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 VI IN FOCUS
For relief from guilt or debt
What I eat (?) that is borrowed, that is not given back; with what tribute of Yama I go about—now, O Agni, I become guiltless (anṛṇá) as to that; thou knowest how to unfasten all fetters.
Being just here we give it back; living, we pay it in (ni-hṛ) for the living; what grain I have devoured having borrowed [it], now, O Agni, I become guiltless as to that.
Guiltless in this [world], guiltless in the higher, guiltless in the third world may we be; the worlds traversed by the gods and traversed by the Fathers—all the roads may we abide in guiltless.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.117 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK III IN FOCUS
Morning invocation to various gods, especially Bhaga
Early (prātár) do we call Agni, early Indra, early Mitra-and-Varuṇa, early the (two) Açvins, early Bhaga, Pūshan, Brahmaṇaspati, early Soma and Rudra do we call.
The early-conquering formidable Bhaga do we call, the son of Aditi who is disposer (vidhartár), to whom every one that thinks himself weak [or] strong, ⌊to whom even the king⌋ says: "apportion [me] a portion."
O Bhaga, conductor, Bhaga, thou of true bestowal, Bhaga, help upward this prayer (dhī́), giving to us; O Bhaga, cause us to multiply with kine, with horses, O Bhaga, with men,—rich in men may we be.
Both now may we be fortunate (bhágavant), and in the advance (? prapitvá) and in the middle of the days; and, O bounteous one, at the up-going of the sun, may we be in the favor of the gods.
Read the remaining 3 verses of III.16
Let the god Bhaga himself be fortunate; through him may we be fortunate; on thee here, Bhaga, do I call entire; do thou, O Bhaga, be our forerunner here.
The dawns submit themselves (? sam-nam) to the sacrifice (adhvará), as Dadhikrāvan to the bright place; hitherward let them convey for me Bhaga, acquirer of good things, as vigorous (vājín) horses a chariot.
Let excellent dawns, rich in horses, rich in kine, rich in heroes, always shine for us, yielding (duh) ghee, on all sides drunk of: do ye protect us ever with well-beings.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read III.16 at Wikisource ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK I ALSO CITED
With an oblation: for confluence of wealth
Read comparison hymn I.15 (4 verses)
Together, together let the rivers flow, together the winds, together the birds (patatrín); this my sacrifice let them enjoy of old; I offer with a confluent (saṁsrāvyà) oblation.
Come straight hither to my call, hither ye confluents also; increase this man, ye songs; let every beast (paçú) there is come hither; let what wealth (rayí) there is stay (sthā) with him.
What fountains of the streams flow together, ever unexhausted, with all those confluences we make riches (dhána) flow together for me.
What [fountains] of butter (sarpís) flow together, and of milk, and of water, with all those confluences we make riches flow together for me.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read I.15 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 ↗
Read the speaker's position in VI.117
The first verse addresses Agni over borrowed material not given back. Its wording is textually difficult: Whitney prints a question mark around the opening verb and discusses alternative readings. The clear movement of the hymn, however, is toward becoming free of debt or guilt. Verse 2 is more concrete. The speaker says the debt is returned while living and mentions grain eaten after borrowing it. In the hymn, the voice is principally that of someone who must repay, not someone ordering a debtor to pay him. A modern creditor can recognize the obligation from the other side, but that reversal must be named.
Why the word today does not come from the hymn
VI.117 uses the present life as a meaningful horizon, and verse 3 extends the concern across this world and other worlds. Its urgency is moral and ritual, not a promise that a transfer clears by a fixed hour. Whitney's note records a later use of the hymn in connection with settling a debt after a creditor's death, which further shows that the tradition imagined obligations surviving ordinary timing. That later application is evidence of reception, not a line in the original three verses. The word today in the modern benefit belongs to an immediate contemporary need; it cannot be read back into the Vedic text.
Compare Bhaga's portion
III.16 calls Bhaga, the divine apportioner, at dawn and asks that the speaker's group become rich in cattle, horses, and people. Even a king is pictured asking for a portion. That prayer frames prosperity as a favorable allocation, while VI.117 frames relief as releasing a specific obligation. If a debtor pays, the recipient's wealth increases, but the transaction is not a new gift from Bhaga. I.15's flowing rivers can picture money arriving, yet its metaphor does not settle who rightfully owns the sum. These source differences help prevent an overly broad label of money attraction from swallowing every financial relationship.
A modern payment is a documented event
The present-day intention may refer to a wage, loan, reimbursement, or private promise. Each has a different basis for saying money is owed. The spell attached to this article is a creative modern working; VI.117 offers a historical analogy about discharging debt, not an ancient method for forcing same-day payment. The hymn's first-person debt language may be especially useful as a reminder that obligations have two perspectives. It cannot establish the amount due, resolve a disputed agreement, or predict whether a payment system will process a transfer. Its insight is ethical and textual: repayment closes a relationship that a mere hope for fortune leaves undefined.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: a loan and a gift
Suppose one person lent grain or its modern cash equivalent to a neighbor, while another simply hoped for help from a relative. The first relationship resembles VI.117 because something taken is to be returned. The second resembles a request for a share in III.16 or a difficult solicitation in V.7, because no repayment is due. If the neighbor pays today, the creditor receives money, but the relevant event is an obligation being discharged. This comparison shows why a modern money owed spell should be read through debt before abundance, while keeping the creditor's position distinct from the ancient hymn's debtor voice.