The eighth Mandala of the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
has 103 hymns. Other than the "family books" (Mandalas 2–7, dated as an old part of the RV) and
RV 1 and
RV 10 (dated as the latest portion of hymns composed shortly before redaction of the Rigveda into
shakha
A shakha (Sanskrit ', "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school.V. S. Apte. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 913, left column.Moni ...
s), Mandala 8 cannot straightforwardly be dated as a whole relative to the other books, and its hymns may include both ancient and late specimens. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the kāṇva family. The hymns 8.49 to 8.59 are the apocryphal vālakhilya, the majority of them are devoted to
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
; these are accepted as a recent portion, properly already post-Rigvedic.
The hymns are dedicated to
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
,
Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hi ...
, the
Asvins
The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu deities, Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described ...
, the
Maruts
In Hinduism, the Maruts (; sa, मरुत), also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni. The number of Maruts varies from 27 to sixty (three times sixty in RV 8.96.8). ...
, the
Adityas
In Hinduism, Adityas ( sa, आदित्य, Āditya, of Aditi, ), refers to the offspring of Aditi, the goddess representing the infinity. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas ar ...
,
Varuna
Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, su ...
,
Mitra-Varuna, the
Vishvadevas, and
Soma
Soma may refer to:
Businesses and brands
* SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects
* Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems
* SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
. 8.100 is dedicated to Indra and
Vak (Speech). Of the Valakhilya, six hymns are dedicated to Indra, and one each to the Asvins, the Vishvadevas and Indra-Varuna. 8.55 and 8.56 praise "Praskanva's Gift", the reward given to the
rishi
''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" o ...
by Dasyave-vrka "the wolf of the Dasyus", a hero who in alliance with the
Kanvas
Kanva (Sanskrit: कण्व '), also called Karnesh, was an ancient Hindu rishi of the ''Treta Yuga'', to whom some of the hymns of the ''Rig Veda'' are ascribed. He was one of the Angirasas. He has been called a son of Ghora, but this lineag ...
has won a victory over the
Dasyu
''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "servant of God", "devotee," "votary" or " ...
s.
According to some scholars, the 8th Mandala has the most striking similarity to the
Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.
The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...
.: it contains allusions to
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
Flora and Fauna,
[(RV 8.5; 8.46; 8.56)] e.g. to camels (' =
Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
''uštra'' (c.f. ''
Zaraθ-uštra''; RV 8.4.7, 8.5.37, 8.46.22, 8.46.31; elsewhere in the RV only in 1.138.2). The
river name
A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a ...
''Suvastu'' in 8.19.37 refers to the
Swat River
The Swat River ( ur, , ps, سوات سیند) is a perennial river in the northern region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the s ...
in
Gandhari.
List of incipits
The dedication as given by
Griffith is in the square brackets.
8.1 (621) ndra.
8.2 (622) ndra.
8.3 (623) ndra.
8.4 (624) ndra.
8.5 (625) svins.
8.6 (626) ndra.
8.7 (627) aruts.
8.8 (628) svins.
8.9 (629) svins.
8.10 (630) svins.
8.11 (631) gni.
8.12 (632) ndra.
8.13 (633) ndra.
8.14 (634) ndra.
8.15 (635) ndra.
8.16 (636) ndra.
8.17 (637) ndra.
8.18 (638) dityas.
8.19 (639) gni.
8.20 (640) aruts.
8.21 (641) ndra.
8.22 (642) svins.
8.23 (643) gni.
8.24 (644) ndra.
8.25 (645) itra-Varuna.
8.26 (646) svins.
8.27 (647) isvedevas.
8.28 (648) isvedevas.
8.29 (649) isvedevas.
8.30 (650) isvedevas.
8.31 (651) arious Deities.
8.32 (652) ndra.
8.33 (653) ndra.
8.34 (654) ndra.
8.35 (655) svins.
8.36 (656) ndra.
8.37 (657) ndra.
8.38 (658) ndra-Angi.
8.39 (659) gni.
8.40 (660) ndra-Agni.
8.41 (661) aruna.
8.42 (662) aruna.
8.43 (663) gni.
8.44 (664) gni.
8.45 (665) ndra.
8.46 (666) ndra.
8.47 (667) dityas.
8.48 (668) oma.
(vālakhilya)
8.60 (669) gni.
8.61 (670) ndra.
8.62 (671) ndra.
8.63 (672) ndra.
8.64 (673) ndra.
8.65 (674) ndra.
8.66 (675) ndra.
8.67 (676) dityas.
8.68 (677) ndra.
8.69 (678) ndra.
8.70 (679) ndra.
8.71 (680) gni.
8.72 (681) gni.
8.73 (682) svins.
8.74 (683) gni.
8.75 (684) gni.
8.76 (685) ndra.
8.77 (686) ndra.
8.78 (687) ndra.
8.79 (688) oma.
8.80 (689) ndra.
8.81 (690) ndra.
8.82 (691) ndra.
8.83 (692) isvedevas.
8.84 (693) gni.
8.85 (694) svins.
8.86 (695) svins.
8.87 (696) svins.
8.88 (697) ndra.
8.89 (698) ndra.
8.90 (699) ndra.
8.91 (700) ndra.
8.92 (701) ndra.
8.93 (702) ndra.
8.94 (703) aruts.
8.95 (704) ndra.
8.96 (705) ndra.
8.97 (706) ndra.
8.98 (707) ndra.
8.99 (708) ndra.
8.100 (709) ndra. Vak.
8.101 (710) arious.
8.102 (711) gni.
8.103 (712) gni.
Vālakhilya:
8.49 (1018) ndra.
8.50 (1019) ndra.
8.51 (1020) ndra.
8.52 (1021) ndra.
8.53 (1022) ndra.
8.54 (1023) ndra.
8.55 (1024) raskanva's Gift.
8.56 (1025) raskanva's Gift.
8.57 (1026) svins.
8.58 (1027) isvedevas.
8.59 (1028) ndra-Varuna.
References
External links
* – English translation by
Ralph T. H. Griffith
{{Rigveda
Rigveda