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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Well look, you can't really call this the Rig Veda, if it only contains 1/10th of the Rig Veda.
Not really a "rateable" kind of book, so the stars are for the fluidity of the translation (I can't speak for the accuracy) and the notes. This book forms one part of a body of scripture, so it doesn't stand alone -- a little background research into Vedic mythology is helpful, if not required.
Not as incomprehensible as The Book of the Dead, but still a difficult read. In this case, the obscurity is deliberate as a single line of a hymn can be interpreted in 3 or 4 or even 5 different ways. Thankfully the editor prefaces most hymns with an explanation which generally gave me the gist of the meaning. Other confusing patterns include different hymns praising different gods for the same acts (such as separating the heaven and earth), Gods known by different names, switching back and forth between cause and effect, etc.
All of the hymns are seeking material gain of some sort in the current life – there is no mention of the Afterlife or spiritual redemption and everlasting life. It is all about immediate gain – very materialistic for our modern idea of a sacred text. And since the caste system is already in place in Indian civilization at the time of the hymns’ writing, they are no doubt written and to be sung by the higher educated classes.
Some of the mythological hymns reflect similar tales from European stories. One I noticed that the editor didn’t comment on was the God Indra killing the dragon Vrtra and its mother Danu – shades of Beowulf!
This was book #4 in my journey to read all the classics of world literature. You can join me at my blog : www.chronolit.com
All of the hymns are seeking material gain of some sort in the current life – there is no mention of the Afterlife or spiritual redemption and everlasting life. It is all about immediate gain – very materialistic for our modern idea of a sacred text. And since the caste system is already in place in Indian civilization at the time of the hymns’ writing, they are no doubt written and to be sung by the higher educated classes.
Some of the mythological hymns reflect similar tales from European stories. One I noticed that the editor didn’t comment on was the God Indra killing the dragon Vrtra and its mother Danu – shades of Beowulf!
This was book #4 in my journey to read all the classics of world literature. You can join me at my blog : www.chronolit.com
A very beautiful book about stories of the Hinduism religion. However, it is very complicated to understand due to the type of stories and the religion it deals with.
Certainly an insight into the early Vedic civilization and the many connections the Indo-Europeans share. I particularly enjoyed reading about Purusha which is the Ýmir of the Rig Veda, and the frequent mentions of asuras... which sound very similar to the Norse æsir. All in all a good book, though I'd like a more side-by-side version with translation and the Sanskrit words, and a broader selection of hymns.
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I read the pictured Penguin Classics version which was written by an academic Western. So the commentary was from that perspective, and I'm not sure how additive that is for my purposes.
I was stopped many times while reading this book. Which is odd. One person in Chick-fil-A asked how far into the series I was, and I asked what series he meant (The Vedas?), and he goes One Piece!
The old gods really had more fun.
I was stopped many times while reading this book. Which is odd. One person in Chick-fil-A asked how far into the series I was, and I asked what series he meant (The Vedas?), and he goes One Piece!
The old gods really had more fun.
informative
slow-paced
1/10
Incoherent translation arranged in the most unreadable order. The hymns themselves are clearly intended for ritual and performative purposes which due to their antiquity have long since been forgotten. After nearly 4 years of trying to read this mess, I give up.
Incoherent translation arranged in the most unreadable order. The hymns themselves are clearly intended for ritual and performative purposes which due to their antiquity have long since been forgotten. After nearly 4 years of trying to read this mess, I give up.
I did it! I finished the Rig Veda! Well, okay, no I didn't. This is no where near the entire Rig Veda. But I finished THIS selection of verses from the Rig Veda!
Reading this was pretty difficult. Much of the true meaning remains obscure, especially to someone like me who is NOT a scholar or a religious guru. But even for the educated, much of it is esoteric. However, what I did manage to grasp was really rewarding. I obviously have no idea how this translations compares to the actual Sanskrit, but I feel like the Doniger did a great job. Her introductions to each passage and her foot notes were instrumental to my understanding. And I take back what I said. I definitely feel like reading her translation of Hindu mythology was useful in reading this book. By the end of the second book I was starting to recognize and understand some tropes and themes and symbols, which was pretty exciting for me.
There is little I can say about the actual Rig Veda, as I'm not sure I even fully understand just what it is yet. It is not really a sacred book the way that we tend to think of it. Or at least, it was not originally. It is an oral tradition handed down from father to son for many generations before being recorded into a "book." But it does give a really interesting look into the lives of an ancient people group. I think it was most interesting to me when their concerns weren't so different from our own. For example, I'm not sure if it was the translation or not, but I felt that the poems about death were among the most poignant and comprehensible. Perhaps because, as part of the universal human experience, our feelings about death aren't so different than they were thousands of years ago.
Another interesting idea that was put forth by the translator is that the materialism of the Vedic religion doesn't suggest a shallow belief system, so much as it shows an integration of the divine with the worldly, human experience.
I was really interested in some of the rhetorical questions asked by the poet/sages, particularly in the creation myths. For example:
"Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation?
The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then whence it first came into being?
He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it,
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not. "
Of course, these are only little things that I am picking out, and don't even begin to encompass the verses that I read. And THOSE, at only about a tenth of the verses in the Rig Veda, don't begin to scratch the surface of these writings. (Not to mention the other Vedas!) Perhaps at some point I will try to read deeper, but I'm pretty sure that the Vedas could be a lifetime reading plan in themselves! And even then, I think I would only begin to understand them.
Reading this was pretty difficult. Much of the true meaning remains obscure, especially to someone like me who is NOT a scholar or a religious guru. But even for the educated, much of it is esoteric. However, what I did manage to grasp was really rewarding. I obviously have no idea how this translations compares to the actual Sanskrit, but I feel like the Doniger did a great job. Her introductions to each passage and her foot notes were instrumental to my understanding. And I take back what I said. I definitely feel like reading her translation of Hindu mythology was useful in reading this book. By the end of the second book I was starting to recognize and understand some tropes and themes and symbols, which was pretty exciting for me.
There is little I can say about the actual Rig Veda, as I'm not sure I even fully understand just what it is yet. It is not really a sacred book the way that we tend to think of it. Or at least, it was not originally. It is an oral tradition handed down from father to son for many generations before being recorded into a "book." But it does give a really interesting look into the lives of an ancient people group. I think it was most interesting to me when their concerns weren't so different from our own. For example, I'm not sure if it was the translation or not, but I felt that the poems about death were among the most poignant and comprehensible. Perhaps because, as part of the universal human experience, our feelings about death aren't so different than they were thousands of years ago.
Another interesting idea that was put forth by the translator is that the materialism of the Vedic religion doesn't suggest a shallow belief system, so much as it shows an integration of the divine with the worldly, human experience.
I was really interested in some of the rhetorical questions asked by the poet/sages, particularly in the creation myths. For example:
"Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation?
The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then whence it first came into being?
He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it,
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not. "
Of course, these are only little things that I am picking out, and don't even begin to encompass the verses that I read. And THOSE, at only about a tenth of the verses in the Rig Veda, don't begin to scratch the surface of these writings. (Not to mention the other Vedas!) Perhaps at some point I will try to read deeper, but I'm pretty sure that the Vedas could be a lifetime reading plan in themselves! And even then, I think I would only begin to understand them.
RigVeda Written by "Bibek Debroy" is a compact manual before plunging into the timeless universe of ancient Rigveda. The author has given his best effort to interpret a few of the Hymns of Rigveda in English.
Rigveda Samhita is an Eternal storehouse with a never-ending supply of knowledge for humankind through Hymns. It gives a glimpse of Vedic society and the progression of the idea of god and creation. It is surprising to see our ancestors worshiped every element in nature as gods and goddesses instead of only humans. Every shloka contains devotion, prayer, appreciation, wishes, and merits for gods and goddesses. Currently, we do worship shiva and Vishnu as chief gods, but in Vedic times Indra and Agni were chief deities.
A Short Review of RigVeda might help you embark journey based on my understanding
Veda is light of Santana dharma containing teachings of Brahaman for the seekers of universal truth.
Veda divided into 4 parts(Usually it is 3, Atharva Veda is the new edition)
Rig Veda
Yajur Veda
Sama Veda
Atharva Veda
During Rig Veda times, offerings are done through Hymns so it is called Rigveda Samhita. The rig is derived from the word "rik" ( Mantra).
Rigveda is classified into 10 mandalas and they consist of 10,859 verses in total.
Mandala one
181 lessons and 2006 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Vayu, Soma juice, Ribu, Tvahsta, Ashwini, Vishwadevas
Mandala two
43 lessons and 429 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Rudra, Maruths
Mandala Three
62 lessons and 617 Mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Yupa, Usha
Mandala Four
58 lessons and 589 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Shyena(Falcon), Dadhikra, Ghrita
Mandala Five
87 lessons and 727 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Apria, Mitra, Varuna, Savita, Parajaya, Prithvi
Mandala Six
75 lesson and 765 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, cow, Saraswathi, Dhyava Prithvi
Mandala Seven
104 lessons and 841 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, water, vastopathi, Vishnu, frog song
Mandala Eight
103 lessons and 1716 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Adity and Aditi
Mandala Nine
114 lessons and 1108 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, soma
Mandala Ten( Most important mandala)
181 lessons and 1754 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Yama-Yami, Manasa, River, Vishwakarma, Purusha, Herbs, HiranyaGharba, Urvasi, and Pururava
Thank you!
Rigveda Samhita is an Eternal storehouse with a never-ending supply of knowledge for humankind through Hymns. It gives a glimpse of Vedic society and the progression of the idea of god and creation. It is surprising to see our ancestors worshiped every element in nature as gods and goddesses instead of only humans. Every shloka contains devotion, prayer, appreciation, wishes, and merits for gods and goddesses. Currently, we do worship shiva and Vishnu as chief gods, but in Vedic times Indra and Agni were chief deities.
A Short Review of RigVeda might help you embark journey based on my understanding
Veda is light of Santana dharma containing teachings of Brahaman for the seekers of universal truth.
Veda divided into 4 parts(Usually it is 3, Atharva Veda is the new edition)
Rig Veda
Yajur Veda
Sama Veda
Atharva Veda
During Rig Veda times, offerings are done through Hymns so it is called Rigveda Samhita. The rig is derived from the word "rik" ( Mantra).
Rigveda is classified into 10 mandalas and they consist of 10,859 verses in total.
Mandala one
181 lessons and 2006 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Vayu, Soma juice, Ribu, Tvahsta, Ashwini, Vishwadevas
Mandala two
43 lessons and 429 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Rudra, Maruths
Mandala Three
62 lessons and 617 Mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Yupa, Usha
Mandala Four
58 lessons and 589 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Shyena(Falcon), Dadhikra, Ghrita
Mandala Five
87 lessons and 727 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Apria, Mitra, Varuna, Savita, Parajaya, Prithvi
Mandala Six
75 lesson and 765 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, cow, Saraswathi, Dhyava Prithvi
Mandala Seven
104 lessons and 841 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, water, vastopathi, Vishnu, frog song
Mandala Eight
103 lessons and 1716 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Adity and Aditi
Mandala Nine
114 lessons and 1108 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, soma
Mandala Ten( Most important mandala)
181 lessons and 1754 mantras
Addressed to - Indra, Agni, Yama-Yami, Manasa, River, Vishwakarma, Purusha, Herbs, HiranyaGharba, Urvasi, and Pururava
Thank you!