Discovering The Rigveda

This Is A Remarkable Book. It Untangles The Many Complexities Of The Vedas And Combines Staal S Scholarly Respect For The Texts, With Explanations That Are Lucid And Occasionally Witty. His Insights Are Thoughtful And Perceptive. Romila Thapar In This Unprecedented Guide To The Vedas, Frits Staal, The Celebrated Author Of Agni: The Vedic Ritual Of The Fire Altar And Universals: Studies In Indian Logic And Linguistics Examines Almost Every Aspect Of These Ancient Sources Of Indic Civilisation. Staal Extracts Concrete Information From The Oral Tradition And Archaeology About Vedic People And Their Language, What They Thought And Did, And Where They Went And When. He Provides Essential Information About The Vedas And Includes Selections And Translations. Staal Sheds Light On Mantras And Rituals, That Contributed To What Came To Be Known As Hinduism. Significant Is A Modern Analysis Of What We Can Learn From The Vedas Today: The Original Forms Of The Vedic Sciences, As Well As The Perceptive Wisdom Of The Composers Of The Vedas. The Author Puts Vedic Civilisation In A Global Perspective Through A Wide-Ranging Comparison With Other Indic Philosophies And Religions, Primarily Buddhism For Staal, Originally A Logician, The Voyage Of Discovering The Vedas Is Like Unpeeling An Onion But Without The Certainty Of Reaching An End. Even So, His Book Shows That The Vedas Have A Logic All Their Own. Accessible, Finely-Argued, And With A Wealth Of Information And Insight, Discovering The Vedas Is For Both The Scholar And The Interested Lay Reader.

In this unprecedented guide to the Vedas, Frits Staal, the celebrated author of Agni- The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altarand Universals- Studies in Indian Logic and Linguisticsexamines almost every aspect of these ancient sources of Indic civilisation. Staal extracts concrete information from the Oral Tradition and Archaeology about Vedic people and their language, what they thought and did, and where they went and when. He provides essential information about the Vedas and includes selections and translations. Staal sheds light on mantras and rituals, that contributed to what came to be known as Hinduism. Significant is a modern analysis of what we can learn from the Vedas today- the original forms of the Vedic sciences, as well as the perceptive wisdom of the composers of the Vedas. The author puts Vedic civilisation in a global perspective through a wide-ranging comparison with other Indic philosophies and religions, primarily Buddhism. For Staal, originally a logician, the voyage of discovering the Vedas is like unpeeling an onion but without the certainty of reaching an end. Even so, his book shows that the Vedas have a logic all their own. Accessible, finely-argued, and with a wealth of information and insight, Discovering the Vedas is for both the scholar and the interested lay reader.

The present volume is an unabridged edition of the Rigveda, part of a five volume set of the complete Veda Samhitas. Each Veda has been proofed and all Sanskrit terms updated and synced between versions. An index is provided at the close of each volume for all Sanskrit terms that were left untranslated. -- Volumes available in this set: 1. Rigveda 978-1542459075; 2. White Yajurveda 978-1542459105; 3. Black Yajurveda 978-1542462525; 4. Samaveda 978-1542463379; 5. Atharvaveda 978-1542464222. -- A single volume edition of all Vedas is also available: 978-1541294714 - - From the foreword: The Vedas (from the root vid, "to know," or "divine knowledge") are the most ancient of all the Hindu scriptures. There were originally three Vedas-the Laws of Manu always speaks of the three, as do the oldest (Mukhya) Upanishads-but a later work called the Atharvaveda has been added to these, to now constitute the fourth. The name Rigveda signifies "Veda of verses," from rig, a spoken stanza; Samaveda, the "Veda of chants," from saman, a song or chant; Yajurveda, the "Veda of sacrificial formulas," from yajus, a sacrificial text. The Atharvaveda derives its name from the sage Atharvan, who is represented as a Prajapati, the edlest son of Brahma, and who is said to have been the first to institute the fire-sacrifices. The complex nature of the Vedas and the array of texts associated with them may be briefly outlined as follows: "The Rig-Veda is the original work, the Yajur-Veda and Sama-Veda in their mantric portions are different arrangements of its hymns for special purposes. The Vedas are divided into two parts, the Mantra and Brahmana. The Mantra part is composed of suktas (hymns in verse); the Brahmana part consists of liturgical, ritualistic, exegetical, and mystic treatises in prose. The Mantra or verse portion is considered more ancient than the prose works; and the books in which the hymns are collected are called samhitas (collections). More or less closely connected with the Brahmanans (and in a few exceptional cases with the Mantra part) are two classes of treatises in prose and verse called Aranyaka and Upanishad. The Vedic writings are again divided into two great divisions, exoteric and esoteric, the former called the karma-kanda (the section of works) and the latter the jnana-kanda (section of wisdom)." (Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary) The great antiquity of the Vedas is sufficiently proven by the fact that they are written in such an ancient form of Sanskrit, so different from the Sanskrit now used, that there is no other work like them in the literature of this "eldest sister" of all the known languages, as Prof. Max Muller calls it. Only the most learned of the Brahman Pundits can read the Vedas in their original. Furthermore, the Vedas cannot be viewed as singular works by singular authors, but rather as compilations, assembled over a great and unknown period of time. "Almost every hymn or division of a Veda is ascribed to various authors. It is generally believed that these subdivisions were revealed orally to the rishis or sages whose respective names they bear; hence the body of the Veda is known as sruti (what was heard) or divine revelation. The very names of these Vedic sages, such as Vasishtha, Visvamitra, and Narada, all of which belong to men born in far distant ages, shows that millennia must have elapsed between the different dates of their composition." (Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary) It is generally agreed that the Vedas were finally arranged and compiled around fourteen centuries before our era; but this interferes in no way with their great antiquity, as they are acknowledged to have been long taught and passed down orally, perhaps for thousands of years, perhaps for far longer, before being finally compiled and recorded (the latter is traditionally said to have occurred on the shores of Lake Manasarovara, beyond the Himalayas).

A leading astronomer proves that India had a thriving civilization capable of sophisticated astronomy long before Greece, Egypt, or any other world culture. • Provides conclusive evidence that the Rig Veda is 12,000 years old. • Establishes actual dates and places for many of the events in the Hindu epics. For more than a century scholars have debated the antiquity of the Vedas and their related literature, the Brahmanas and Puranas. Relying upon a host of assumptions from linguistic theory, anthropology, and archaeology, they have agreed upon 1500 b.c. as the earliest possible date for the Rig Veda, itself the oldest extant example of Indo-European literature. But in this groundbreaking book, astronomer B. G. Sidharth proves conclusively that the earliest portions of the Rig Veda can be dated as far back as 10,000 b.c. By deciphering the astronomical events and alignments contained in mythical and symbolic form in these ancient texts, Sidharth calls into question many if not all of the assumptions governing Indo-European prehistory. He explores such subjects as the astronomical significance of many Hindu deities and myths, the system of lunar asterisms used to mark time, the identity of the Asvins, and the sophisticated calendar of the ancients that harmonized solar and lunar cycles. Sidharth provides incontrovertible evidence that such "advanced" astronomical concepts as precession, heliocentrism, and the eclipse cycle are encoded in these ancient texts, passages of which make perfect sense only if these astronomical keys are known. Based on internal evidence in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, he also becomes the first to establish likely dates--and even places--for the events described in these famous epics. The Celestial Key to the Vedas is sure to astonish anyone concerned with astronomy, India, or the roots of civilization.

On the subject of ancient Hindu Scripture giving translation for each sloka (hym). Veda means scared knowledge.

The ancient texts of Hinduism are considered to be Vedas, which are four in number. Rigveda is considered to be the oldest of these. It has been considered important not only from religious and cultural point of view but also from many aspects like philosophical, literary etc. Rigveda also has the distinction of being one of the oldest books in the world. Some manuscripts of Rigveda have been saved as a world heritage. After all, what is special in the Rigveda? Why is it considered the ancient book of the world? Let's know. What is in Rigveda? It is well known that Rigveda is the oldest and highest of the four Vedas. The Samhita of the Rigveda is also called the Rik Samhita. Rik means hymn mantra, also called Samhita compilation. In this way, it can be said about Rigveda that such a compilation of such mantras can be done in praise. In the Vedic period, different parts of nature were considered as Gods. Most of the mantras in Rigveda are also in praise of the deities. Most of the mantras are in praise of Indra Devta. The number of mantras in Rigveda is considered to be 10552. Form of Rigveda? Rigveda is divided into two types. In which there are ten mandalas in the first, anuvak in the mandalas, hymns in anuvak, hymns in the hymns, that is, mantras. This is called the Mandala sequence in which there are 10 Mandalas, 85 are Anuvakas, 1028 are Suktas and 10552 are Mantras. The second division of the Rigveda is called the Ashtak sequence in which it is divided into Ashtaks. The entire Rigveda is divided into eight ashtaks. There are eight chapters in an Ashtak, thus the entire Rigveda is divided into 64 chapters. Chapters are also divided into sections. However, the number of sections varies according to the chapter. The total number of classes is 2024. There are mantras in each class.Branches of Rigveda It is believed that in the beginning there were 21 branches of Rigveda, its 21 branches are also mentioned in the Mahabhashya written by Patanjali. In the book called Charanvyuh, these five branches have been described as Shakal, Vashkal, Ashvalayani, Shankhayani and Mandukayani. At present, only the Shakal branch of Rigveda is prevalent. The code of Shakal branch is considered special in many ways. Sage of Rigveda Mantras It is believed about the Vedas that it was not composed by any particular person, but various sages had knowledge of its mantras by God. The names of Gritsamad, Vishwamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadvaja, Vashishta, Bhrigu and Angira can be prominently mentioned among the sages who see the mantras of Rigveda. Veda Mantras Not only to male sages, but there have been some women in the Vedic era, to whom God gave the knowledge of mantras, in which the names of Vaak Ambhrini, Surya, Savitri, Sarparagni, Yami, Vaivaswati, Urvashi, Lopamudra, Ghosha etc. can go.

The ?igveda is the first book of humankind and the most sacred scripture of Hinduism. It also happens to be the most ill-understood book of our times. Despite the extensive study by academic and religious scholars, the purpose and meaning of the ?igveda and many ancient Hindu scriptures remain unclear. In this pathbreaking book, the discovery of the ?igveda as a book of ancient cosmology is described, and related to the seals of ancient Indus Valley Civilization, thereby challenging our perception of humanity."The Vedas have always been lauded as containing the secrets of cosmogenesis. Raja Roy in his remarkable book shows how this is true not only from the yogic vison but according to the latest insights of modern physics. The book takes the reader on a vast panoramic journey through the universe of matter, mind and human history as well."David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri), Director, American Institute of Vedic Studies"Roy presents a new framework for the understanding of the Vedic hymns from the point of view of physics and then he draws parallels with recent theories on the nature of the universe. We celebrate the new path he has hewn through the bush of old scholarship."Professor Subhash Kak, Oklahoma State University