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 ↗
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 ↗
Return matters to the trader
III.15 names bargain, sale, and return dealing, then hopes that riches put into trade become more rather than less. The poem recognizes that a transaction can consume resources and still disappoint. A modern maker or professional may likewise invest materials, time, and training before receiving payment. That analogy is limited: the hymn's speaker is a trader on hazardous roads, not a salaried worker or digital creator. It cannot calculate a fair fee. Its useful contribution is to make the return visible in relation to what was staked, rather than treating any received sum as a complete success.
Recognition can precede payment
VII.12 asks assembly and gathering to favor the speaker and grants importance to discernment and pleasant speech among those present. A potential buyer or commissioning group may recognize quality while still declining the proposed price. That is why full value cannot be inferred from praise alone. III.20's wish for wealth and willing givers offers another emotional frame for hoping that an audience will be generous. But a paid commission is an exchange, not simply a gift. The old texts belong to different situations; combining their strongest images without distinguishing them would turn admiration and payment into the same event.
Full value is negotiated in the present
The phrase full value may refer to covering costs, earning a desired margin, receiving a known professional rate, or being paid the entire agreed amount. Those are not identical claims. III.15 illuminates the negotiation and hoped-for gain. VI.117 would become relevant, from the payer's side, only when an agreed amount is actually owed and left unpaid. Before agreement, the buyer has not incurred that debt simply by seeing the work. This timing matters for an honest historical comparison. The hymns can ask a reader to separate a desired price from a due balance, while the facts of the modern transaction determine which exists.
No ancient guarantee of a price
The attached working seeks sale of the user's work for its full value. It is an original modern intention. The Atharvaveda does not certify the quality of the work, compel a buyer to accept an amount, or provide a financial guarantee. A useful article keeps the seller's desire in view without presenting it as a historical entitlement. III.15 gives a vivid route from risk to bargain and hoped-for return; VII.12 gives the hope of being understood; III.20 gives the language of abundance. The modern price emerges only if a current buyer and seller agree on terms. That boundary preserves the old poems and clarifies the spell's actual target.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: asking price and unpaid balance
An illustrator quotes a fee and a client praises the draft but offers less. VII.12 can illuminate appreciation, while III.15 illuminates the unresolved bargain over return. If both agree on the quoted fee and the illustrator delivers, a later short payment becomes an outstanding obligation for which VI.117 is a loose comparison. III.20's abundance language cannot set the price in either stage. The spell's full value wish may concern acceptance of the quote or later payment in full; those are distinct moments, and the ancient sources help keep them distinct.