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 wisdom
Do thou, O wisdom (medhā́), come first to us, with kine, with horses, thou with the sun's rays; thou art worshipful to us.
I call first, unto the aid of the gods, wisdom filled with bráhman, quickened by bráhman, praised by seers, drunk of (?) by Vedic students.
The wisdom that the Ribhus know, the wisdom that the Asuras know, the excellent wisdom that the seers know—that do we cause to enter into me.
The wisdom that the being-making seers, possessed of wisdom, know—with that wisdom do thou make me today, O Agni, possessed of wisdom.
Read the remaining 1 verse of VI.108
Wisdom at evening, wisdom in the morning, wisdom about noon, wisdom by the sun's rays, by the spell (vácas), do we make enter into us.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.108 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 ↗
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 ↗
VI.108 addresses learning directly
VI.108 invokes wisdom as a presence that can come to the speaker. Verse 2 associates it with sacred utterance and Vedic students; verse 3 asks for the wisdom known to skilled beings and seers; verse 5 seeks it at evening, morning, and noon. The hymn's desired result is intellectual capacity and retention, not money. Whitney notes that the Paippalāda parallel preserves verses 1, 2, and 5, a shorter form than the five-verse sequence in the Śaunaka text. That difference is a reminder that even the learning hymn should be read as a particular witness. A modern scholarship may enable study, but it cannot be equated with wisdom itself.
III.24 describes what sustains a household
The grain hymn imagines milk-rich plants, streams of increase, and a fountain of plentiful grain. Verse 5's many-handed gatherer brings provision together. A student needs food, housing, and materials as well as time to learn, so the poem offers an analogy for material support. Yet its substance is agricultural abundance, not fees paid to a school. The comparison becomes useful when it resists the slogan that a scholarship is simply good luck: it supplies concrete conditions under which study can continue. It does not establish the costs of education or the size of an award. The modern budget remains outside the Vedic text.
Selection requires another setting
VII.12 asks assembly and gathering to favor the speaker and give a receptive hearing. A selection panel can be compared to that social setting, but the ancient poem is about speech in a gathered public, not a scholarship competition. A learner may be capable and still not be funded; a committee may award money without guaranteeing future wisdom. These are the gaps between VI.108, III.24, and VII.12. The first seeks knowledge, the second provision, and the third favorable reception. Reading them together gives the modern intention depth while preserving the different aims of the hymns. It also avoids treating rejection as proof that the student lacked merit or wisdom.
The funding benefit is invented
The attached working asks that a scholarship cover the user's expenses. That specific financial outcome was created for the modern collection. The old passages do not predict an award, specify expenses, or make a reviewer choose an applicant. Their contribution is to show why the wish is compound: a person wants the capacity to study, the resources to remain supported, and a favorable institutional decision. The Atharvaveda's learning and grain images are historically meaningful without becoming modern educational policy. An honest article keeps the scholarship's amount and rules in the current world and the hymn's wisdom within its original devotional and ritual world.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: capable but unfunded
A student has a strong research plan. VI.108 is a comparison for the pursuit of wisdom, not evidence that the student is owed cash. III.24's grain abundance illustrates why food and living support matter to continued study. VII.12 becomes relevant when a panel evaluates the application. If the student is praised but receives a small award that does not cover housing, favorable judgment has occurred while the spell's full-expense goal remains unmet. If the award pays expenses, it creates conditions for study but does not bestow wisdom automatically. The comparison separates ability, material support, and selection.