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{{Infobox religious text
| religion = [[Historical Vedic religion]]<br />[[Hinduism]]
| image = Rigveda MS2097.jpg
| caption = Rigveda (padapāṭha) manuscript in [[Devanāgarī]], early 19th century. After a scribal benediction (''śrīgaṇéśāyanamaḥ oṁ''), the first line has the first pada, RV 1.1.1a (''agniṃ iḷe puraḥ-hitaṃ yajñasya devaṃ ṛtvijaṃ''). The pitch-accent is marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.
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| alt =
| language = [[Vedic Sanskrit]]
| period = [[wikt:circa|c.]] 1500{{ndash}}1000 BCE{{refn|group=note|name="dating"}} ([[Vedic period]])
| chapters = 10 mandalas
| sutras =
| verses = 10,552 mantras<ref>{{
|background=#FFC569}}
{{Hindu scriptures}}
The '''''Rigveda''''' or '''''Rig Veda''''' ({{lang-sa|[[wikt:ऋग्वेद|ऋग्वेद]]}}, {{IAST3|ṛgveda}}, from ''[[wikt:ऋच्|ऋच्]]'', "praise"<ref>Derived from the root ''{{IAST|ṛc}}'' "to praise", cf. Dhātupātha 28.19. [[Monier-Williams]] translates ''Rigveda'' as "a Veda of Praise or Hymn-Veda".</ref> and ''[[wikt:वेद|वेद]]'', "knowledge") is an [[ancient Indian]] [[Miscellany|collection]] of [[Vedic Sanskrit]] [[hymn]]s (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical [[Hindu texts]] (''[[śruti]]'') known as the [[Vedas]].{{sfn|Witzel|1997|pp=259{{ndash}}264}}<ref>Antonio de Nicholas (2003), ''Meditations Through the Rig Veda: Four-Dimensional Man'', New York: Authors Choice Press, {{ISBN|978-0-595-26925-9}}, p. 273</ref> Only one [[Shakha]] of the many survive today, namely the [[Shakala Shakha|Śakalya]] Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum.<ref name=":0" />
The
The text is layered, consisting of the ''Samhita'', ''Brahmanas'', ''Aranyakas'' and ''Upanishads''.{{refn|group=note|The associated material has been preserved from two [[Shakha|śākhā]]s or "schools", known as {{IPA|[[Shakala Shakha|Śākalya]]}} and {{IPA|Bāṣkala}}. The school-specific commentaries are known as [[Brahmana]]s (''[[Aitareya-brahmana]]'' and ''[[Kaushitaki-brahmana]]'') [[Aranyaka]]s (''Aitareya-aranyaka'' and ''Kaushitaki-aranyaka''), and [[Upanishads]] (partly excerpted from the Aranyakas: ''Bahvrca-brahmana-upanishad'', [[Aitareya Upanishad|Aitareya-upanishad]], ''Samhita-upanishad'', ''[[Kaushitaki Upanishad|Kaushitaki-upanishad]]'').}} The ''Rigveda Samhita'' is the core text and is a collection of 10 books (''{{IAST|maṇḍala}}''s) with 1,028 hymns (''{{IAST|sūkta}}''s) in about 10,600 verses (called ''{{IAST|ṛc}}'', eponymous of the name ''Rigveda''). In the eight books{{snd}}Books 2 through 9{{snd}}that were composed the earliest, the hymns predominantly discuss [[cosmology]], rites required to earn the favour of the [[Deity|gods]],<ref>{{
Some of its verses continue to be recited during Hindu prayer and celebration of [[sanskara (rite of passage)|rites of passage]] (such as [[wedding]]s), making it probably the world's oldest [[religious text]] in continued use.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klaus Klostermaier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-1QJMu80UIC&pg=PA6 |title=Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in the Theistic Traditions of India |publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]] |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-88920-158-3 |page=6 |author-link=Klaus Klostermaier |access-date=3 February 2016 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907142837/https://books.google.com/books?id=J-1QJMu80UIC&pg=PA6 |url-status=live
▲and [[Upanishads]] (partly excerpted from the Aranyakas: ''Bahvrca-brahmana-upanishad'', [[Aitareya Upanishad|Aitareya-upanishad]], ''Samhita-upanishad'', ''[[Kaushitaki Upanishad|Kaushitaki-upanishad]]'').}} The ''Rigveda Samhita'' is the core text and is a collection of 10 books (''{{IAST|maṇḍala}}''s) with 1,028 hymns (''{{IAST|sūkta}}''s) in about 10,600 verses (called ''{{IAST|ṛc}}'', eponymous of the name ''Rigveda''). In the eight books{{snd}}Books 2 through 9{{snd}}that were composed the earliest, the hymns predominantly discuss [[cosmology]], rites required to earn the favour of the [[Deity|gods]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bauer |first=Susan Wise |title=The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome |publisher=[[W. W. Norton]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-393-05974-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=265 |author-link=Susan Wise Bauer}}</ref> and rituals, as well as praise deities.<ref>Werner, Karel (1994). ''A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism''. Curzon Press. {{ISBN|0-7007-1049-3}}.</ref>{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=4, 7{{ndash}}9}} The more recent books (Books 1 and 10) in part also deal with philosophical or speculative questions,{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=4, 7{{ndash}}9}} virtues such as ''[[dāna]]'' (charity) in society,<ref name=chatterjee3>C Chatterjee (1995), [https://archive.today/20150415005506/http://jhv.sagepub.com/content/1/1/3.short Values in the Indian Ethos: An Overview], Journal of Human Values, Vol 1, No 1, pp. 3{{ndash}}12;<br>Original text translated in English: [[s:The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 117|The Rig Veda]], Mandala 10, Hymn 117, Ralph T. H. Griffith (Translator);</ref> questions about the origin of the universe and the nature of the divine,<ref name=3translations/><ref>Examples:<br>'''Verse 1.164.34''', "What is the ultimate limit of the earth?", "What is the center of the universe?", "What is the semen of the cosmic horse?", "What is the ultimate source of human speech?"<br>'''Verse 1.164.34''', "Who gave blood, soul, spirit to the earth?", "How could the unstructured universe give origin to this structured world?"<br>'''Verse 1.164.5''', "Where does the sun hide in the night?", "Where do gods live?"<br>'''Verse 1.164.6''', "What, where is the unborn support for the born universe?";<br>'''Verse 1.164.20''' (a hymn that is widely cited in the Upanishads as the parable of the Body and the Soul): "Two birds with fair wings, inseparable companions; Have found refuge in the same sheltering tree. One incessantly eats from the fig tree; the other, not eating, just looks on.";<br>[[s:The Rig Veda/Mandala 1/Hymn 164|Rigveda Book 1, Hymn 164]] Wikisource;<br>See translations of these verses: {{harvp|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014}}</ref> and other metaphysical issues in their hymns.<ref name=metaphysics>Antonio de Nicholas (2003), ''Meditations Through the Rig Veda: Four-Dimensional Man'', New York: Authors Choice Press, {{ISBN|978-0-595-26925-9}}, pp. 64{{ndash}}69;<br>[[Jan Gonda]] (1975), ''A History of Indian Literature: Veda and Upanishads, Volume 1, Part 1'', Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-447-01603-2}}, pp. 134{{ndash}}135.</ref>
▲Some of its verses continue to be recited during Hindu prayer and celebration of [[sanskara (rite of passage)|rites of passage]] (such as [[wedding]]s), making it probably the world's oldest [[religious text]] in continued use.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klaus Klostermaier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-1QJMu80UIC&pg=PA6 |title=Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in the Theistic Traditions of India |publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]] |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-88920-158-3 |page=6 |author-link=Klaus Klostermaier |access-date=3 February 2016 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907142837/https://books.google.com/books?id=J-1QJMu80UIC&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Lester Kurtz (2015), ''Gods in the Global Village'', SAGE Publications, {{ISBN|978-1-4833-7412-3}}, p. 64, Quote: "The 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda are recited at initiations, weddings and funerals...."</ref>
==Dating and historical context==
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===Dating===
According to Jamison and Brereton, in their 2014 translation of the ''Rigveda'', the dating of this text "has been and is likely to remain a matter of contention and reconsideration". The dating proposals so far are all inferred from the style and the content within the hymns themselves.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=5{{ndash}}6}} Philological estimates tend to date the bulk of the text to the second half of the second millennium BCE.{{refn|group=note|name="dating"}} Being composed in an early [[Old Indo-Aryan|Indo-Aryan]] language, the hymns must post-date the [[Proto-Indo-Iranian|Indo-Iranian]] separation, dated to roughly 2000 BCE.{{
The ''Rigveda''{{'}}s core is accepted to date to the late [[Bronze Age]], making it one of the few examples with an unbroken tradition. Its composition is usually dated to roughly between {{
===Historical and societal context===
The ''Rigveda'' is far more archaic than any other Indo-Aryan text. For this reason, it was in the center of attention of [[Western world|Western]] scholarship from the times of [[Max Müller]] and [[Rudolf Roth]] onwards. The ''Rigveda'' records an early stage of [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]]. There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities with the [[Early Iranian languages|early Iranian]] [[Avesta]],<ref>{{
The ''Rigveda'' offers no direct evidence of social or political systems in the Vedic era, whether ordinary or elite.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Only hints such as [[cattle]] raising and [[horse racing]] are discernible, and the text offers very general ideas about the ancient Indian society. There is no evidence, state Jamison and Brereton, of any elaborate, pervasive or structured [[caste system]].{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Social stratification seems embryonic, then and later a social ideal rather than a social reality.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} The society was semi-nomadic and pastoral with evidence of agriculture since hymns mention plow and celebrate agricultural divinities.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=6{{ndash}}7}} There was division of labor and a complementary relationship between kings and poet-priests but no discussion of a relative status of social classes.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Women in the ''Rigveda'' appear disproportionately as speakers in dialogue hymns, both as mythical or [[Divinity|divine]] Indrani, Apsaras Urvasi, or Yami, as well as Apāla Ātreyī (RV 8.91), Godhā (RV 10.134.6), Ghoṣā Kākṣīvatī (RV 10.39.40), Romaśā (RV 1.126.7), Lopāmudrā (RV 1.179.1{{ndash}}2), Viśvavārā Ātreyī (RV 5.28), Śacī Paulomī (RV 10.159), Śaśvatī Āṅgirasī (RV 8.1.34). The women of the ''Rigveda'' are quite outspoken and appear more sexually confident than men, in the text.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Elaborate and aesthetic hymns on wedding suggest rites of passage had developed during the Rigvedic period.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} There is little evidence of [[dowry]] and no evidence of [[Sati (practice)|sati]] in it or related Vedic texts.<ref>Michael Witzel (1996), Little Dowry, No Sati: The Lot of Women in the Vedic Period, Journal of South Asia Women Studies, Vol 2, No 4</ref>▼
▲The ''Rigveda'' offers no direct evidence of social or political systems in the Vedic era, whether ordinary or elite.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Only hints such as [[cattle]] raising and [[horse racing]] are discernible, and the text offers very general ideas about the ancient Indian society. There is no evidence, state Jamison and Brereton, of any elaborate, pervasive or structured [[caste system]].{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Social stratification seems embryonic, then and later a social ideal rather than a social reality.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} The society was semi-nomadic and pastoral with evidence of agriculture since hymns mention plow and celebrate agricultural divinities.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=6{{ndash}}7}} There was division of labor and a complementary relationship between kings and poet-priests but no discussion of a relative status of social classes.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Women in the ''Rigveda'' appear disproportionately as speakers in dialogue hymns, both as mythical or [[Divinity|divine]] [[Indrani]], [[Apsara|Apsaras]] [[Urvashi|Urvasi]], or [[Yamuna in Hinduism|Yami]], as well as Apāla Ātreyī (RV 8.91), Godhā (RV 10.134.6), Ghoṣā Kākṣīvatī (RV 10.39.40), Romaśā (RV 1.126.7), [[Lopamudra|Lopāmudrā]] (RV 1.179.1{{ndash}}2), Viśvavārā Ātreyī (RV 5.28), Śacī Paulomī (RV 10.159), Śaśvatī Āṅgirasī (RV 8.1.34). The women of the ''Rigveda'' are quite outspoken and appear more sexually confident than men, in the text.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} Elaborate and aesthetic hymns on wedding suggest rites of passage had developed during the Rigvedic period.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=57{{ndash}}59}} There is little evidence of [[dowry]] and no evidence of [[Sati (practice)|sati]] in it or related Vedic texts.<ref>Michael Witzel (1996), "Little Dowry, No Sati: The Lot of Women in the Vedic Period", ''Journal of South Asia Women Studies'', Vol 2, No 4</ref>
The Rigvedic hymns mention [[Asian rice|rice]] and porridge, in hymns such as 8.83, 8.70, 8.77 and 1.61 in some versions of the text;{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=40, 180, 1150, 1162}} however, there is no discussion of rice cultivation.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=6{{ndash}}7}} The term ''áyas'' (metal) occurs in the ''Rigveda'', but it is unclear which metal it was.<ref>Chakrabarti, D.K. The Early Use of Iron in India (1992) [[Oxford University Press]] argues that it may refer to any metal. If ayas refers to iron, the ''Rigveda'' must date to the late second millennium at the earliest.</ref> Iron is not mentioned in ''Rigveda'', something scholars have used to help date ''Rigveda'' to have been composed before 1000 BCE.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|p=5}} Hymn 5.63 mentions "metal cloaked in gold", suggesting metal working had progressed in the Vedic culture.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|p=744}}▼
▲The Rigvedic hymns mention [[Asian rice|rice]] and porridge, in hymns such as 8.83, 8.70, 8.77 and 1.61 in some versions of the text;{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=40, 180, 1150, 1162}} however, there is no discussion of rice cultivation.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=6{{ndash}}7}} The term ''áyas'' (metal) occurs in the ''Rigveda'', but it is unclear which metal it was.<ref>Chakrabarti, D.K., ''The Early Use of Iron in India'' (1992
Some of the names of [[Rigvedic deities|gods and goddesses]] found in the ''Rigveda'' are found amongst other belief systems based on [[Proto-Indo-European religion]], while most of the words used share common [[Proto-Indo-European root|roots]] with words from other [[Indo-European languages]].{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=50{{ndash}}57}} However, about 300 words in the ''Rigveda'' are neither Indo-Aryan nor Indo-European, states the Sanskrit and Vedic literature scholar [[Frits Staal]].<ref name="Staal2008p23" /> Of these 300, many{{snd}}such as ''kapardin'', ''kumara'', ''kumari'', ''kikata''{{snd}}come from [[Munda languages|Munda or proto-Munda languages]] found in the eastern and northeastern (Assamese) region of India, with roots in [[Austroasiatic languages]]. The others in the list of 300{{snd}}such as ''mleccha'' and ''nir''{{snd}}have Dravidian roots found in the southern region of India, or are of Tibeto-Burman origins. A few non-Indo-European words in the ''Rigveda''{{snd}}such as for camel, mustard and donkey{{snd}}belong to a possibly lost Central Asian language.<ref name="Staal2008p23">{{Cite book |last=Frits Staal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HcE23SjLX8sC |title=Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-309986-4 |pages=23{{ndash}}24 |access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907143308/https://books.google.com/books?id=HcE23SjLX8sC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HockBashir2016">{{Cite book |last=Franklin C Southworth |title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-11-042330-3 |editor-last=Hock |editor-first=Hans Henrich |editor-link=Hans Henrich Hock |pages=241–374 |doi=10.1515/9783110423303-004 |editor-last2=Bashir |editor-first2=Elena |editor-link2=Elena Bashir}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The [[horse]] ([[ashva]]), [[cattle]], sheep and goat play an important role in the ''Rigveda''. There are also references to the [[elephant]] ([[Hastin]], Varana), [[camel]] (Ustra, especially in [[Mandala 8]]), ass (khara, rasabha), [[Domestic buffalo|buffalo]] (Mahisa), [[wolf]], [[hyena]], [[lion]] (Simha), mountain goat (sarabha) and to the [[gaur]] in the ''Rigveda''.<ref>Among others, Macdonell and Keith, and Talageri 2000, Lal 2005</ref> The [[peafowl]] (mayura), the goose ([[hamsa (bird)|hamsa]]) and the [[chakravaka]] (''[[Tadorna ferruginea]]'') are some birds mentioned in the ''Rigveda''.}} The linguistic sharing provides clear indications, states Michael Witzel, that the people who spoke Rigvedic Sanskrit already knew and interacted with Munda and Dravidian speakers.<ref name="Erdosy2012p98">{{Cite book |last=Michael Witzel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZ0gAAAAQBAJ |title=The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-11-081643-3 |editor-last=George Erdosy |pages=98{{ndash}}110 with footnotes}}, Quote (p. 99): "Although the Middle/Late Vedic periods are the earliest for which we can reconstruct a linguistic map, the situation even at the time of the Indua Civilisation and certainly during the time of the ''earliest texts of the Rigveda'', cannot have been very different. There are clear indications that the speakers of Rigvedic Sanskrit knew, and interacted with, Dravidian and Munda speakers."</ref>▼
▲Some of the names of [[Rigvedic deities|gods and goddesses]] found in the ''Rigveda'' are found amongst other belief systems based on [[Proto-Indo-European religion]], while most of the words used share common [[Proto-Indo-European root|roots]] with words from other [[Indo-European languages]].{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=50{{ndash}}57}} However, about 300 words in the ''Rigveda'' are neither Indo-Aryan nor Indo-European, states the Sanskrit and Vedic literature scholar [[Frits Staal]].<ref name="Staal2008p23" /> Of these 300, many{{snd}}such as ''kapardin'', ''kumara'', ''kumari'', ''kikata''{{snd}}come from [[Munda languages|Munda or proto-Munda languages]] found in the eastern and northeastern (Assamese) region of India, with roots in [[Austroasiatic languages]]. The others in the list of 300{{snd}}such as ''mleccha'' and ''nir''{{snd}}have Dravidian roots found in the southern region of India, or are of Tibeto-Burman origins. A few non-Indo-European words in the ''Rigveda''{{snd}}such as for camel, mustard and donkey{{snd}}belong to a possibly lost Central Asian language.<ref name="Staal2008p23">{{Cite book |last=Frits Staal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HcE23SjLX8sC |title=Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-309986-4 |pages=23{{ndash}}24 |access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907143308/https://books.google.com/books?id=HcE23SjLX8sC |url-status=live
==Text==
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The "family books" (2{{ndash}}7) are associated with various clans and chieftains, containing hymns by members of the same clan in each book; but other clans are also represented in the ''Rigveda''. The family books are associated with specific regions, and mention prominent [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bharata]] and Pūru kings.{{sfn|Witzel|1997|p=262}}
Tradition associates a [[rishi]] (the composer) with each {{IAST|ṛc}} (verse) of the ''Rigveda''. Most sūktas are attributed to single composers;{{refn|group=note|Semi-myphical [[divine inspiration|divinely inspired]] maha[[rishi]]s are believed to have composed the Rigvedic hymns. The main contributors were [[Angiras]], [[Kanva]], [[Vasishtha]], and [[Vishvamitra]]. Among the other celebrated authors are [[Atri]], [[Bhrigu]], [[Kashyapa]], [[Gritsamada]], [[Agastya]], [[Bharadvaja]], as well as female sages [[Lopamudra]] and [[Ghosha]]. In a few cases, more than one rishi is given, signifying lack of certainty.}} for each of them the ''Rigveda'' includes a lineage-specific ''{{IAST|āprī}}'' hymn (a special sūkta of rigidly formulaic structure, used for rituals). In all, 10 families of rishis account for more than 95 per cent of the {{IAST|
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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====Mandalas====
The text is organized in ten "books", or ''[[mandala|maṇḍalas]]'' ("circles"), of varying age and length.{{Sfn|George Erdosy|1995|pp=68{{ndash}}69}} The "family books", mandalas 2{{ndash}}7, are the oldest part of the ''Rigveda'' and the shortest books; they are arranged by length (decreasing length of hymns per book) and account for 38% of the text.<ref name="pincott598">{{Cite journal |last=Pincott |first=Frederic |year=1887 |title=The First Maṇḍala of the Ṛig-Veda |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1428640 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=598{{ndash}}624 |doi=10.1017/s0035869x00019717 |s2cid=163189831 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906164520/https://zenodo.org/record/1428640 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=10{{ndash}}11}}
The hymns are arranged in collections each dealing with a particular deity: ''Agni'' comes first, ''Indra'' comes second, and so on. They are attributed and dedicated to a [[rishi]] (sage) and his family of students.<ref name="Holdrege2012">{{Cite book |last=Barbara A. Holdrege |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlvikndgEmIC |title=Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4384-0695-4 |pages=229{{ndash}}230}}</ref> Within each collection, the hymns are arranged in descending order of the number of stanzas per hymn. If two hymns in the same collection have equal numbers of stanzas then they are arranged so that the number of syllables in the metre are in descending order.{{
The [[Mandala 8|eighth]] and [[Mandala 9|ninth]] mandalas, comprising hymns of mixed age, account for 15% and 9%, respectively. The ninth mandala is entirely dedicated to [[Soma (drink)|Soma]] and the [[Soma ritual]].
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{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! Meter{{refn|group=note|The total number of verses and meter counts show minor variations with the manuscript.<ref name=mueller373/>}} !! Rigvedic verses<ref name="mueller373">{{
|-
| Gayatri || 2451
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In the 1877 edition of Aufrecht, the 1028 hymns of the ''Rigveda'' contain a total of 10,552 {{IAST|ṛc}}s, or 39,831 padas. The [[Shatapatha Brahmana]] gives the number of syllables to be 432,000,<ref>equalling 40 times 10,800, the number of bricks used for the ''[[uttaravedi]]'': the number is motivated numerologically rather than based on an actual syllable count.</ref> while the metrical text of van Nooten and Holland (1994) has a total of 395,563 syllables (or an average of 9.93 syllables per pada); counting the number of syllables is not straightforward because of issues with sandhi and the post-Rigvedic pronunciation of syllables like súvar as svàr.
Three other shakhas are mentioned in ''Caraṇavyuha'', a [[pariśiṣṭa]] (supplement) of Yajurveda: Māṇḍukāyana, Aśvalāyana and [[Sankhyayana|Śaṅkhāyana]]. The Atharvaveda lists two more shakhas. The differences between all these shakhas are very minor, limited to varying order of content and inclusion (or non-inclusion) of a few verses. The following information is known about the shakhas other than [[Śākala Shākha|Śākala]] and Bāṣkala:{{Sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)| Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|p=16}}
* Māṇḍukāyana: Perhaps the oldest of the Rigvedic shakhas.
* Aśvalāyana: Includes 212 verses, all of which are newer than the other Rigvedic hymns.
* [[Sankhyayana|Śaṅkhāyana]]: Very similar to Aśvalāyana
* Saisiriya: Mentioned in the ''Rigveda'' [[Pratisakhya]]. Very similar to Śākala, with a few additional verses; might have derived from or merged with it.
{| class="wikitable"
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|''Baashkala''
|Kaushitaki Samhita
|[[Sankhyayana Brahmana|Kaushitaki Brahmana]]
|Manuscript exists
|Kaushitaki Upanishad
|-
|''[[Sankhyayana|Shankhayana]]''
|Sankhayana Samhita
|[[Sankhyayana Brahmana|Shankhayana Brahmana]]
|Shankhyana Aranyaka
|edited as a part of the Aranyaka
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===Manuscripts===
[[File:1500-1200 BCE Rigveda, manuscript page sample i, Mandala 1, Hymn 1 (Sukta 1), Adhyaya 1, lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.9, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''Rigveda'' manuscript page, Mandala 1, Hymn 1 (Sukta 1), lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.9 (Sanskrit, Devanagari script)]]
The ''Rigveda'' hymns were composed and preserved by [[oral tradition]]. They were memorized and verbally transmitted with "unparalleled fidelity" across generations for many centuries.<ref name=Witzel2003/>{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=13{{ndash}}14}} According to Barbara West, it was probably first written down about the 3rd-century BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barbara A. West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |publisher=Infobase |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4381-1913-7 |page=282 |access-date=12 May 2016 |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727121024/https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC |url-status=live
====Versions====
There are, for example, 30 manuscripts of ''Rigveda'' at the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]], collected in the 19th century by [[Georg Bühler]], Franz Kielhorn and others, originating from different parts of India, including [[Kashmir]], [[Gujarat]], the then [[Rajaputana]], [[Central Provinces]] etc. They were transferred to [[Deccan College (Pune)|Deccan College]], [[Pune]], in the late 19th century. They are in the [[Sharada script|Sharada]] and [[Devanagari]] scripts, written on birch bark and paper. The oldest of the Pune collection is dated to 1464 CE. The 30 manuscripts of ''Rigveda'' preserved at the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]], [[Pune]] were added to [[UNESCO]]'s [[Memory of the World Register]] in 2007.<ref name="rigveda">{{Cite web |title=Rigveda |url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22389&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20140117181848/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication%2Dand%2Dinformation/flagship%2Dproject%2Dactivities/memory%2Dof%2Dthe%2Dworld/homepage/ |archive-date=17 January 2014 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] [[Memory of the World Programme]]}}</ref>
Of these thirty manuscripts, nine contain the samhita text, five have the [[padapatha]] in addition. Thirteen contain Sayana's commentary. At least five manuscripts (MS. no. 1/A1879-80, 1/A1881-82, 331/1883-84 and 5/Viś I) have preserved the complete text of the ''Rigveda''. MS no. 5/1875-76, written on birch bark in bold Sharada, was only in part used by [[Max Müller]] for his edition of the ''Rigveda'' with Sayana's commentary.
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====Scripts====
''Rigveda'' manuscripts in paper, palm leaves and birch bark form, either in full or in portions, have been discovered in the following Indic scripts:
* [[Devanagari]] (Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal)<ref>{{Cite book |last=John Collinson Nesfield |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4ooAAAAYAAJ |title=A Catalogue of Sanscrit MSS.: Existing in Oudh Discovered Oct.-Dec. 1874, Jan.-Sept. 1875, 1876, 1877, 1879–1885, 1887–1890 |year=1893 |pages=1{{ndash}}27 |access-date=7 October 2019 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907143309/https://books.google.com/books?id=u4ooAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live
* [[Grantha script|Grantha]] (Tamil Nadu)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arthur Coke Burnell |url=https://archive.org/details/b30094288 |title=Catalogue of a Collection of Sanskrit Manuscripts |publisher=Trübner |year=1869 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/b30094288/page/5 5]{{ndash}}8}}</ref><ref>A copy of the ''Rigveda'' samhita Books 1 to 3 in [[Tamil-Grantha script]] is preserved at the Cambridge University Sanskrit Manuscript Library (MS Or.2366). This ''talapatra'' palm leaf manuscript was likely copied sometime between mid-18th and late-19th-century. [https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-OR-02366 Ṛgveda Saṃhitā (MS Or.2366)] {{
* [[Malayalam script|Malayalam]] (Kerala)<ref>{{Cite book |last=A B Keith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzFIAQAAMAAJ |title=Rigveda Brahmanas, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol 25 |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1920 |page=103 |access-date=7 October 2019 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907143309/https://books.google.com/books?id=hzFIAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Nandinagari]] (South India)<ref name="MackenzieWilson1828">{{Cite book |
* [[Sharada script|Sharada]] (Kashmir){{sfn|Witzel|1997|p=284}}<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/nomination_forms/india_rigveda.pdf Rigvedasamhita, Rigvedasamhita-Padapatha and Rigvedasamhitabhashya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113122721/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/nomination_forms/india_rigveda.pdf |date=13 November 2020 }}, Memory of the World Register, UNESCO (2006), page 3, Quote: "A particularly important manuscript in this collection is the one from Kashmir, written on birch bark, in the Sharada script (No. 5/1875-76)."</ref>
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* the ''[[Samhita]]'' (hymns to the deities, the oldest part of the ''Rigveda'')
* the ''[[Brahmana]]''s, commentaries on the hymns
* the
* the
In western usage, "Rigveda" usually refers to the ''Rigveda'' Samhita, while the Brahmanas are referred to as the "Rigveda Brahmanas" (etc.). Technically speaking, however, "the Rigveda" refers to the entire body of texts transmitted along with the Samhita portion. Different bodies of commentary were transmitted in the different [[shakha]]s or "schools".
Only a small portion of these texts has been preserved: The texts of only two out of five shakhas mentioned by the [[Pratishakhyas|Rigveda Pratishakhya]] have survived.
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===Hymns===
{{See also|Anukramani|Rigvedic deities}}
The Rigvedic hymns are dedicated to various deities, chief of whom are [[Indra]], a heroic god praised for having slain his enemy [[Vrtra]]; [[Agni]], the sacrificial fire; and [[Soma (drink)|Soma]], the sacred potion or the plant it is made from. Equally prominent gods are the [[Adityas]] or Asura gods [[Mitra (Vedic)|Mitra]]{{ndash}}[[Varuna]] and [[Ushas]] (the dawn). Also invoked are [[Savitr]], [[Vishnu]], [[Rudra]], [[Pushan]], [[Brihaspati]] or [[Brahmanaspati]], as well as deified natural phenomena such as [[Dyaus Pita]] (the shining sky, Father Heaven), [[Prithivi]] (the earth, Mother Earth), [[Surya]] (the sun god), [[Vayu]] or Vata (the wind), [[Ap (water)|Apas]] (the waters), [[Parjanya]] (the thunder and rain), [[Vāc|Vac]] (the word), many [[Rigvedic rivers|rivers]] (notably the [[Sapta Sindhu]], and the [[Sarasvati River]]). The [[Adityas]], Vasus, Rudras, Sadhyas, [[Ashvins]], [[Maruts]], [[Rbhus]], and the [[Vishvadevas]] ("all-gods") as well as the "thirty-three gods" are the groups of deities mentioned.{{
* [[Mandala 1]] comprises 191 hymns. Hymn 1.1 is addressed to [[Agni]], and his name is the first word of the ''Rigveda''. The remaining hymns are mainly addressed to Agni and [[Indra]], as well as Varuna, Mitra, the Ashvins, the Maruts, Usas, Surya, Rbhus, Rudra, Vayu, Brhaspati, Visnu, Heaven and Earth, and all the Gods. This Mandala is dated to have been added to the ''Rigveda'' after Mandala 2 through 9, and includes the philosophical Riddle Hymn 1.164, which inspires chapters in later Upanishads such as the [[Mundaka Upanishad|Mundaka]].{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=4, 7{{ndash}}9}}<ref>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n395/mode/2up Mundaka Upanishad], Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pp. 374{{ndash}}375</ref><ref>F. Max Müller (1884), The Upanishads, Part 2, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/38/mode/2up Mundaka Upanishad], Oxford University Press, pp. 38{{ndash}}40</ref>
* [[Mandala 2]] comprises 43 hymns, mainly to [[Agni]] and [[Indra]]. It is chiefly attributed to the Rishi ''{{IAST|gṛtsamada śaunahotra}}''.{{
* [[Mandala 3]] comprises 62 hymns, mainly to [[Agni]] and [[Indra]] and the Vishvedevas. The verse 3.62.10 has great importance in [[Hinduism]] as the [[Gayatri Mantra]]. Most hymns in this book are attributed to ''{{IAST|viśvāmitra gāthinaḥ}}''.{{
* [[Mandala 4]] comprises 58 hymns, mainly to [[Agni]] and [[Indra]] as well as the Rbhus, Ashvins, Brhaspati, Vayu, Usas, etc. Most hymns in this book are attributed to ''{{IAST|vāmadeva gautama}}''.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
* [[Mandala 5]] comprises 87 hymns, mainly to [[Agni]] and [[Indra]], the [[Visvedevas]] ("all the gods'), the [[Maruts]], the twin-deity [[Mitra-Varuna]] and the [[Asvins]]. Two hymns each are dedicated to [[Ushas]] (the dawn) and to [[Savitr]]. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the ''{{IAST|atri}}'' clan.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
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===Rigveda Brahmanas===
{{See also|Brahmana}}
Of the Brahmanas that were handed down in the schools of the ''{{IAST|Bahvṛcas}}'' (i.e. "possessed of many verses"), as the followers of the ''Rigveda'' are called, two have come down to us, namely those of the Aitareyins and the Kaushitakins. The ''[[Aitareya-brahmana]]''<ref>Edited, with an English translation, by M. Haug (2 vols., Bombay, 1863). An edition in Roman transliteration, with extracts from the commentary, has been published by Th. Aufrecht (Bonn, 1879).</ref> and the [[
[[File:1500-1200 BCE, Devi sukta, Rigveda 10.125.1-2, Sanskrit, Devanagari, manuscript page 1735 CE (1792 VS).jpg|thumb|left|Devi sukta, which highlights the goddess tradition of Hinduism is found in ''Rigveda'' hymns 10.125. It is cited in ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'' and is recited every year during the [[Durga Puja]] festival.]]
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The text is a highly stylized poetical Vedic Sanskrit with praise addressed to the Vedic gods and chieftains. Most hymns, according to Witzel, were intended to be recited at the annual New Year Soma ritual.<ref name="Witzel69">{{harvnb|Witzel|2003|pp=[https://archive.org/details/blackwellcompani00floo/page/n83 69]{{ndash}}70}}.</ref> The text also includes some nonritual poetry,<ref name=Witzel69/> fragments of mythology, archaic formulas, and a number of hymns with early philosophical speculations.<ref name="Witzel71">{{harvnb|Witzel|2003|p=[https://archive.org/details/blackwellcompani00floo/page/n85 71]}}.</ref> Composed by the poets of different clans, including famed Vedic ''rishis'' (sages) such as [[Vishvamitra]] and [[Vasishtha]], these signify the power of prestige therewith to ''vac'' (speech, sound), a tradition set in place.<ref name=Witzel69/> The text introduced the prized concepts such as ''Rta'' (active realization of truth, cosmic harmony) which inspired the later Hindu concept of [[Dharma]]. The Rigvedic verses formulate this ''Rta'' as effected by ''[[Brahman]]'', a significant and non-self-evident truth.<ref name=Witzel69/> The text also contains hymns of "highly poetical value"{{snd}}some in dialogue form, along with love stories that likely inspired later Epic and classical poets of Hinduism, states Witzel.<ref name=Witzel71/>
According to Nadkarni, several hymns of the ''Rigveda'' embed cherished virtues and ethical statements. For example, verses 5.82.7, 6.44.8, 9.113.4, 10.133.6 and 10.190.1 mention truthful speech, truthful action, self-discipline and righteousness.<ref>{{
==== Monism debate ====
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* '''Translation 2''': {{cite book|author=Kenneth Kramer|title=World Scriptures: An Introduction to Comparative Religions|url=https://archive.org/details/worldscripturesi0000kram|url-access=registration|date=1986|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-2781-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldscripturesi0000kram/page/21 21] |ref=none}}
* '''Translation 3''': {{cite book|author=David Christian|title=Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History|url=https://archive.org/details/mapstimeintroduc00chri_515|url-access=limited|date=2011|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-95067-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mapstimeintroduc00chri_515/page/n45 17]{{ndash}}18 |ref=none}}
* '''Translation 4''': {{cite book |author=Robert N. Bellah |title=Religion in Human Evolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTDKxrLRzp8C |year=2011 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-06309-9 |pages=510{{ndash}}511 |ref=none}}</ref> This hymn is one of the roots of [[Hindu philosophy]].<ref>GJ Larson, RS Bhattacharya and K Potter (2014), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 4, [[Princeton University Press]], {{ISBN|978-0-691-60441-1}}, pp. 5{{ndash}}6, 109{{ndash}}110, 180</ref>}}
A widely cited example of such speculations is hymn 1.164.46:
{{
<poem>
They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman.
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|Rigveda 1.164.46|Translated by Ralph Griffith<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 April 2012 |title=The Rig Veda/Mandala 1/Hymn 164 – Wikisource, the free online library |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_1/Hymn_164 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506235352/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_1/Hymn_164 |archive-date=6 May 2019 |access-date=10 March 2017 |website=En.wikisource.org}}</ref><ref name=phillipshenoth/>}}
[[Max Müller]] notably introduced the term "[[henotheism]]" for the philosophy expressed here, avoiding the connotations of "monotheism"
Other widely cited examples of [[monism|monistic]] tendencies include hymns 1.164, 8.36 and 10.31,<ref>Thomas Paul Urumpackal (1972), Organized Religion According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Georgian University Press, {{ISBN|978-88-7652-155-3}}, pp. 229{{ndash}}232 with footnote 133</ref><ref>Franklin Edgerton (1996), The Bhagavad Gita, Cambridge University Press, Reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1149-2}}, pp. 11{{ndash}}12</ref> Other scholars state that the ''Rigveda'' includes an emerging diversity of thought, including monotheism, polytheism, henotheism and pantheism, the choice left to the preference of the worshipper.<ref>Elizabeth Reed (2001), Hindu Literature: Or the Ancient Books of India, Simon Publishers, {{ISBN|978-1-931541-03-9}}, pp. 16{{ndash}}19</ref> and the [[Nasadiya Sukta]] (10.129), one of the most widely cited Rigvedic hymns in popular western presentations.
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Examples from [[Mandala 1]] adduced to illustrate the "metaphysical" nature of the contents of the younger hymns include:
1.164.34:
1.164.34: "Who gave blood, soul, spirit to the earth?", "How could the unstructured universe give origin to this structured world?";
1.164.5:
1.164.6:
[[s:The Rig Veda/Mandala 1/Hymn 164|1.164]].20 (a hymn that is widely cited in the Upanishads as the parable of the Body and the Soul): "Two birds with fair wings, inseparable companions; Have found refuge in the same sheltering tree. One incessantly eats from the fig tree; the other, not eating, just looks on.".<ref name=metaphysics/>
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===Shruti===
The Vedas as a whole are classed as "[[shruti]]" in Hindu tradition. This has been compared to the concept of [[divine revelation]] in Western religious tradition, but Staal argues that
The authors of the [[Brahmanas|{{IAST|Brāhmana}}]] literature discussed and interpreted the Vedic ritual.
===Sanskrit grammarians===
{{
[[Yaska]] (4th c. BCE), a [[Lexicography|lexicographer]], was an early commentator of the ''Rigveda'' by discussing the meanings of difficult words. In his book titled ''[[Nirukta]]'' Yaska asserts that the ''Rigveda'' in the ancient tradition can be interpreted in three ways – from the perspective of religious rites (''adhiyajna''), from the perspective of the deities (''adhidevata''), and from the perspective of the soul (''adhyatman'').{{
▲[[Yaska]] (4th c. BCE), a [[Lexicography|lexicographer]], was an early commentator of the ''Rigveda'' by discussing the meanings of difficult words. In his book titled ''[[Nirukta]]'' Yaska asserts that the ''Rigveda'' in the ancient tradition can be interpreted in three ways – from the perspective of religious rites (''adhiyajna''), from the perspective of the deities (''adhidevata''), and from the perspective of the soul (''adhyatman'').{{Sfn|Harold G. Coward|1990|p=106}} The fourth way to interpret the ''Rigveda'' also emerged in the ancient times, wherein the gods mentioned were viewed as symbolism for legendary individuals or narratives.{{Sfn|Harold G. Coward|1990|p=106}} It was generally accepted that creative poets often embed and express double meanings, ellipses and novel ideas to inspire the reader.{{Sfn|Harold G. Coward|1990|p=106}}
===Medieval Hindu scholarship===
By the period of [[Puranic Hinduism]], in the medieval period, the language of the hymns had become "almost entirely unintelligible", and their interpretation mostly hinged on [[mysticism|mystical]] ideas and [[sound symbolism]].<ref>Frederick M.
According to the Puranic tradition, Ved Vyasa compiled all the four Vedas, along with the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Vyasa then taught the ''Rigveda'' samhita to Paila, who started the oral tradition.<ref name=dalalpt16/> An alternate version states that Shakala compiled the ''Rigveda'' from the teachings of Vedic rishis, and one of the manuscript recensions mentions Shakala.<ref name="dalalpt16">{{
[[Madhvacharya]], a Hindu philosopher of the 13th century, provided a commentary of the first 40 hymns of the ''Rigveda'' in his book ''Rig Bhashyam''.{{refn|group=note|See [http://www.tatvavada.org/eng/works/pdf/rgb.pdf Rig Bhashyam].}} In the 14th century, [[Sayana|{{IAST|Sāyana}}]] wrote an exhaustive commentary on the complete text of the ''Rigveda'' in his book ''Rigveda Samhita''.{{refn|group=note|See [https://archive.org/details/RgVedaWithSayanasCommentaryPart1 Rigveda Samhita].}} This book was translated from Sanskrit to English by [[Max Müller]] in the year 1856. [[H.H. Wilson]] also translated this book into English as ''Rigveda Sanhita'' in the year 1856. Sayanacharya studied at the [[Sringeri Sharada Peetham|Sringeri]] monastery.
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|1285
|Sanskrit
|Commentary on the first 40 hymns of the ''Rigveda''. The original book has been translated
|-
|Rigveda Samhita
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|1360
|Sanskrit
|Sāyaṇācārya, a Sanskrit scholar, wrote a treatise on the Vedas in the book ''Vedartha Prakasha'' (
|}
===Arya Samaj and Aurobindo movements===
In the 19th
According to Dayananda and Aurobindo the Vedic scholars had a monotheistic conception.<ref name=vpvarma/> [[Sri Aurobindo]] gave commentaries, general interpretation guidelines, and a partial translation in ''The secret of Veda'' (1946).{{refn|group=note|See [https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Secret-Of-The-Veda-Aurobindo.pdf]''}} Sri Aurobindo finds Sayana's interpretation to be ritualistic in nature, and too often having inconsistent interpretations of Vedic terms, trying to fit the meaning to a narrow mold.
===Contemporary Hinduism===
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====Hindu nationalism====
{{
The Rig Veda plays a role in the modern construction of a Hindu identity, portraying Hindus as the original inhabitants of India. The ''Rigveda'' has been referred to in the "[[Indigenous Aryans]]" and [[Out of India theory]]. Dating the Rig Veda as contemporaneous
==Translations==
The ''Rigveda'' is considered particularly difficult to translate, owing to its length, poetic nature, the language itself, and the absence of any close contemporary texts for comparison.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=3, 76}}<ref>{{
The first published translation of any portion of the ''Rigveda'' in any European language was into Latin, by [[Friedrich August Rosen]], working from manuscripts brought back from India by [[Henry Thomas Colebrooke|Colebrooke]]. In 1849, [[Max Müller]] published his six-volume translation into German, the first printed edition and most studied.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=19{{ndash}}20}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 March 2006 |title=Rig – Veda – Sanhita – Vol.1 |url=http://dspace.wbpublibnet.gov.in:8080/xmlui/handle/10689/6323?show=full |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210211527/http://dspace.wbpublibnet.gov.in:8080/xmlui/handle/10689/6323?show=full |archive-date=10 February 2017 |access-date=10 March 2017 |website=Dspace.wbpublibnet.gov.in:8080}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The birch bark text from which Müller produced his translation is held at the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]] in Pune, India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection Items – Rig-veda-Sanhita |url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/rig-veda-sanhita |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910163631/https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/rig-veda-sanhita |archive-date=10 September 2021 |access-date=10 September 2021 |website=[[British Library]]}}</ref>}} [[H. H. Wilson]] was the first to make a translation of the Rig Veda into English, published from 1850{{ndash}}88.<ref>Wilson, H. H. ''{{IAST|Ṛig-Veda-Sanhitā}}: A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns''. 6 vols. (London, 1850{{ndash}}88); reprint: Cosmo Publications (1977)</ref> Wilson's version was based on a commentary of the complete text by [[Sayana|{{IAST|Sāyaṇa}}]], a 14th-century Sanskrit scholar, which he also translated.{{refn|group=note|See [https://archive.org/details/RgVedaWithSayanasCommentaryPart1 Rigveda Samhita].}}
Translations have since been made in several languages, including French and Russian.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=19{{ndash}}20}} [[Karl Friedrich Geldner]] completed the first scholarly translation into German in the 1920s, which was published after his death.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=19{{ndash}}20}} Translations of shorter cherrypicked anthologies have also been published, such as those by [[Wendy Doniger]] in 1981 and Walter Maurer in 1986, although Jamison and Brereton say they "tend to create a distorted view" of the text.{{sfn|Stephanie W. Jamison (tr.)|Joel P. Brereton (tr.)|2014|pp=19{{ndash}}20}} In 1994, Barend A. van Nooten and Gary B. Holland published the first attempt to restore the entirety of the ''Rigveda'' to its poetic form, systematically identifying and correcting sound changes and [[sandhi]] combinations which had distorted the original [[Metre (poetry)|metre]] and meaning.<ref>B. van Nooten and G. Holland, Rig Veda. A metrically restored text. Cambridge: Harvard Oriental Series 1994</ref><ref>Karen Thomson and Jonathan Slocum (2006). Online edition of van Nooten and Holland's metrically restored text, University of Texas. https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/books/rigveda/RV00 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704153945/https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/books/rigveda/RV00 |date=4 July 2022 }}</ref>
Some notable translations of the Rig Veda include:
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==See also==
* [[Atri's Eclipse]]
* {{annotated link|Keśin}}
* {{annotated link|Mayabheda}}
==Notes==
{{
<!-- D -->
<!-- "dating" -->
{{refn|group=note|name="dating"|It is certain that the hymns of the Rig Veda post-date [[Proto-Indo-Iranian|Indo-Iranian]] separation of {{
* [[Max Müller]]: "the hymns of the Rig-Veda are said to date from 1500 B.C."<ref>{{
* The [[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|EIEC]] (s.v. [[Indo-Iranian languages]], p. 306) gives 1500{{ndash}}1000 BCE.
* Flood and Witzel both mention {{circa}} 1500{{ndash}}1200 BCE.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=37}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=4}}
* Anthony mentions {{circa}} 1500{{ndash}}1300 BCE.{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=454}}
* Thomas Oberlies (''Die Religion des Rgveda'', 1998, p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets a wide range of 1700{{ndash}}1100 BCE.{{sfn|Oberlies|1998|p=158}} {{harvnb|Oberlies|1998|p=155}} gives an estimate of 1100 BCE for the youngest hymns in book 10.{{sfn|Oberlies|1998|p=155}}
* {{harvnb|Witzel|1995|p=4}} mentions {{circa}} 1500{{ndash}}1200 BCE. According to {{harvnb|Witzel|1997|p=263}}, the whole Rig Vedic period may have lasted from c. 1900 BCE to c. 1200 BCE: "the bulk of the RV represents only 5 or 6 generations of kings (and of the contemporary poets) of the Pūru and Bharata tribes. It contains little else before and after this
}}
==References==
{{
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
'''Editions'''
* {{
** {{
** {{
* editio princeps: [[Friedrich Max Müller]], ''The Hymns of the Rigveda, with [[Sayana]]'s commentary'', London, 1849{{ndash}}75, 6 vols., 2nd ed. 4 vols., Oxford, 1890{{ndash}}92.
* [[Theodor Aufrecht]], 2nd ed., Bonn, 1877.
* {{
* B. van Nooten und G. Holland, ''Rig Veda, a metrically restored text'', Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, 1994.
* Rgveda-Samhita, Text in Devanagari, English translation Notes and indices by H. H. Wilson, Ed. W. F. Webster, originally in 1888, Published Nag Publishers 1990, 11A/U.A. Jawaharnagar, Delhi-7.
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** ed. Sontakke et al., published by Vaidika Samsodhana Mandala, Pune (2nd ed. 1972) in 5 volumes.
* Rgveda-Samhitā Srimat-sāyanāchārya virachita-{{IAST|bhāṣya}}-sametā, ed. by Sontakke et al., published by Vaidika Samśodhana Mandala, Pune-9, 1972, in 5 volumes (It is original commentary of Sāyana in Sanskrit based on over 60 manuscripts).
* {{
* [[Sri Aurobindo]], ''Hymns to the Mystic Fire'' (Commentary on the Rig Veda), Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin {{ISBN|0-914955-22-5}} [http://www.mountainman.com.au/rghmf_00.html Rig Veda – Hymns to the Mystic Fire – Sri Aurobindo – INDEX] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406165021/http://www.mountainman.com.au/rghmf_00.html |date=6 April 2016
* Raimundo Pannikar (1972), ''The Vedic Experience'', University of California Press
'''Philology'''
* {{
* Vashishtha Narayan Jha, ''A Linguistic Analysis of the Rgveda-Padapatha'' Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi (1992).
* Bjorn Merker, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024500/http://www.positiveatheism.org/india/s1990c12.htm Rig Veda Riddles In Nomad Perspective], Mongolian Studies, Journal of the Mongolian Society XI, 1988.
* {{
* {{
* —''Die Religion des Veda''. Berlin 1894; Stuttgart 1917; Stuttgart 1927; Darmstadt 1977
* —''Vedic Hymns'', The [[Sacred Books of the East]] Vol l. 46 ed. [[Friedrich Max Müller]], Oxford 1897
* Adolf Kaegi, ''The Rigveda: The Oldest Literature of the Indians'' (trans. R. Arrowsmith), Boston, Ginn and Co. (1886), 2004 reprint: {{ISBN|978-1-4179-8205-9}}.
* {{
'''Historical'''
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* Lal, B.B. 2005. ''The Homeland of the Aryans. Evidence of Rigvedic Flora and Fauna & Archaeology'', New Delhi, Aryan Books International.
* [[Shrikant G. Talageri|Talageri, Shrikant]]: ''[[The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis]]'', 2000. {{ISBN|81-7742-010-0}}
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
* {{
{{refend}}
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* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rvsan/index.htm Devanagari and transliteration] experimental online text at: sacred-texts.com
* [http://www.detlef108.de/Rigveda.htm ITRANS, Devanagari, transliteration] online text and PDF, several versions prepared by Detlef Eichler
* [http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/RV/index.html Transliteration, metrically restored] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124610/http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/RV/index.html |date=4 March 2016
* ''[http://www.wilbourhall.org/index.html#veda The Hymns of the Rigveda]'', Editio Princeps by [[Friedrich Max Müller]] (large PDF files of book scans). Two editions: London, 1877 (Samhita and Pada texts) and Oxford, 1890{{ndash}}92, with Sayana's commentary.
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Rigveda}}
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[[Category:Hindu texts]]
[[Category:Memory of the World Register]]
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