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 VI ALSO CITED
For relief from guilt or debt
Read comparison hymn VI.117 (3 verses)
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 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 ↗
The trader's profit is not an agent's percentage
III.15 asks Indra to precede a trader on risky roads, then asks for successful bargaining and fruitful return dealing. Verse 5 hopes that riches placed in trade become more, not less. The speaker's hoped-for increase belongs to the commercial venture he undertakes. A modern sales representative may not own the item sold at all; their income can be a share promised by another party. It would misread III.15 to call its trader a commissioned employee. The hymn is relevant because it knows a sale can fail or yield less than hoped, and a commission depends on that outcome. It cannot specify how proceeds are split.
The sale and the payout have different timing
A buyer may agree to purchase, pay later, or cancel before completion. The agent's commission may be tied to one of those events under present-day terms. III.15's verse 4 links bargain and sale in a wish, but its verse 5 looks toward the resulting wealth; that narrative gap can illuminate the modern difference between a promising deal and money actually received. I.15's streams converging can picture payment arriving, but cannot establish that the agent earned it. An article about the next sale should therefore ask which event triggers the share rather than treating every encouraging conversation as an immediately payable result.
VI.117 becomes relevant after a promise
VI.117's speaker is burdened by what was borrowed and not returned. Verse 2 speaks of repayment while alive. A commission is not a loan, so the hymn is a contrast rather than a direct source. If a completed sale creates a contractual amount owed to an agent and the payer withholds it, the moral shape of an outstanding obligation becomes relevant. That does not mean the ancient hymn knew sales commissions or can decide whether the modern condition for payment was met. The point is temporal: before the sale, there is hoped-for gain; after an agreed trigger, there may be money due. The two states deserve different language.
A modern bonus, not an ancient rule
The attached working seeks a generous commission from the next sale. That exact intention was invented for contemporary selling. The old texts provide analogies for venture, completion, and a balance left open, but no financial guarantee or commission percentage. An honest reading also separates a high sale price from a high share for the agent. The seller, buyer, and intermediary may each have distinct terms. III.15 shows the commercial risk behind the first exchange; the present-day agreement governs the second. The spell expresses the hope that both work out favorably, while the Atharvaveda does not promise either result.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: sale price versus agent's share
An agent helps sell a painting for a large amount. III.15 is relevant to the buyer-seller bargain, but the agent's generous commission exists only if a separate arrangement assigns a share. If the buyer merely reserves the painting and later withdraws, the sale may never reach the triggering stage. If it closes and the promised share goes unpaid, VI.117 offers a loose comparison for an outstanding obligation from the owing party's perspective. The ancient hymns cannot settle the agent's contract. They clarify why one must distinguish the attractive sale, the earned commission, and the actual payment.