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- DictionaryRig Ve·da/riɡ ˈvādə/
- 1. the oldest and principal of the Vedas, a collection of 1028 hymns composed in the 2nd millennium bc in early Sanskrit.
Ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns
- The Rigveda or Rig Veda (Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद, IAST: ṛgveda, from ऋच्, "praise" and वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (śruti) known as the Vedas.
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The Rigveda or Rig Veda (Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद, IAST: ṛgveda, from ऋच्, "praise" and वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ( śruti ) known as the Vedas .
May 20, 2024 · Rigveda, the oldest of the sacred books of Hinduism, composed in an ancient form of Sanskrit about 1500 bce, in what is now the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. It consists of a collection of 1,028 poems grouped into 10 “circles” ( mandala s).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Overview
- The Yajurveda and Samaveda
- The Atharvaveda
The religion reflected in the Rigveda exhibits belief in several deities and the propitiation of divinities associated with the sky and the atmosphere. Of these, the Indo-European sky god Dyaus was little regarded. More important were such gods as Indra (chief of the gods), Varuna (guardian of the cosmic order), Agni (the sacrificial fire), and Surya (the Sun).
The main ritual activity referred to in the Rigveda is the soma sacrifice. Soma was a hallucinogenic beverage prepared from a now-unknown plant; it has been suggested that the plant was a mushroom and that later another plant was substituted for that agaric fungus, which had become difficult to obtain. The Rigveda contains a few clear references to animal sacrifice, which probably became more widespread later. There is some doubt whether the priests formed a separate social class at the beginning of the Rigvedic period, but, even if they did, the prevailingly loose boundaries of class allowed a man of nonpriestly parentage to become a priest. By the end of the period, however, the priests had come to form a separate class of specialists, the Brahmans, who claimed superiority over all the other social classes, including the Rajanyas (later Kshatriyas), the warrior class.
The Rigveda contains little about birth rituals but does address at greater length the rites of marriage and disposal of the dead, which were basically the same as in later Hinduism. Marriage was an indissoluble bond cemented by a lengthy and solemn ritual centring on the domestic hearth. Although other forms were practiced, the main funeral rite of the rich was cremation. One hymn, describing cremation rites, shows that the wife of the dead man lay down beside him on the funeral pyre but was called upon to return to the land of the living before it was lighted. This may have been a survival from an earlier period when the wife was actually cremated with her husband.
Among other features of Rigvedic religious life that were important for later generations were the munis, who apparently were trained in various magic arts and believed to be capable of supernatural feats, such as levitation. They were particularly associated with the god Rudra, a deity connected with mountains and storms and more feared than loved. Rudra developed into the Hindu god Shiva, and his prestige increased steadily. The same is true of Vishnu, a solar deity in the Rigveda who later became one of the most important and popular divinities of Hinduism.
The Yajurveda and Samaveda are completely subordinate to the liturgy. The Yajurveda contains the lines, usually in brief prose, with which the executive priest (adhvaryu) accompanies his ritual activities, addressing the implements he handles and the offering he pours and admonishing other priests to do their invocations. The Samaveda is a collecti...
The Atharvaveda stands apart from other Vedic texts. It contains both hymns and prose passages and is divided into 20 books. Books 1–7 contain magical prayers for precise purposes: spells for a long life, cures, curses, love charms, prayers for prosperity, charms for kingship and Brahmanhood, and expiations for evil actions. They reflect the magica...
The “Rig Veda” stands out to be one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism that are collectively known as the Vedas. In fact, the “Rigveda” is the oldest of the four Vedas that includes “Yajur Vedas,” “Sama Veda,” and “Atharva Veda.”
What is the Rig Veda? The Rig Veda is an ancient Indian text that belongs to the Vedic period, dating back to approximately 1500-1200 BCE. It is a collection of sacred hymns composed in Vedic Sanskrit, a language that was prevalent during that era.
Jun 9, 2020 · Rig Veda: The Rig Veda is the oldest of the works comprised of 10 books (known as mandalas) of 1,028 hymns of 10,600 verses. These verses concern themselves with proper religious observance and practice, based on the universal vibrations as understood by the sages who first heard them, but also address fundamental questions regarding existence.
Apr 26, 2024 · The Rigveda represents the earliest sacred book of India. It is oldest and biggest amongst all the four Vedas. All the features of Classical Sanskrit poetry can be traced to the Rigveda. In it we find the seeds of India’s religious and philosophical development.
