The Rig-Veda ("Veda of verses"; from ric, or before sonants rig, "laudatory stanza") is the oldest and most important of these collections, gathering the work of generations of poets, extending over many centuries. In its present form as per the Shakala recension, it is arranged in ten mandalas (cycles) or books, which vary in extent, only the first and tenth being approximately equal. These ten books comprise 1028 hymns, including eleven supplementary ones (the Valakhilya) in the eighth book. Books II to VII inclusive are known as the "family books", the contents of each being attributed to a single eponymous poet, or rishi (seer), and his descendants: respectively Grtsamada (II), Vishvamitra (III), Vamadeva (IV), Atri (V), Bharadvaja (VI) and Vasishtha (VII). Similar collections (upamandalas) for other families of rishis (notably, Kanva) are found in Books I and VIII, which are considered somewhat younger than the older core of the family books. Book IX consists exclusively of hymns addressed to Soma Pavamana, the juice of the deified Soma plant, which was used for the Soma sacrifice. Book X is a heterogenous assembly of old and distinctly younger material. Apart from internal textual evidence allowing rough relative dating, the actual date of these ancient scriptures is a difficult topic. Philological and linguistic considerations suggest an age of well over 3000 years for the most recent strata, with the oldest strata going back to the early second millenium BCE. Variant opinions propose alternative dates based on contextual references to geography, climate, astronomical observations, etc. For example, descriptions of an extremely cold climate leads some to believe that the Vedas are close to 20,000 years old, but there are some modern scholars who think that the number is exaggerated and should be about 5000. No matter what the age, it is the belief by many these texts were and are the oldest in the world. They express philosophies, realities and truths about life.
Hymns to the same deity are usually grouped together. Thus, approximately 500 hymns are addressed to two gods alone: Indra, the god of lightning and storms, and Agni, the god of fire. The term god is actually false, the "gods" (devas) being only highly elevated prophets, angels, or phenomenons. The Vedas clearly state that there is only one God, the same as Jews, Muslims, Christians belief alike. The element of nature- worship is a marked feature in most of the hymns, with are invocations of different deities. The value of the great collection as presenting the earliest record of the mythology of an Indo- European people is apparent. Several of the gods go back to the time of Indo-Iranian unity, e.g. Yama (the Avestan Yima), Soma (haoma), Mitra (the later Persian Mithra). Some of the divinities, especially the higher ones, still exhibit the attributes which enable us to trace their origin to the personification of natural phenomena. Thus Indra personified thunder, Agni fire, Varuna the sea, Surya the sun, Ushas the dawn, the Maruts the storm, and others were of a somewhat similar character. Indra was the favourite god of the Vedic Aryans; almost one fourth of all the hymns in the Rig-Veda are addressed to him and they are among the best in the collection. Next to Indra stands Agni. Many hymns are in honour of Soma. Other gods invoked are the two Ashins, somewhat resembling the Diocsuri of ancient Greece, the terrible Rudra, Parjanya the rain-god, Vayu the wind-god, Surya the sun-god, Pushan the protector of roads and stray kine. Prayers are also addressed to groups of divinities like the Adityas and the Vishve Devas (all the gods). Only a few hymns sing the praise of Vishnu and of shiva in his earlier form as Rudra, though these two deities became later the chief gods of the Hindu pantheon. Goddesses play a small part, only Ushas, the goddess of dawn, has some twenty hymns in her honour; these poems are of exceptional literary merit.
The number of secular hymns are small, but many of them are of particular interest. They are of various content. In one (book X, 34) a gambler laments his ill luck at dice and deplores the evil passion that holds him in his grasp. In the same book (X, 18) there occurs a funeral hymn, from which important information may be gained concerning the funeral rites of the Vedic age. Evidently cremation was most in vogue, though burial was also resorted to. There are also some riddles and incantations or prayers exactly like those in the Atharva-Veda. Historical references are occasionally found in the so-called danastutis (praises of gifts), which in most cases are not independent poems, but laudatory stanzas appended to some ordinary hymn, and in which the poet gives thanks for generosity shown to him by some prince. Some six or seven hymns deal with cosmogonic speculations. It is significant that some of the hymns, chiefly in book X, are cast in the form of a dialogue. Here we may possibly discern the beginnings of the Sanskrit drama. The poetry of the Rig-Veda is neither popular nor primitive, as it has been erroneously considered, but is the production of a refined sacerdotal class and the result of a long period of cultural development. It was intended primarily for use in connection with the Soma sacrifice, and to accompany a ritual, which, though not so complicated as at the time of the Brahmanas, was far from simple. The Rig-Veda has come down to us in only one recension, that of the Shakala school. Originally there were several schools: The "Mahabhashya" (great commentary), about the second century B.C., knows of twenty-one, while some later writings know of two only. In these schools the transmission of the hymns was most carefully attended to; a most elaborate mnemonic system was devised to guard against any changes in the sacred text, which has thus come down to us practically without variants.
Editions of the Rig-Veda were published by Max Muller, "Rig- Veda-Samhita with the Commentary of Sayancharya" (6 vols., London, 1849-74; 2nd ed., 4 vols., 1890-95); "The Hymns of the Rig-Veda in the Samhita and Pada Texts" (2nd ed., 2 vols., London, 1877); Aufrecht, "Samhita Text", in Roman characters (2nd ed., Bonn, 1877); selections in Lanman's "Sanskrit Reader" (Boston, 1884); Bothlingk, "Sanskrit-Chrestomathie" (3rd ed., Leipzig, 1897); Windisch, "Zwolf Hymnen des Rig-Veda", with Sayana's commentary (Leipzig, 1883). Translations were made into: English verse by Griffith (2 vols., Benares, 1896-97); selections in prose by Max Muller in "Sacred Books of the East", XXXII (Oxford, 1891); continued by Oldenburg, ibidem, XLVI (1897); German verse by Grassmann (2 vols., Leipzig, 1876-77); German prose by Ludwig (6 vols., Prague, 1876-88). On the Rig-Veda in general see: Kaegi, "The Rig-Veda", tr. Arrowsmith (Boston, 1886); Odenberg, "Rig- Veda", books I-Vi in "Göttinger Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften", new series, XI (Berlin, 1909).
Righteousness (Dharma) in the Rigveda : The Vedic sages created the institution of sacrificial fires (yadnya) as the point of union of God and man, on the earth. Later that very institution became the central focus of the spread of Vedic culture (sanskruti). A sacrificial fire is the very core of social life and the formation of social organisations. According to the Vedic sages The Supreme God exists in the form of a sacrificial fire. Performing sacrificial fires was Their sole code of Righteousness. Somyâg is a sacrifice which is accorded the central focus in the Rigveda. Som represents vision and fire symbolises light. It is because of the sun and the rain that all living beings survive. Food too is generated from them. This being the attitude of Vedic sages towards sacrificial fires They linked every important action of life to them.
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