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 relief from guilt or debt
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 III ALSO CITED
For success in trade
Read comparison hymn III.15 (8 verses)
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.
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 ↗
Bargaining precedes the sum
III.15 verse 4 asks for success in bargain and sale, while verse 5 wants what is risked to return as more rather than less. A settlement is not a sale of goods, yet the bargaining language gives a useful comparison for parties who exchange uncertainty for an agreed outcome. One person may accept less than a hoped-for award to gain certainty; another may pay to close a contested claim. The hymn cannot judge whether that tradeoff is wise or fair. It reminds the reader that an agreed figure arises from a transaction between parties, not from an ancient proclamation that a desired amount must arrive.
Settlement also means discharge
VI.117’s speaker remembers borrowed grain not yet returned and seeks to be free from debt or guilt. Verse 2 emphasizes repayment performed during life; verse 3 extends the release across worlds. A modern settlement can likewise feel incomplete until its payment is made, but the religious scope of the hymn is much broader than a signed document. Its debtor speaks for himself. A person awaiting settlement funds occupies the opposite position, and the comparison must preserve that reversal. The ancient text does not tell us who was right in the dispute or whether payment is enforceable under current law.
An agreement has conditions
Modern settlements can include a release, a schedule, or conditions that affect what is due. Those terms belong to the parties’ actual agreement. III.15 helps frame the negotiated exchange; VI.117 helps frame a remaining duty after the exchange has produced an obligation. If no agreement has been reached, speaking of an unpaid debt may be premature. If a written agreement exists but the due date has not arrived, anxiety about payment is understandable without calling it overdue. The poems cannot read a contract. Their contribution is conceptual: distinguish the hoped-for outcome, the agreed obligation, and the completed transfer.
The modern working does not adjudicate
The attached working imagines a settlement paying what the user is owed. It is a present-day request, not an ancient court ritual or a way to force an opposing party to concede. A historical reading should resist both triumphal and punitive interpretations. VI.117 is about being clear of one’s own debt, and III.15 is about favorable trade. Neither confers a verdict on a contemporary dispute. Used together, they reveal why closure has two aspects: a controversy can be formally resolved, and the promised money can still be absent. The modern outcome remains dependent on the agreement and the parties’ actions.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: signed terms, later installments
Two parties settle a disputed invoice for three installments. III.15 verse 4 resembles the bargaining that produced a mutually accepted figure; it does not decide whether either side conceded too much. VI.117 verse 2 makes each actual repayment legible as a step toward discharge. After the first installment, the agreement exists but the obligation is only partly settled. If a later payment is due next month, its absence today is not yet a breach merely because the recipient wishes to have it. The ancient contrast keeps negotiation, schedule, and fulfillment in their proper order.