The Rigveda A Guide

The Rigveda is a monumental text in both world religion and world literature, yet outside a small band of specialists it is little known. Composed in the latter half of the second millennium BCE, it stands as the foundational text of what would later be called Hinduism. The text consists of over a thousand hymns dedicated to various divinities, composed in sophisticated and often enigmatic verse. This concise guide from two of the Rigveda's leading English-language scholars introduces the text and breaks down its large range of topics--from meditations on cosmic enigmas to penetrating reflections on the ability of mortals to make contact with and affect the divine and cosmic realms through sacrifice and praise--for a wider audience.

""The òRgveda is a monumental text in both world religion and world literature; yet it is comparatively little known outside a small band of specialists. The oldest Sanskrit text, composed in the latter half of the second millennium BCE, it stands as the foundational text of what will later be called Hinduism. The text consists of over a thousand hymns dedicated to various divinities, composed in sophisticated and often enigmatic poetry. Its range is large - encompassing profound meditations on cosmic enigmas, exuberant tributes to the wonders of the world, ardent praise of the gods and their works, moving and sometimes painful expressions of personal devotion, and penetrating reflections on the ability of mortals to approach and affect the divine and cosmic realms through sacrifice and praise. This guide introduces the text to a wider audience. It provides an overview of the text, its structure and the process of its composition and collection; treats its purpose and how this purpose is reflected in the contents and structure of the text; gives a sense of the text by quoting verses and complete hymns; situates it in the religious practices of its time; and considers its use and reception in later periods, which saw profound changes in religious practices and beliefs. It will also introduce the literary qualities of the text and the poets' belief in the role of their poetry in making sense of, and indeed creating, cosmic order and function by pressing the boundaries of language itself.""--

The Rigveda is a monumental text in both world religion and world literature, yet outside a small band of specialists it is little known. Composed in the latter half of the second millennium BCE, it stands as the foundational text of what would later be called Hinduism. The text consists of over a thousand hymns dedicated to various divinities, composed in sophisticated and often enigmatic verse. This concise guide from two of the Rigveda's leading English-language scholars introduces the text and breaks down its large range of topics--from meditations on cosmic enigmas to penetrating reflections on the ability of mortals to make contact with and affect the divine and cosmic realms through sacrifice and praise--for a wider audience.

""The Ṛgveda is a monumental text in both world religion and world literature; yet it is comparatively little known outside a small band of specialists. The oldest Sanskrit text, composed in the latter half of the second millennium BCE, it stands as the foundational text of what will later be called Hinduism. The text consists of over a thousand hymns dedicated to various divinities, composed in sophisticated and often enigmatic poetry. Its range is large - encompassing profound meditations on cosmic enigmas, exuberant tributes to the wonders of the world, ardent praise of the gods and their works, moving and sometimes painful expressions of personal devotion, and penetrating reflections on the ability of mortals to approach and affect the divine and cosmic realms through sacrifice and praise. This guide introduces the text to a wider audience. It provides an overview of the text, its structure and the process of its composition and collection; treats its purpose and how this purpose is reflected in the contents and structure of the text; gives a sense of the text by quoting verses and complete hymns; situates it in the religious practices of its time; and considers its use and reception in later periods, which saw profound changes in religious practices and beliefs. It will also introduce the literary qualities of the text and the poets' belief in the role of their poetry in making sense of, and indeed creating, cosmic order and function by pressing the boundaries of language itself.""--

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 Rigveda is the oldest Sanskrit text, consisting of over one thousand hymns dedicated to various divinities of the Vedic tradition. Orally composed and orally transmitted for several millennia, the hymns display remarkable poetic complexity and religious sophistication. As the culmination of the long tradition of Indo-Iranian oral-formulaic praise poetry and the first monument of specifically Indian religiosity and literature, the Rigveda is crucial to the understanding both of Indo-European and Indo-Iranian cultural prehistory and of later Indian religious history and high literature. This new translation represents the first complete scholarly translation into English in over a century and utilizes the results of the intense research of the last century on the language and the ritual system of the text. The focus of this translation is on the poetic techniques and structures utilized by the bards and on the ways that the poetry intersects with and dynamically expresses the ritual underpinnings of the text.

The Bagavad Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra War. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form. Two words that are of paramount importance in grasping the Upanishads are Brahman and Atman. The Brahman is the universal spirit and the Atman is the individual Self. Differing opinions exist amongst scholars regarding the etymology of these words. Brahman comes from the root brh which means "The Biggest The Greatest The ALL." Brahman is "the infinite Spirit Source and fabric and core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and unmanifested and the formless infinite substratum and from whom the universe has grown." Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The word Atman means the immortal perfect Spirit of any living creature, being, including trees etc. The idea put forth by the Upanishadic seers that Atman and Brahman are One and the same is one of the greatest contributions made to the thought of the world. The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these among the world's oldest religious texts in continued use. The Rigveda contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc.

With no extra clutter and no extra reading, this introductory guide to the Vedas--the oldest books known to mankind--distills the information down to an easily digestible format. It explores spiritual concepts such as karma, dharma, and meditation, and shows how to develop control over your mind and body and begin living a more fulfilling, awakened, and enjoyable life.