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
To Agni and other gods: for various blessings
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.
Read the remaining 6 verses of III.20
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 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 ↗
ATHARVAVEDA · BOOK VI ALSO CITED
For glory
Read comparison hymn VI.58 (3 verses)
Glorious let the bounteous Indra make me; glorious both heaven-and-earth here; glorious let god Savitar make me; may I be dear here to the giver of the sacrificial gift.
As Indra is possessed of glory in heaven-and-earth, as the waters are possessed of glory in the herbs, so among all the gods may we, among all, be glorious.
Glorious was Indra, glorious was Agni, glorious was Soma born; glorious, of all existence am I most glorious.
Whitney–Lanman translation as printed (1905) · Read VI.58 at Wikisource ↗
III.20's giving language is broad
III.20 asks Agni to increase wealth and calls on several deities to bestow it. Verse 5 turns to giving in a difficult line whose meaning Whitney marks as doubtful; verse 6 hopes people met will be well disposed and ready to give. This is not a payroll bonus statement. The hymn's ritual frame includes blessing and sacrifice, while its textual history includes reused Rigvedic verses and later applications. A bonus may feel like favorable giving, especially if it is unexpected, but the poem does not define eligibility or an amount. Its uncertain verse 5 is particularly poor ground for a confident claim that it promises rewards for modern labor.
III.15 asks for gain after a stake
The trader of III.15 puts riches into bargaining and hopes they become more rather than less. That is a closer comparison when the extra payment follows measurable work or a prearranged incentive. The ancient text still speaks of commerce, not an employee bonus plan. Its value lies in the pattern of effort and return, including the risk that the return disappoints. If a company promised a fixed bonus for a target and the worker met it, the sum is not merely generosity; it is part of the agreed exchange. If no promise existed, the payment may be closer to discretionary recognition. The hymns do not decide which case applies.
VI.58 adds reputation without a price
VI.58 asks to be glorious and dear to the giver of a sacrificial gift. Its second verse compares glory among gods with water's place among herbs, and its third intensifies the claim of renown. A worker may hope excellent performance will be noticed, making this a loose comparison for recognition. But glory is not the same as cash, and a person may be praised without receiving an extra payment. The hymn's Pāippalāda parallel lacks its third verse according to Whitney's notes, another reason not to treat the poem as a single modern reward formula. Set beside III.20 and III.15, it separates visibility, openhanded giving, and exchange.
The modern bonus intention
The attached working asks for a substantial bonus earned by the user's work. That precise benefit is contemporary and invented. The old passages give several lenses: wealth bestowed, trade that returns more than its stake, and social recognition. They do not state that an employer must reward a worker, promise that a bonus will be large, or settle whether a particular work goal was met. A careful article can therefore identify the basis of the hoped-for bonus before invoking historical imagery. The distinction is especially useful when someone has received praise but not pay, or pay without public praise. The spell expresses the desired combination; the hymns show its parts.
WORKED READING
Worked reading: promised or discretionary
A company announces a performance target with a stated bonus. When a worker completes it, III.15's return-on-an-agreed-stake is the closer analogy. Another worker receives an unannounced year-end gift after good work; III.20's willing-giver language is closer in mood. A third receives public praise but no extra money, resembling VI.58's glory without the spell's financial result. The same word bonus can cover these different relationships. None of the ancient hymns decides whether the company's current criteria were satisfied; they help explain why recognition, promise, and payment must be distinguished.