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 VII ALSO CITED
For success in the assembly
Read comparison hymn VII.12 (13) (4 verses)
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 ↗
Indra as forerunner is not a business partner
III.15 begins by asking Indra to lead the trader past dangers on the road. The deity's role is protective and enabling, not a co-owner's share of profit. Verse 4 asks for fruitful bargain and sale, and verse 5 expresses concern that resources risked in trade should grow rather than shrink. In the modern intention, a partner may introduce a buyer, share resources, or negotiate terms. None of those roles is specified in the hymn. It would be especially misleading to call Indra an ancient partner simply because he goes ahead. The poem's real contribution is its awareness that a deal requires movement, help, and a result that remains uncertain.
The gathering is a place of many interests
VII.12 asks both assembly and gathering to favor the speaker. It imagines an audience who might speak in accord and a speaker hoping for discernment and good standing. A modern partnership deal may be reviewed by several parties, so this offers a comparison for public agreement rather than private gain alone. Yet the hymn's setting is deliberative speech, not co-investment. The speaker wants favor within a group; the text does not describe how profit is divided among collaborators. Whitney notes that the fourth verse may not belong with the preceding assembly material, which cautions against treating the hymn as one coherent formula for aligning every participant's will.
Cooperation has its own terms
A partner can bring access, labor, capital, or judgment. The other side of the deal can supply payment, goods, or another resource. III.15 helps analyze the outward bargain; VII.12 helps analyze the group's hearing; neither resolves how partners share risk and reward. III.20's wish for wealth from willing givers is still a different frame and cannot settle a commercial allocation. The modern adjective profitable also needs care: a deal can bring revenue while leaving one partner with more costs than returns. The hymns do not provide an accounting standard, but III.15's concern that bargaining yield more rather than less keeps the question of net result visible.
The spell is an invented partnership scenario
The attached working asks that a business partner bring a profitable deal. That precise intention is contemporary. A historical reading should keep the ancient trader, divine forerunner, and public assembly in their own settings while drawing a transparent analogy to cooperation and negotiation. The sources do not establish that a named partner will act, that the deal is fair, or that its returns will be divided as the reader hopes. Their value lies in separating the social roles in the modern wish. When those roles are clear, the old passages offer textured comparisons for route, deliberation, and bargain without being rewritten as a manual for modern partnership formation.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: introduction, agreement, allocation
One partner introduces a workshop to a new institution. VII.12 illuminates the meeting where several decision makers consider the idea. III.15 illuminates the later bargain over goods and payment. Only a separate modern agreement determines how the two partners divide the proceeds. If the institution applauds the plan but buys nothing, there is public favor without a completed trade. If it buys but costs exceed income, there is a deal without profit. The spell's desired result joins all three stages, whereas the ancient hymns help keep each stage distinct.