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
Morning invocation to various gods, especially Bhaga
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.
Read the remaining 3 verses of III.16
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 I IN FOCUS
With an oblation: for confluence of wealth
Together, together let the rivers flow, together the winds, together the birds (patatrín); this my sacrifice let them enjoy of old; I offer with a confluent (saṁsrāvyà) oblation.
Come straight hither to my call, hither ye confluents also; increase this man, ye songs; let every beast (paçú) there is come hither; let what wealth (rayí) there is stay (sthā) with him.
What fountains of the streams flow together, ever unexhausted, with all those confluences we make riches (dhána) flow together for me.
What [fountains] of butter (sarpís) flow together, and of milk, and of water, with all those confluences we make riches flow together for me.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read I.15 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 ↗
The share is sought, not specified
III.16 addresses Bhaga early and asks for a portion even as weak and strong petition the disposer. The hymn’s later dawns and rich goods open a horizon of favorable outcomes, but its requested share is not a mystery payment from any conceivable direction. Verse 3 names cattle, horses, and people, placing the wish in a recognizable economy of provision. The modern appeal to surprise is an additional desire: the speaker wants help without knowing which channel might provide it. That uncertainty is psychologically real, yet the ancient text does not authorize an expectation that unnamed funds will appear or that their arrival will be beneficial.
I.15 is plural, not causeless
The rivers, winds, and birds of I.15 move from different places toward a common point; its wealth imagery continues through streams of nourishing substances. This makes the poem useful for imagining more than one route of arrival. It does not erase the routes. Each river has a course, just as a modern transfer may come from a buyer, employer, friend, agency, or prior overpayment. The hymn asks that wealth come and stay, but it does not say that resources materialize without relations or exchanges. The surprising part for a recipient may be not knowing which existing path will become active, rather than a literally source-free gain.
Different surprises mean different things
A forgotten reimbursement is a return of one’s own outlay; a gift is another person’s choice; a payment for old work may settle an obligation. If those are all called unexpected money, the word conceals their distinct histories. VI.117’s debt hymn would be a better comparison for the last case, because it concerns returning what was owed. III.16 better expresses the broad wish for a favorable portion, and I.15 better expresses arrival by multiple routes. No single hymn treats all these cases as one event. Naming the source after a surprise occurs is what keeps the interpretation from turning every deposit into evidence of supernatural favor.
The contemporary working keeps uncertainty
The attached working is a modern invention asking money to arrive from an unexpected direction. It is not an ancient formula for creating wealth. The hymns offer images of allotment and convergence but no prediction of timing, amount, or cause. An unexpected payment can also carry conditions, such as a loan to repay or an error to correct. The article therefore treats surprise as a feature of the recipient’s knowledge, not a guarantee of pure benefit. The historical reading remains strongest when it follows any eventual money back to its actual origin and asks whether it can rightly be kept.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: a forgotten credit arrives
Someone receives a credit from a retailer for an old canceled order and initially sees only an unfamiliar deposit. I.15’s converging streams resembles money arriving by a path the person had stopped watching. III.16’s Bhaga expresses the welcome sense of receiving a portion, but neither hymn explains the credit. On review, the transfer is a return tied to a prior purchase, not new income without cause. If the credit were sent in error, it might not even be the recipient’s to keep. The comparison preserves the experience of surprise while requiring the modern source to be identified.