The Holy Vedas

Select Hymns devoted to various deities, with descriptive notes, transliteration and translated into English by an authority on the subject. Perhaps the best book about the Vedas for the lay educated reader-Hymns of Agni, Indra, Varuna, Soma, Ashvins, Ushas, Yama, Mandukas, Pitaras, Purusha Sukta, Creation, Gambler etc.

"Compiled, edited and re-formatted, 2017"

The earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas, and the first extensive composition to survive in any Indo-European language, the Rig Veda (c. 1200-900 BC) is a collection of over 1,000 individual Sanskrit hymns. A work of intricate beauty, it provides a unique insight into early Indian mythology, religion and culture. This selection of 108 of the hymns, chosen for their eloquence and wisdom, focuses on the enduring themes of creation, sacrifice, death, women, the sacred plant soma and the gods. Inspirational and profound, it provides a fascinating introduction to one of the founding texts of Hindu scripture - an awesome and venerable ancient work of Vedic ritual, prayer, philosophy, legend and faith.

"This book is an overview of The Vedas, the holy book of Hindus. The most important Hymns are quoted in full; extracts are also included from the Brahmanas, the part of The Rig Veda that guides the Brahmans, the highest class of priests, in Vedic ceremonies. Also included is a section on the Arya Samaj, a later westernized version that is shown to be inaccurate, covered in the Appendix."--The foreward.