Rigveda

Also known as Rig veda, Rigvedic, Rg Veda, ṛg Veda, Ṛg Veda

The Rigveda or Rig Veda (, , 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. Only one Shakha of the many survive today, namely the Śakalya Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum.

AI overview

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian collection of hymns written in Vedic Sanskrit, and it is one of the four most sacred texts in Hinduism. It is historically significant because it is one of the oldest known religious texts, though only one complete version survives today and much of its original content has been lost over time.

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Key facts

Religious text.religion: Historical Vedic religionHinduism
Religious text.image: Rigveda MS2097.jpg
Religious text.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 – "I praise Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice"). The pitch-accent is marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.
Religious text.image_size: 280px
Religious text.language: Vedic Sanskrit
Religious text.period: c. 15001000 BCE (Vedic period)
Religious text.chapters: 10 mandalas
Religious text.verses: 10,552 mantras
Religious text.background: FFC569

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: literary work
Part of: Vedas
Author: various authors
Genre: religious literature
Image: Rigveda MS2097.jpg

Show 14 more facts

has characteristic: revelation
location of creation: Rigvedic rivers
copyright status: public domain
title: ऋग्वेद
topic's main category: Category:Rigveda
Commons category: Rig Veda
described by source: The Nuttall Encyclopædia
language of work or name: Vedic Sanskrit
inception: 1500-00-00
topic has template: Template:Rigveda
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
entry in abbreviations table: RV.
form of creative work: poetry collection
different from: Rígsþula

Sources (2)

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Encyclopedic overview

34 sections

Contents

Dating and historical context
Dating
Historical and societal context
Text
Composition
Collection and organisation
Organisation
Mandalas
Hymns and prosody
Transmission
Recensions
Manuscripts
Versions
Scripts
Comparison
Contents
Hymns
Rigveda Brahmanas
Rigveda Aranyakas and Upanishads
Significance
Monism debate
Reception in Hinduism
Shruti
Sanskrit grammarians
Medieval Hindu scholarship
Arya Samaj and Aurobindo movements
Contemporary Hinduism
Hindu nationalism
Translations
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

The Rigveda is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. Its early layers are among the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. Most scholars believe that the sounds and texts of the Rigveda have been orally transmitted with precision since the 2nd millennium BCE, through methods of memorisation of exceptional complexity, rigour and fidelity, though the dates are not confirmed and remain contentious until concrete evidence surfaces. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the Rigveda Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of 19001200 BCE has also been given.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rigveda” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.