Mandala 1

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

The first Mandala ("book") of the Rigveda has 191 hymns. Together with Mandala 10, it forms the latest part of the Rigveda, its composition likely dating to the Early Iron Age.

Hymn 1.1 is addressed to Agni, arranged so that the name of this god is the first word of the Rigveda. The remaining hymns are mainly addressed to Agni and Indra. Hymns 1.154 to 1.156 are addressed to (the later Hindu god) Vishnu. Verse 1.164.46, part of a hymn to the Vishvadevas, is often quoted as an example of emerging monism or monotheism:

"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni / and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman."
"To what is One, sages give many a title / they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan." (trans. Griffith)

The editio princeps of the book is due to Friedrich August Rosen, published posthumously in 1838. It was the earliest edition of a Rigvedic Mandala, predating Max Müller's edition of the entire Rigveda by more than 50 years.

List of hymns

Sukta Name Deity Rishi Metre Incipit
Agni-Sukta Agni Vishvamitra gayatri
Vishnu-Sukta Ashvins and others Medhatithi Kanva gayatri
Indra-Sukta Indra Hiranyastupa Angiras trishtubh
Shanti-Sukta Vishvedevas Gotama Rahugana jagati (trishtubh)
Madhu-Sukta Vishvedevas Gotama Rahugana gayatri (anushtubh)
Agni-Durga-Sukta Agni Kashyapa Marica trishtubh
Ashvamedha-Sukta The Horse Dīrghatamas Aucathya (trishtubh)

See also



Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday January 01, 2008 at 13:48:12 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation