Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Rig Veda Samhita

  1. #1

    Rig Veda Samhita


    Namaste

    How should one read parts of the Rig Veda, the Samhita ?
    Which parts are recommended for someone who has never really read the Vedas ?

    Are there any recommended readers , or one-volume books that explain the essence and major sections ?

    What section does the Purusha Sukta come under ?
    (Also, where is Sri Sukta from ?)

    What are the restrictions if any for women to read the Vedas ?
    For instance, perhaps reciting mantras aloud Vs. just reading the essence ?

    There is a whole set of reference volumes on Vedas and Puranas at our Temple Library. I cannot spend a lot of time there , so it will be nice to have a beginner book or some such thing.


    Thank You

    praNAm
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  2. #2
    Join Date
    January 2010
    Location
    Wales
    Age
    31
    Posts
    87
    Rep Power
    36

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    You seem to have read my mind! I was just about to ask a similar question, because I too would like to read the vedas.

    I was wondering whether there were any commentariess that could be accessed online to help my understanding. I have found a few references to commentaries but I cannot find the actual commentries themselves online.

    I hope smaranam that you do not mind me imposing on your thread, but to save making another one I ask the question:

    Apparently there is not much mention of many of the popular forms of god in the vedas, and concentrate on older ones that are not worshipped much now. Gods like vishnu and shiva are given minor roles. I was wondering if there is an answer why this is, if it is true? I have read somewhere that 95% of the vedas are lost, so this could account for that, but is this true?

    Thanks,

    Wilfred.

  3. #3

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    Namaste

    Quote Originally Posted by smaranam View Post
    [SIZE="3"]
    What section does the Purusha Sukta come under ?
    (Also, where is Sri Sukta from ?)
    Purusha Sukta happens to be Rg Veda 10.90 (Mandala 10)
    Here is a good translation and commentary.

    http://www.ramanuja.org/purusha/sukta-intro.html

    Its a beautiful narration of the Advitiya Purusha.

    Significance of Purusha Sukta by Swami Krishnananda
    http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_pur.html

    Significance of Shri Sukta by Swami Krishnananda
    http://www.divyajivan.org/ashtalaksh...ukta_essay.htm
    Last edited by smaranam; 01 March 2010 at 03:23 PM.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  4. #4

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    From the Introduction to Purusha Sukta above :

    Since the Purusha Suktam is seen in all Vedas, it is cited as the essence of all Srutis by Veda Vyasa in the Mahabharata. Saunaka, Apastamba, and Bodhayana have also written concerning the use of the Purusha Suktam.

    What does the Purusha Suktam talk about?

    The Purusha in the title of the Purusha Sukta refers to the Parama Purusha, Purushottama, Narayana, in his form as the ViraaT Purusha. He was the source of all creation. It describes this form of his, as having countless heads, eyes, legs, manifested everywhere, and beyond the scope of any limited method of comprehension. All creation is but a fourth part of him. The rest is unmanifested.

    Purusha as Brahma remained inactive, and Aniruddha Narayana, one of the four aspects of Narayana in the first tier at the base of the Vishaaka Yoopa, asked him ``Why do you do nothing?'' ``Because of not knowing,'' Brahma replied. ``Perform a yajna. Your senses, the devas, shall be the ritviks. Your body shall be the havis. Your heart, the altar. And I shall be he who enjoys the havis -- the offering. From your body sacrificed, shall you create bodies for all living creatures, as you have done in kalpas before this.'' Thus says the sAkalya brAmhaNA.

    This yajna was called ``sarvahut'', the offering of all. The act of creation itself grew out of yajna, the rite of sacrifice. Who was worshipped at this sacrifice? It was the Purusha. Who performed it? Brahma, the creative aspect of the Purusha. Who were the ritvik priests ? The devas, who are the Purusha's senses. Who was tied as the beast of the sacrifice? Brahma, again. What was barhis, the altar of the sacrifice? All of nature. Who was the fire? The Purusha's heart. What was sacrificed? Again, the Purusha himself, his great body that contained all of creation.

    In a way, this is a message of love, that the Purusha would consume himself in the fire of creation, to create all the worlds. From this sacrifice did all of creation emanate. This is central to the message of the Purusha Sukta.

    vedAhametam purusham mahAntam
    Aditya varNam tamasaH parastAt |
    tam evam vidvAn amRta iha bhavati
    na anyaH panthA vidyate 'yanaaya ||


    This great Purusha, brilliant as the sun, who
    is beyond all darkness, I know him in my
    heart. Who knows the Purusha thus,
    attains immortality in this very birth.
    I know of no other way to salvation.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  5. #5
    Join Date
    February 2010
    Location
    Lakewood, CO
    Age
    37
    Posts
    62
    Rep Power
    31

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    Quote Originally Posted by wcrow View Post
    You seem to have read my mind! I was just about to ask a similar question, because I too would like to read the vedas.

    I was wondering whether there were any commentariess that could be accessed online to help my understanding. I have found a few references to commentaries but I cannot find the actual commentries themselves online.

    I hope smaranam that you do not mind me imposing on your thread, but to save making another one I ask the question:

    Apparently there is not much mention of many of the popular forms of god in the vedas, and concentrate on older ones that are not worshipped much now. Gods like vishnu and shiva are given minor roles. I was wondering if there is an answer why this is, if it is true? I have read somewhere that 95% of the vedas are lost, so this could account for that, but is this true?

    Thanks,

    Wilfred.
    Im actually also just getting into reading the Vedas. My introduction to Hindu thought was the Bhagavad-Gita after which I read a selection of several of the main Upanishads. After I had finished that I went on to trying to find a copy of the Rig Veda.

    Now, from what I understand the Rig Veda is a huge book. The only translations of it I could find in conventional book stores contain about one tenth of the total book. The selections usually being picked for their academic, poetic, or philosophical merit.

    The one that I picked up I got at Barnes and Noble and is a "Penguin Classics" book, it was only about $13.

    Also, as far as the "Gods" in the Vedas go, from what I understand the reason the names are usually different (though it is kind of irrelevant because all of the Hindu Gods are merely different facets of Brahman) is merely due to the antiquity in which they were written. Many of the Vedic Gods actually wound up being transformed over time into the major Gods of the Hindu tradition that most people know today.

    For example, "Shiva" is actually first used in the Rig Veda as a word describing the Vedic God Rudra.

    Hope that helps a little bit.

  6. #6

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    Namaste

    Quote Originally Posted by wcrow View Post
    Gods like vishnu and shiva are given minor roles.
    I am not that familiar with the Vedas, so lets hope you hear from others.

    A few references like this -
    Rg Ved Mandal 1
    HYMN 154 Visnu
    HYMN 155 Visnu and Indra
    HYMN 156 Visnu
    Hymn 43 Rudra
    To Rudra Lord of sacrifice, of hymns and balmy medicines,
We pray for joy and health and strength.

    Rg Veda Mandal 10 Hymn (sukta) 90 - Purusha Sukta - Cosmic Form of God, NArAyana , Vishnu.

    and many more, yet fewer than Agni for instance.
    ----

    Those few references to Vishnu and Rudra probably weigh more than the other hymns combined. Vishnu makes 3 strides to cover the three worlds, trailokya, implying He owns and nurtures the entire 3 worlds. Also, Vishnu/Rudra is the Lord of sacrifice , Yajna. Vishnu is Yajna. He is also prajapati.

    The frequency of hymns for Agni, Vayu, Varun, Vishvedev etc. is due to their specific roles in the Cosmic Yajna of life-force. Usha - dawn, Pushan - Sun , etc.

    There are 2 threads running here simultaneously, over the same hymns - one for microcosm - the internal universe within us, and another for the macrocosm - The outer Universe, Cosmos.

    On the surface , Vedas direct rituals (karma kAnda ) for obtaining earthly and heavenly pleasures and comforts which can be obtained thru' Agni , Indra ... (leaves and branches) though the fruits are actually bestowed by Vishnu (root) . That probably explains why the references are so skewed.

    The hidden higher purpose of spirituality is brought out in the Upanishads , and Krshna mentions in the Bh. Gita : do not get carried away by the flowery words and heavenly promises of the Vedas. You may perform action without expecting and being attached to results. Your right is over the action, not over the results. Karma Yoga.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  7. #7

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    Namaste wcrow and others,

    " I have read somewhere that 95% of the vedas are lost, so this could account for that, but is this true?"

    Basically the definition of Veda is yad vid iti Veda= whatever is vidya(knowledge) is Veda. Veda\knowledge is infinite, the books which we speak of now, is a compilation of that knowledge put together according to the respective related topics in a particular format. for more information of Vedas, please refer
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas
    There is never a point in time when the Vedas are not available for anyone. The way to gain access to the infinite Vedas is to transcend from this physical plane to the higher planes like the Astral plane where a person can access the vase infinite knowledge ocean and learn whatever is of her\her interest. Doing this requires Sadhana(roughly accomplishment) by means of meditation. This is what the Rishis and Tapasvis(person who does penance) did in the earlier days when they started compiling the books which we nowadays term as the Vedas. This type of learning is called as Shruti(heard)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Aruti
    So the answer to your question is, No, the Vedas are never lost, It is always there, you have to look for it by transcending above the physical plane.
    Hope this helps,
    Best Regards,
    mukunda

  8. #8
    Join Date
    August 2006
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,162
    Rep Power
    1915

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    namaste everyone.

    A good set of introductory booklets to know about the purport of the Vedas has been published by the SAKSI institute, which we have in our HDF Library. Here is a list:

    ce SAKSI: Deeper Meaning |
    http://www.vedah.com/org/literature/...er_Meaning.pdf

    ce SAKSI: Essence of Veda |
    http://www.vedah.com/org/literature/...ce_of_Veda.pdf

    ce SAKSI: Explaining the Gods |
    http://www.esnips.com/nsdoc/4d72b695...b-0c127c58d96e

    ce SAKSI: Veda Books |
    http://www.esnips.com/nsdoc/5054d08d...2-6610443f0804

    ce SAKSI: Wisdom of Veda |
    http://www.esnips.com/doc/663a6356-4...942db6a/veda_4

    ce SAKSI: Rig veda: Introductory Essays |
    http://www.vedah.com/org2/pub/vedic/...y%20Essays.pdf

    ce SAKSI: Rig veda: Why Read |
    http://www.esnips.com/nsdoc/73bba6b2...a-a68eb65538fb

    ce SAKSI: yajur veda |
    http://www.esnips.com/doc/663a6356-4...942db6a/veda_4

    ce SAKSI: sAma veda |
    http://www.esnips.com/nsdoc/e5695e9f...c-9c5f00481007

    ce SAKSI: atharva veda |
    http://www.esnips.com/nsdoc/613fde61...4-7c2e48880ba7

    The prefix 'ce' stands for 'commentary-English'.
    रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
    ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥

    To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.

    --viShNu purANam

  9. #9

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    Thank You Saideviji and Mukundaji

    Quote Originally Posted by mukunda20 View Post
    There is never a point in time when the Vedas are not available for anyone. The way to gain access to the infinite Vedas is to transcend from this physical plane to the higher planes like the Astral plane where a person can access the vase infinite knowledge ocean and learn whatever is of her\her interest.
    Of course... Ved is infinite and its the AkAshic record - that's a very important point.

    Talking of AkAsh records, all intuition and clairvoyance, clairaudience can be attributed to it.

    >>> Ved mantras heard in a distance knowing no such thing is going on in the physical world nearby.

    >>> The mahamrtyunjay mantra keeps playing in the mind for 48 hours only to find out that a relative left his body right after. Hopefully benefitting the departing jiva.

    >>> [ Waking / ] Dreams that take a person to a place or jivas find themselves doing something that indicates an event that happens right after


    These are all , acc. to me, jiva making connections to that Cosmic ChidAkAsh through the Lord's grace - be it explicit or implicit.

    What about telepathy (of the Higher Self ) ? - jivas connecting with one-another.

    ------------------


    When I saw the qn raised about Ved books being lost etc. I had read that story is not true, but didn't want to say so, waited for this to come from an authority.

    The fact that Vishnu and Rudra(Shiva) are the roots and the original source and sink of all prayer and yadnya ( sacrifice) , and that the other devtAs are invoked to obtain specific subgoals, was a mere common sense explanation of why Vishnu and Rudra are not mentioned more often in the Rg - which is mistaken as "minor roles".

    However, Shri Aurobindo puts it nicely :
    We study grade school for 10-12 yrs, undergraduate college for 3-4 yrs and a Master's Degree program for only 2 yrs. Because we need the time as kids to form the solid base. Similarly , Agni , Indra etc. fulfilled those basic needs first (food clothing shelter health , although fruits were really bestowed by the Supreme),
    before going over to the higher spiritual realms of Vishnu.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

  10. #10
    Join Date
    September 2006
    Age
    71
    Posts
    7,705
    Rep Power
    223

    Re: Rig Veda Samhita

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    Quote Originally Posted by smaranam View Post
    How should one read parts of the Rig Veda, the Samhita ?

    Which parts are recommended for someone who has never really read the Vedas ?

    Let me offer this, regarding reading the ved. This is a guiding principle I have used and was taught; perhaps it may serve you too, yet I am not the final authority on this matter.


    There is this reasonable notion that reading brings understanding. Yet there is a fact that says reading does not insure comprehension. When it comes to the vedas this is of the greatest import. I bring this up as reading the ved needs to be complimented with grooming consciousness, this turiya ( the 4th) we speak of often. Who says so? the veda:

    (ṛg ved, 1.164.39)
    ṛco akṣare parame vyoman yasmin devā adhi viśve niṣeduḥ |
    yastan na veda kiṃ ṛcā kariṣyati ya it tad vidusta ime samāsate ||

    I will offer how my teacher talked of this translation.

    The veda or ṛks, reside in the transcendental field or akṣara, of the highest (parame) ethereal Being (vyoman) in which reside all the adhi vishve deva's (adhi viśve devā or impulses of creative intelligence, the laws of Nature), responsible for the whole manifest universe. He whose awareness is not open (na veda) to this field, what can these verses accomplish for him?
    Those who know this level of reality are established in evenness (samāsate or rest contented) , in That ( tad , fullness-wholeness of life).

    What does this say in short? Of what use is the ved, for he whom is not becoming established in the Absolute? Where will be the value of this great knowledge other then words... it says, become established in ātman, the avyayam (imperishable, undecaying), the even-ness to reap the full value of the knowledge.

    Reading is good yet it is wise to complement it with experiencing and stabilizing this level of Being, turiya ; it is essential to extract the benefits ( fruits) of the Ved.

    What does one do in the interim before having this turya established all the time? We look to others that have this level of Being established for their views and guidance.

    If someone said ' haven't you read the vedas ?' - one should not feel any discomfort or angst. The true honey of the veda unfolds as consciousness unfolds. IMHO reading the samhita's in their original sanskrit format is a challenge. One then may read the interpretations , discourses, thereof. Yet reading-listening to the vedas assists in the grooming of this level of consciousness. The upaniṣads are designed to help comprehend this Reality, this Brahman and unfold the wisdom found in the vedas.

    Here on HDF at times some offer a 'cut and paste' section of the veda with no interpretation, little preamble, or their views , likes or objections and says 'there, I have proved my point'. You might as well give me the electrical blueprints to NASA's space shuttle...looks interesting, I may discern a line here or there but that's about it.

    So is reading the veda (saṃhitā-s specifically) the answer? A noble effort, but requires guidance. In and of themselves the veda-saṃhitā-s will not bring one to establishing ātman, ( Self Realization) some call turiyatit chetana by themselves. Yet listening to the veda's is rewarding and grooms consciousness, and we can talk further on this later.

    Now who says just reading will not do the trick? the kaṭhopaniṣad, section 1.2.23. It also says (chapt 1.2.8) that the SELF when taught by a man of inferior intellect is not easily known, as it is to be thought of in various ways; Yet when taught by the preceptor (the brahmavit, the muni), one established in brahman, there is no doubt concerning IT, the SELF being subtler then subtle, and is not obtained by arguing.

    I am ajñāta ( some write avijñāta) - one who has not attained SELF realization (the inferior man). Most if not all on HDF I presume are of this same nature , in varying degrees. We are here to learn , to share , to help one another move forward, to reach this SELF-referral state of Being, brahman. To that we offer different ideas, posts, insights the best we can. We try to offer a glimpse of the brilliance of Being that is our due course and will be our final resting stop.

    praṇām


    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 2 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 2 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •