with the number. The old trader's hope for a fruitful return makes it sensible to look beyond the headline amount. The hymn does not calculate a fair wage; it teaches by showing gain attached to venture and agreement.
Favor before the agreement
VII.12 places a speaker in assembly, asking that those present be helpful and that speech be pleasing. In a modern job process, an interview panel can serve as a loose comparison for being heard. Yet the assembly hymn asks for public favor and discernment, not a specific salary. A person might make a strong impression and still receive an offer below expectation, or receive a generous offer after a quiet negotiation. III.20's generosity, VII.12's audience, and III.15's bargain illuminate successive aspects of the wish but remain distinct historical poems. None proves an employer will choose the applicant or set a higher rate.
The contemporary salary claim
The attached working asks for an employer to offer the user a higher salary. It is a modern original intention, with a named kind of payer and a recurring payment structure unknown to these passages. III.20 offers a historically grounded image of abundant giving, while the other hymns show negotiation and favorable reception. The honest limit is that ancient blessings do not establish a present-day offer's size or likelihood. The most useful analysis asks whether the hoped-for increase is a gift-like bonus, a bargained salary, or recognition in an interview. Only the second is the spell's exact target. Keeping those categories apart avoids presenting ritual generosity as a wage contract.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: a generous number with conditions
A candidate is offered a higher annual figure but many more hours and an uncertain role. III.20's language of bestowed riches captures why the amount feels attractive. III.15's bargaining logic asks what the candidate gives in return and whether the exchange is fruitful overall. VII.12 may illuminate the earlier interview in which the candidate was favorably heard. None of the hymns decides whether the offer should be accepted. The modern spell seeks the higher salary, but the texts make clear why a number, an agreement, and a good working relationship are separate parts of the story.