Rig Veda

(noun)

The oldest and most important of the four Vedas.

Related Terms

Examples of Rig Veda in the following topics:

  • The Vedas

    • There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: the Rig Veda contains hymns about their mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; the Yajur Veda contains instructions for religious rituals; and the Atharva Veda consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers, and diseases.
    • (Depending on the source consulted, these are spelled, for example, either Rig Veda or Rigveda.)
    • The Rig Veda is the largest and considered the most important of the collection, containing 1,028 hymns divided into 10 books called mandalas.
    • The verses of the Sam Veda are taken almost completely from the Rig Veda, but arranged differently so they may be chanted.
    • The Aryan pantheon of gods is described in great detail in the Rig Veda.

  • The Caste System

    • These roles and their importance, including the levels of power and significance based on patriarchy, were influenced by stories of the gods in the Rig-Veda epic.
    • One of these four sacred canonical texts, the Rig-Veda, described the origins of the world and points to the gods for the origin of the caste system.
    • The institution of marriage was important, and different types of marriages—monogamy, polygyny and polyandry—are mentioned in the Rig Veda.
    • A page of the Rig-Veda, one of the four sacred Veda texts, which described the origins of the world and the stories of the gods.
    • The Rig-Veda influenced the development of the patriarchal society and the caste systems in Aryan India.

  • The Rise of Hinduism

    • There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: the Rig Veda contains hymns about mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; the Yajur Veda contains instructions for religious rituals; and the Atharva Veda consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers and diseases.
    • The Rig Veda is the largest and considered the most important of the collection, containing 1,028 hymns divided into ten books, called mandalas.
    • The Aryan pantheon of gods is described in great detail in the Rig Veda.
    • According to the hymns of the Rig Veda, the most important deities were Agni, the god of Fire, and the intermediary between the gods and humans; Indra, the god of Heavens and War, protector of the Aryans against their enemies; Surya, the Sun god; Vayu, the god of Wind; and Prthivi, the goddess of Earth.
    • The Rig Veda describes the varied deities of Vedic religion.

  • The Sramana Movement

    • Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the Hindu religion.
    • Vedas, meaning "knowledge," were composed by the Aryans in Vedic Sanskrit between 1500 and 500 BCE, in the northwestern region the Indian subcontinent.
    • There are four Indo-Aryan Vedas: the Rig Veda contains hymns about their mythology; the Sama Veda consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals; the Yajur Veda contains instructions for religious rituals; and the Atharva Veda consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers, and diseases.
    • (Depending on the source consulted, these are spelled, for example, either Rig Veda or Rigveda.)
    • The Sramanas rejected the authority of the Brahmins, who were considered the protectors of the sacred learning found in the Vedas.

  • Sanskrit

    • Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu scripts, compiled c. 1500-500 BCE.
    • The Vedas contain hymns, incantations called Samhitas, and theological and philosophical guidance for priests of the Vedic religion.
    • Believed to be direct revelations to seers among the early Aryan people of India, the four chief collections are the Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Vedia, and Atharva Veda.
    • (Depending on the source consulted, these are spelled, for example, either Rig Veda or Rigveda.)
    • Sanskrit evolved from Proto-Indo-European languages and was used to write the Vedas, the Hindu religious texts compiled between 1500-500 BCE.

  • Jainism

    • Sramana existed in parallel to, but separate from, Vedic Hinduism, which followed the teachings and rituals found in the Vedas, the most ancient texts of the Vedic religion.
    • Sramana, meaning "seeker," was a tradition that began around 800-600 BCE, when new philosophical groups, who believed in a more austere path to spiritual freedom, rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Brahmins (the priests of Vedic Hinduism).

  • The Indo-Aryan Migration and the Vedic Period

    • Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in Hinduism, which help chart the timeline of an era from 1750-500 BCE, known as the Vedic Period.
    • Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the Hindu religion, which were composed by the Aryans in Sanskrit.

  • Buddhism

    • Sramana existed in parallel to, but separate from, Vedic Hinduism, which followed the teachings and rituals found in the Vedas, the most ancient texts of the Vedic religion.
    • Sramana, meaning "seeker," was a tradition that began when new philosophical groups who believed in a more austere path to spiritual freedom rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Brahmins, the priests of Vedic Hinduism, around 800-600 BCE.