Book Reviewed: Sacred Writings, 5: Hinduism - The Rig Veda by Ralph T.H. Griffith

An English Translation of Rigveda

Ralph Griffith’s translation of Rigveda is based on Max Müller's six-volume Sanskrit edition of the sacred text, and also by the work of well-known Vedic interpreter Sayana. This translation is readily available online. The exegesis of Vedic religion is complex but its interpretation is still debated by many scholars, and Griffith’s translation is useful in understanding the meaning of the sacred texts.

Rigveda is one of the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of Hinduism which has 1,028 hymns in ten books (Mandalas). Generally each hymn contains more than one verse, and the entire text of Rigveda consists of 10,600 verses. The hymns are arranged according to its composer and often a group of hymns are composed by a single seer. Books 2-7, known as the "family books" is written by the members of the same family. There are ten families of seers who are responsible for the composition of Rigveda. Hymns are typically dedicated to various deities, and the chief of whom are Indra, Agni, Soma, the Adityas, Mitra, Varuna, Ushas, Savitr, Vishnu, Rudra, Pushan, Brihaspati and others.

The Gāyatrī Mantra is a highly revered mantra from the Rig Veda 3.62.10, which is recited commonly in modern Hinduism. For example, Griffith translation of this hymn reads as follows: “May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the God: So May he stimulate our prayers.” The same hymn is translated slightly differently by Monier-Williams. “Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, May he enlighten our understandings.”

One of the most important hymns of Rig-Veda in spiritual and philosophical terms is found in the hymn 164 of Mandala-1. There are 52 verses in this hymn and some of the profound thoughts emerge from this composition. This hymn has influenced generations of seers of early Upanishads that dealt with physical reality and quantum consciousness. This hymn is addressed to Visvedevas (viśve-devāḥ "all-gods"); various Vedic gods taken together as a whole. The rishi Dīrghatamas, the author of hymns 140 to 164 of Mandala-1 was the chief priest of King Bharata (Aitareya Brahmana VIII.23), after whom the nation was named as Bharata (the traditional name of India). Despite the schism of Western scholars in not acknowledging the wisdom in Rig-Veda, and treat it merely as a liturgical text, we can study the mind of this rishi who remains calm and unflinching in the description of cosmic creation.