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 IN FOCUS
For abundance of grain
Rich in milk [are] the herbs, rich in milk my utterance (vácas); accordingly, of them that are rich in milk I bring by thousands.
I know him that is rich in milk; he hath made the grain much; the god that is "collector" by name, him do we call, whichever is in the house of one who sacrifices not.
These five directions that there are, the five races (kṛṣṭí) descended from Manu (mānavī́)—may they bring fatness (sphātí) together here, as streams [bring] drift when it has rained.
As a fountain of a hundred streams, of a thousand streams, unexhausted, so this grain of ours, in a thousand streams, unexhausted.
Read the remaining 3 verses of III.24
O hundred-handed one, bring together; O thousand-handed one, pile together; of what is made and of what is to be made do thou convey together the fatness here.
Three measures of the Gandharvas, four of the house-mistress; of them whichever is richest in fatness, with that one we touch thee.
Bringer (upohá) and gatherer (samūhá) [are] thy (two) distributors, O Prajāpati; let them convey hither fatness, much unexhausted plenty.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.24 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK III ALSO CITED
For prosperity: with a parṇá-amulet
Read comparison hymn III.5 (8 verses)
Hither hath come this parṇá-amulet, strong, by strength slaughtering our rivals; force of the gods, milk of the herbs, let it quicken me with splendor unremittingly.
In me [maintain] dominion, O parṇá-amulet, in me maintain wealth; may I in the sphere of royalty be familiar (? nijá), supreme.
The dear amulet which the gods deposited hidden in the forest-tree—that let the gods give to us to wear, together with length of life (ā́yus).
The parṇá, Soma's formidable power, hath come, given by Indra, governed (çās) by Varuṇa; may I, shining greatly, wear it in order to length of life for a hundred autumns.
The parṇá-amulet hath ascended me, in order to great unharmedness, so that I may be superior to patron (aryamán) and to ally (saṁvíd).
They that are clever chariot-makers, that are skilful smiths—subjects to me do thou, O parṇá, make all people (jána) round about.
They that are kings, king-makers, that are charioteers and troop-leaders—subjects to me do thou, O parṇá, make all people round about.
Parṇá art thou, body-protecting; a hero, from the same womb (yóni) with me a hero; with the year's brilliancy—therewith I bind thee on, O amulet.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.5 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK V ALSO CITED
Against niggardliness and its effects
Read comparison hymn V.7 (10 verses)
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.
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 ↗
III.24's increase is agricultural
The grain hymn starts with milk-rich herbs and expands to streams of provision. Verse 4 likens grain to a fountain with many channels, while verse 5 asks a many-handed figure to collect abundance. An investor may be interested in what an idea could produce, so the field-to-yield analogy is understandable. Yet crops, markets, and venture finance are different systems. The hymn expresses a hoped-for abundance, not evidence that a proposed company will multiply capital. Whitney's notes discuss Paippalāda variants, including a clearer version of the fountain verse, which further discourages lifting the image as if it were a stable formula for a rate of return.
III.15 makes risk explicit
Verse 5 of III.15 asks that riches put into bargaining become more and not less. The trader's road and sale provide the context for that fear of diminished resources. A modern investor likewise can lose what they commit, though the legal form and possible returns are wholly different. This is the sharper source for the risk side of the intention. A person offering an idea may focus on growth, but a potential backer must decide whether the proposed exchange of capital for future value is worthwhile. The ancient poem does not assess a business model or compel the risk taker to agree. It voices hope while admitting uncertainty.
III.5 belongs to authority, not pitch decks
The parṇa amulet hymn joins wealth, splendor, long life, and a desire for superior standing among people such as chariot-makers, smiths, and rulers. Verse 2 asks for dominion and wealth in the sphere of royalty. Its political texture makes it a poor direct source for attracting an investor, but a useful contrast: prosperity in the poem is tied to authority and social rank rather than an equity stake. A modern founder might desire standing as well as funding, yet those are different outcomes. Reading the hymn honestly prevents the word prosperity from erasing its specific social world.
The contemporary offer remains uncertain
The attached working asks an investor to support the user's idea. Its investor, proposal, and financial arrangement are modern inventions. The old texts can illuminate productive hopes, commercial risk, and social standing, but they do not prove a return or authorize a promise of gain. The decision maker retains the freedom to decline, and an idea's value is not established by a ritual image of inexhaustible grain. A careful article can thus articulate what is being requested: capital now in exchange for a possible future result. The Atharvaveda comparison gives the hope historical depth while keeping the risk and terms firmly in the present.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: two backers, different expectations
One friend gives a small gift to help prototype an idea; another offers funds in exchange for a share of future revenue. V.7's difficult giving would be a looser comparison for the first. III.15's risked riches is closer to the second, while III.24's growing grain expresses the hoped-for productive result in either case. III.5 could illuminate the founder's wish for standing, but not the investment contract. If the venture fails, the ancient hymns have not broken a financial promise; they never guaranteed the backer's return. The example distinguishes donation, investment, output, and reputation.