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 ALSO CITED
Morning invocation to various gods, especially Bhaga
Read comparison hymn III.16 (7 verses)
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.
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 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 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.15 asks for more than an offer
The trade hymn begins by asking Indra to go ahead of the merchant and clear the road. In verse 4, bargain and sale are desired; verse 5 hopes the resources put into dealing return as more rather than less. An offer can be a promising opening without yet being accepted or paid. The word profitable demands still more: the accepted terms must yield a worthwhile return. III.15 is useful because it keeps route, bargain, and result in sequence. It does not say every proposal is advantageous or that a sudden high number will survive negotiation. The ancient merchant petitions precisely because the outcome of trade is uncertain.
III.16's dawn is not a sunset deadline
III.16 calls many gods early and repeatedly invokes Bhaga for a favorable portion. Its images include cattle, horses, people, and excellent dawns. A modern writer may be tempted to turn morning invocation into a 12-hour forecast ending at sunset, but the hymn does not do that. Its time imagery marks the prayer's setting and recurrent hope, not a countdown for a business offer. Comparing it with III.15 can still be illuminating: feeling allotted a lucky opportunity differs from securing profit through an exchange. The deadline in the spell belongs wholly to the present-day desire, even if the ancient poem also notices a time of day.
The audience may respond without committing
VII.12 asks assembly and gathering to favor the speaker and hopes for pleasant, helpful speech among those present. A modern seller may pitch an idea and receive warm reactions before sunset. Those reactions are not yet a profitable offer. V.7's interest in soliciting a giver through speech offers another possible comparison if the hoped-for response is support rather than purchase. Neither text establishes a commercial price. Together they show why hearing, interest, proposal, acceptance, and payment should be kept distinct. The ancient social scenes are not a timed sales pipeline; they clarify where the modern wish remains unfulfilled despite encouraging conversation.
The invented deadline and financial limit
The attached working asks for a profitable offer before sunset. That exact timing and commercial outcome were invented for this collection. The source hymns cannot guarantee a call, message, buyer, or return, and they provide no modern measure of profitability. A careful article can use the trader's risk to ask whether the offer is actually worth accepting, while using Bhaga's morning petition only as a contrast in time and type of gain. A proposal may arrive on time yet prove costly; another may arrive later and be better. The historical analysis should deepen the reader's understanding of the wish, not turn Vedic verses into a financial guarantee for the day's final hour.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: promising message at dusk
A shop owner receives a message just before sunset: a buyer is interested in a large order. VII.12 can loosely illuminate being heard, but the message is not yet an offer with terms. When the buyer names a price, III.15's bargain comes into view. If fulfilling the order would cost more than that price, the offer arrived on time but is not profitable. III.16's morning share might express how fortunate a truly good proposal feels, yet it cannot set the deadline or margin. The modern spell joins timing and profit; the old hymns help test each condition separately.