Rigveda
Also known as: Ṛgveda, Rig Veda, Rgveda, Rigveda Samhita, Ṛgveda Saṁhitā
The Rigveda is the oldest Vedic Sanskrit collection of hymns, praising deities and cosmic principles across ten books. It preserves myth, ritual, and speculation on creation, order, and kingship within an oral-liturgical corpus.
Description
The Rigveda comprises 1,028 hymns organized into ten mandalas that range from archaic family books to later speculative compositions. Addressed chiefly to Agni, Indra, Soma, and other deities, the hymns accompany sacrifice while articulating ideals of ṛta (cosmic order), generosity, and heroic valor. Dialogues, laments, riddles, and cosmogonies coexist: the Nasadiya asks whether creation is knowable; the Purusha hymn imagines society from a cosmic sacrifice; martial songs celebrate Indra’s slaying of Vṛtra and release of the waters. Compiled from multiple poet-seer lineages, the collection anchors later Brahmanical ritual, philosophy, and mythic repertoires.
Historiography
The Rigveda survives primarily in the Śākalya śākhā with a padapāṭha attributed to Śākalya; other recensions are largely lost. Oral transmission with strict phonetic rules sustained the text until relatively late manuscript attestations. Medieval exegesis, notably Sāyaṇa’s 14th-century commentary, shaped traditional understanding. Modern philology (e.g., Oldenberg; Jamison–Brereton) situates strata within family books and later philosophical hymns, informing debates on chronology, geography, and Indo-Iranian parallels.
Date Notes
Composed over several centuries in Vedic Sanskrit; principal Śākalya recension standardized early 1st millennium BCE; preserved orally; extant manuscripts medieval or later.
Archetypes
Symbols
Major Characters
- Indra
- Agni
- Soma
- Varuna
- Mitra
- Ushas
- Surya
- Rudra
- Maruts
- Vishnu
Myths
- Creation Hymn (Nasadiya Sukta)
- Indra Slays Vritra
- Purusha Sukta—The Cosmic Man
- The Marriage of Surya
- Soma and the Gods
- The Asvins’ Miracles
Facts
- Oldest extensive Indo-Aryan text and core of Vedic ritual literature.
- Organized into ten mandalas; Books 2–7 are family books linked to specific seer lineages.
- Contains approximately 1,028 hymns and around 10,600 metrical verses.
- Primary recipients of hymns are Agni, Indra, and Soma, with many to Ushas, Varuna, Mitra, and the Maruts.
- Preserves early concepts of ṛta (cosmic order) and dāna (gift/munificence) central to social-ritual ethics.
- Dialogic hymns include notable pieces like the Gambler’s Lament and Yama–Yami.
- Śākalya recension dominates the surviving tradition; other śākhās are mostly lost.
- Padapāṭha analysis and accent marks encode oral performance and sandhi resolution.
- Sāyaṇa’s medieval commentary remains a key expository source in traditional hermeneutics.
- Later Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads interpret and ritualize Rigvedic material.
- Indo-Iranian parallels visible in deities (Mitra, Varuna) and formulaic diction.
- Modern critical translations analyze stratification between archaic and later speculative hymns.