Why this inspired us
A hymn that praises sharing food with someone in need, and warns that wealth kept to oneself brings no friendship. Generosity is described not as duty but as what makes a life full.
Explore a verse
Rig Veda 10.117.1
The reference printed on your card, and the idea behind it.
In its original context
Hymn 10.117, in the tenth book of the Rig Veda, is a hymn in praise of giving, and especially of giving food. It is credited, perhaps fittingly, to a poet whose name means "the beggar".
Its first verse makes a blunt observation: the gods did not give us hunger as a way to die, because death comes to the well-fed too. Then it draws the contrast that runs through the whole hymn: the wealth of the one who gives never runs out, while the one who refuses to give finds no one to comfort him.
Later verses are just as direct. Wealth rolls from person to person like the wheels of a chariot, now with one, now with another. A true friend is the one who gives to the friend who comes asking. And, most memorably: the one who eats alone has only his wrongdoing for company. Generosity here isn't a rule. It's the way to stay connected to other people at all.
Something to think about
Does giving something away ever leave us with more?
Our cards carry original, contemporary words inspired by ancient passages. They are not translations.
The Letterbox
Little letters, occasionally.
New cards, first looks and the odd kind word. Never more than we'd want to receive ourselves.