Re: Should I start reading Rig veda?
Originally Posted by
proudparrot27
Namaste!
I am new to this forum and eager to learn about sanatana dharma. I have completed reading the geeta which was the first hindu scriptures I read. Recently when I was surfing the net I came upon a article about aryan Invasion.
I had heard about it but never cared but upon seeing that article I started to research about it a bit and then I found that rigvedas have description about Indra destroying and wrecking havoc on the locals etc, but it is said that western translation of vedas done by people like Muller and Griffith was full of mistakes so as Rig veda contains the oldest record of Indian History I am thinking about buyig it in hindi or any local language rather than reading the english versions. I really want to read the vedas myself and clear any doubts or misinformation. what are your thoughts?
thank you
My thoughts. The Rig-veda was composed in archaic sanskrit over a long time and consequently, many parts of it are not understood by anyone today. Not just today, but it has been this way at least since the time of Yaska (around 7th century BC) - the author of the Nirukta. Numerous words can be and have been interpreted in different ways by different people and the choice among these interpretations is more subjective than anything else.
On the controversial sections - there is the usage of Krishna (black) and tvac (skin). This has been interpreted in different ways by modern scholars such as "dark skinned" - which is also the controversial interpretation, "covered in darkness", etc. The 14th Century commentator Sayana (pre-British!) interpreted Krishna in this context as a demon.
The Rig Vedic Aryans did have their share of enemies (Dasyus) as clearly mentioned in the Rig-Veda and also in the texts of their Western neighbors - the ancient Persians. In ancient Persian, the deva is the bad guy and the Ahura (Asura) is the good guy. One of Xerxes's inscriptions talks about how he, by the grace of Ahura) destroyed the place of the devas, who are not to be worshipped. On this side of the border, we had stories of how the Asuras were bad and the devas constantly had to fight them and keep them away.
In short, sufficient time has passed and we are at a point where we ca n never really know what the original Rig-Veda authors had in mind. We will have to pick an interpretation based on personal preferences. The outcry against some interpretations is mostly by ideologically motivated jingoists who have barely any knowledge of history and you may want to steer clear of them.
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