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
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 III ALSO CITED
For abundance of grain
Read comparison hymn III.24 (7 verses)
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.
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 ↗
III.16 asks at the start of the day
III.16 calls many gods early, then addresses Bhaga as one who apportions a portion. The weak and strong alike ask for that share, and verse 3 seeks cattle, horses, and people. The poem’s horizon is the day and the community’s material prosperity, not a payroll month. Its temporal emphasis is anticipation rather than a chart of increase. A modern worker may look at a month because that is how rent, wages, or business records are organized. That frame belongs to the present. The ancient hymn helps express hope for a favorable share, but it provides no baseline, rate, or method for deciding whether this month truly grew.
I.15 adds recurrence and retention
I.15 summons wealth by images of rivers, winds, and birds converging, and later wishes that what comes will stay. Its flow image can illuminate income arriving from more than one source or on more than one day. Yet it also warns against equating motion with durable gain: money that passes through quickly may leave little available. The hymn itself does not offer a household budget. The contrast with III.16 is textual: Bhaga’s portion is allotted, while I.15 emphasizes approach and gathering. A person measuring monthly growth needs both a quantity received and attention to what remains after obligations, neither of which is guaranteed by an ancient stream image.
III.24 counts provision differently
III.24 is a hymn for abundance of grain, with milk-rich herbs, streams of grain, and hands gathering in large numbers. Its hundred-stream and thousand-stream image describes desired plenty in an agricultural world. Translating that directly into percentage growth of modern income would be false precision. Grain must be produced, gathered, and kept; the hymn’s physical work differs from salary or digital deposits. It provides a useful counterweight to a single monthly number: resources matter because they can support a household over time. The poem asks for abundance, but it does not tell us whether a brief rise in receipts is stable or sufficient.
Growth remains a present-day calculation
The attached working is invented to ask for income growth this month. The hymns furnish images of portion, converging flow, and stored provision, not a forecast. To understand the modern benefit, distinguish higher gross receipts from more income kept after costs, and a one-time surge from a repeatable pattern. Those are analytical distinctions made for today’s reader, not statements of Vedic accounting. III.16 can name the hoped-for share, I.15 can name the arrivals, and III.24 can name the desire for usable plenty. Their comparison gives the wish depth without promising a particular result by month’s end.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: a higher total with higher costs
A small seller receives more orders this month than last, but supply costs also rise. III.16 verse 2 resembles the wish for a larger share; it cannot say whether the seller got one. I.15’s converging streams resemble the incoming payments, yet the hymn’s wish that wealth stay raises the question of what remains. III.24’s grain image shifts attention to provision that can be gathered and used. If receipts increased but the retained amount fell, the month did not improve in the way the spell hopes. The comparison tests the meaning of growth rather than equating it with more transactions.