A Vedic Reader For Students
| Introduction |
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1. Age Of The Rigveda : The Rigveda is undoubtedly the oldest literary monument of the Indo-European languages. But the exact period when the hymns were composed is a matter of conjecture.
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| Gods |
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AGNI : As the personification of the sacrificial fire, Agni is second in importance to Indra (ii. 12) only, being addressed in at least 200 hymns. The anthropomorphism of his physical appearance is only rudimentary, and is connected chiefly with the sacrificial aspect of fire.
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| Funeral Hymns |
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The RV. contains a group of five hymns (x. 14-18) concerned with death and the future life. From them we learn that, though burial was also practised, cremation was the usual method of disposing of the dead, and was the main source of the mythology relating to the future life. Agni conveys the corpse to the other world, the Fathers, and the gods.
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| Hymn Of The Gambler |
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This [x. 34] is one, among the secular hymns, of a group of four which have a didactic character. It is the lament of a gambler who, unable to resist the fascination of the dice, deplores the ruin to which he has brought on his family.
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| Hymn Of Creation |
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In the ... cosmogonic poem [x. 129] the origin of the world is explained the evolution of the existent (sát) from the non-existent (ásat).
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