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 VII IN FOCUS
For success in the assembly
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 ↗
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 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 II ALSO CITED
For victory in disputation: with a plant
Read comparison hymn II.27 (7 verses)
May [my] foe by no means win (ji) the dispute; overpowering, overcoming art thou; smite the dispute of [my] counter-disputant; make them sapless, O herb.
The eagle discovered (anu-vid) thee; the swine dug thee with his snout: smite the dispute etc. etc.
Indra put (kŗ) thee on his arm, in order to lay low (stŗ) the Asuras: smite the dispute etc. etc.
Indra consumed (vi-aç) the pāṭá, in order to lay low the Asuras: smite the dispute etc. etc.
With it will I overpower the foes, as Indra did the sālāvṛkás: smite the dispute etc. etc.
O Rudra, thou of healing (?) remedies, of dark (nī́la) crests, deed-doer! smite the dispute etc. etc.
Do thou smite the dispute of him, O Indra, who vexes us; bless us with abilities (çákti); make me superior in the dispute.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read II.27 at Wikisource ↗
VII.12's room is public and relational
The assembly hymn personifies assembly and gathering as powers that can favor the speaker. Verse 1 hopes that the people met will help and that the speaker's words will be pleasing; verse 3 seeks discernment and fortune among them. These details suit a comparison with an interview panel, where a candidate must be understood by several listeners. Yet the hymn belongs to a deliberative ancient gathering, and Whitney notes that the fourth verse may be disconnected from the rest. It does not say that favorable speech produces a job. The modern interview is an analogy to the situation of being evaluated, not the setting named in the poem.
III.20 does not price the offer
III.20 begins by asking Agni to increase wealth and later hopes that people encountered will be well disposed and willing to give. Verse 9 extends the desire toward plans fulfilled through mind and heart. Those movements can reflect the hope that a meeting will end with generous resources, but they do not set compensation or identify a hiring authority. Much of the hymn is shared with Rigvedic material, and Whitney treats some later verses as loosely connected. Using it as a single guaranteed employment rite would overstate the evidence. Its relevance is the language of wealth and generosity, not a historical model of an offer letter.
III.15 adds terms and risk
The trade hymn names successful bargain and sale and asks that riches placed into dealing come back as more rather than less. A modern candidate who hears a salary figure still has to consider duties, hours, location, and any conditions. The ancient trader's risk is not identical to employment, but his concern with fruitful exchange makes the offer more than a gift. An interviewer can like a candidate yet offer too little; an employer can propose an attractive number with demanding terms. VII.12 illuminates hearing, III.20 resources, and III.15 the relation between what is given and what is received. None turns the hiring decision into a foregone conclusion.
The present-day request
The attached working seeks a generous offer after the next interview. Its sequence, salary language, and specific timing are modern inventions. The Atharvaveda passages can help a reader distinguish social reception from material proposal and proposal from agreement. They cannot guarantee selection, compel an interviewer, or determine a fair figure for contemporary work. A careful article does not treat candidates as adversaries in II.27's public-dispute hymn merely because the interview is competitive. The more fitting historical frame is VII.12's wish to speak well and be heard. That keeps the ancient comparison proportionate and leaves the employer's decision where it belongs, in the current situation.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: praise after an interview
A panel thanks an applicant for a thoughtful discussion. VII.12's favorable hearing is a close comparison for that moment. Two days later, the employer sends a high offer; III.20's wished-for wealth captures its generosity, while III.15 helps evaluate duties against pay. If no offer comes, the earlier praise was still real but did not fulfill the spell's intention. If an offer comes below the candidate's needs, the money arrived but not the requested generous terms. The ancient hymns make those partial outcomes intelligible without claiming that an interview can be ritually converted into a contract.