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 V IN FOCUS
Against niggardliness and its effects
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.
Read the remaining 6 verses of V.7
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 ↗
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
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 ↗
The unusual tone of V.7
V.7 is titled against niggardliness, yet it repeatedly offers homage to the niggard. The opening asks that a gift not be obstructed; verse 2 imagines a wheedling man whom the niggard sends forward. Instead of a simple command to surrender wealth, the hymn stages resistance, ceremony, and negotiation. Whitney suggests that its repeated reverence may be a euphemistic address to stinginess itself. This gives the poem a social texture useful for reading patronage: the potential giver is not a coin dispenser but part of a relationship in which requests can be welcomed, resisted, or delayed. The modern admirer belongs to another, newly invented story.
Speech, confidence, and an audience
In verses 4 and 5, V.7 calls on Sarasvatī, Anumati, and Bhaga; the speaker describes pleasant speech and hopes that a person solicited through words will respond with confidence. VII.12 offers a parallel in a more public room: assembly and gathering are asked to favor the speaker, and the participants are imagined speaking in accord. Together the passages show that public hearing and successful request mattered, but they do not describe a patron contract. Nor do they show that pleasant speech removes the listener's choice. A present-day supporter might be drawn by a project, a personal bond, or a public performance; those are distinct motives.
Bhaga does not target a specific donor
III.16 asks Bhaga, an apportioning power, for a share and depicts even a king making that appeal. The requested prosperity is described through cattle, horses, people, and bright dawns. Its distributional frame differs from V.7's face-to-face solicitation. The modern phrase wealthy admirer can blur both frames, as if a favored share had to come from one particular person's wealth. But the hymn does not pick a human benefactor, and it certainly does not make admiration proof of an obligation to pay. The comparison is meaningful only if the source of support remains open rather than falsely assigned by the ancient passage.
An original modern scenario
The attached working's desired support for ambition is a present-day creation. Its imagery may borrow the broad themes of favor, appeal, and generous reception, while its social situation remains modern. It is especially important to keep the support distinct from consent to a romantic relationship or financial arrangement. The historical texts register hopes about being favored and heard; they do not verify another person's feelings or willingness to fund a plan. A reader gains more from recognizing the different stages of patronage—notice, interest, voluntary offer, agreed support—than from treating the entire chain as one magical act. That sequence is an analytical tool, not an ancient ritual instruction.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: interest before support
Imagine a wealthy attendee praises a playwright after a performance. VII.12 fits the public moment of being heard; V.7 becomes relevant if the playwright asks whether the attendee would consider backing a future production; III.16 can frame the hope that support be favorably allotted. If the attendee admires the work but offers no funds, the encounter has not failed to match an ancient command, because none exists. The stages show why an admirer and a patron are different roles. The spell's intended outcome belongs to a modern relationship, while the hymns help parse its possible transitions.