The Rigveda is a monumental text in both world religion and world literature, yet outside a small band of specialists it is little known. Composed in the latter half of the second millennium BCE, it stands as the foundational text of what would later be called Hinduism. The text consists of over a thousand hymns dedicated to various divinities, composed in sophisticated and often enigmatic verse. This concise guide from two of the Rigveda's leading English-language scholars introduces the text and breaks down its large range of topics--from meditations on cosmic enigmas to penetrating reflections on the ability of mortals to make contact with and affect the divine and cosmic realms through sacrifice and praise--for a wider audience.
Author(s): Joel P. Brereton; Stephanie W. Jamison
Series: Guides to Sacred Texts
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: x+278
Cover
The Rigveda
Copyright
Contents
Guides to Sacred Texts
Note on the Title
1. Introduction
What is the R̥gveda: A brief overview
A significant moment
World literature and religion
2. Historical Context
Migration
Indo-Iranian background
3. Dating and Authorship
Dating
Oral tradition and composition
Poets and poetic lineages
4. Structure of the Text
Collection and ordering of the hymns
The transmission of the text and the state of the transmitted text
Structure of the text
5. Social and Political Context
Way of life
Social organization
Kingship
Mundane daily life and the depiction of women
6. Ritual
Overview
The Soma Sacrifice in later Vedic texts
Changes between R̥gvedic ritual and middle Vedic ritual
Pre-R̥gvedic ritual
The R̥gvedic ritual model
Other types of ritual in the R̥gveda
7. The Gods
Overview
The major gods
Indra
Agni
Soma
Aśvins
Maruts
Aditi and the Ādityas
Savitar
Sūrya
Uṣas, “Dawn”
Vāyu/Vāta, “Wind”
Heaven and Earth
Tvaṣṭar
R̥bhus
Pūṣan
Viṣṇu
Rudra
8. Eschatology
9. R̥gvedic Poetry and Poetics
The purpose of R̥gvedic poetry: the power of the word
The poet
The status of the poet
Homologies, semantic webs, secret names, and riddles
Praise and request in the R̥gvedic praise hymn
Praise of deeds: mythology
Praise of attributes
The “ask”
Structures and types of R̥gvedic hymns: some organizing principles
Thematic organization
Formal organizational devices
Repetition
Lists
Numbers
Questions
Ring composition and the omphalos
Initial and final verses
Poetic repair
Riddles and lists
Some specialized types of hymns
Cosmic speculation and poetic self-reflection
Dialogues and monologues
Frogs: sui generis
Hymns for domestic rituals; spells
Praise of the gift
Imagery, metaphors, similes
Language
Grammar
Register
Lexicon
Syntax, grammar, and the pursuit of obscure style
Meter
Technical description
Relevance of meter for the general reader
10. Canonical Status and the Reception of the R̥gveda
The R̥gveda in the śrauta tradition
R̥gvedic Schools
Transmission
Interpretation
Reception
Publication
Text and Translation
Appendix: Selection of R̥gvedic Hymns
Bibliography
Passage Index
Subject Index
