The sixth 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 one ...
has 75 hymns, mainly to
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 Hindu ...
and
Indra. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the ' family of
Angirasas, especially to
Bharadvaja
Bharadvaja ( sa, भरद्वाज, IAST: ; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages
(maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great ...
. It is one of the "family books" (mandalas 2–7), the oldest core of the Rigveda, which were composed in early vedic period(1500-1000 BCE).
Deities addressed besides Indra and Agni include the
Vishvadevas
The Visvedevas () ( ' "all-gods") are the various Vedic gods taken together as a whole. In the Rigveda a number of hymns are addressed to them, including (according to Griffith)
1.3,1.89,
3.54-56,
4.55,
5.41-51,
6.49-52,
7.34-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, ...
,
Pushan
Pushan ( sa, पूषन्, Pūṣan) is a Hindu Vedic solar deity and one of the Adityas. He is the god of meeting. Pushan is responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, and the feeding of cattle. He was a psychopomp (soul guide), conduc ...
, the
Asvins,
Ushas
Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: / ') is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to the worl ...
(Dawn), 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). T ...
,
Dyaus and
Prthivi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata ( Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her ...
(Heaven and Earth),
Savitar Savitar may refer to:
*Savitr, or Savitar, a Vedic solar deity associated with the Aditya class of divinities
*Savitar (comics), a supervillain published by DC Comics
*Savitar, a character from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series
*''Savitar'', th ...
,
Brhaspati
Brihaspati ( sa, बृहस्पति, ), also known as Guru, is a Hindu deity. In the ancient Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Brihaspati is a deity associated with fire, and the word also refers to a rishi (sage) who counsels the devas (god ...
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 ...
-
Rudra
Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Ru ...
.
The
rivers mentioned in the sixth Mandala are the
Sarasvati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
,
Yavyavati and
Hariupiya
Rivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the ''Rigveda'', and consequently in early Vedic religion. Vedic texts have a wide geographical horizon, speaking of oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts.
The Vedic land is described as a land of ...
. RV 6.61 is entirely dedicated to Sarasvati. In RV 6.45.31 the term Ganga occurs which refers to the River Ganges.
Talageri (2000), based on his proposition of an ''westward'' expansion early Rigvedic culture from
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...
(contrary to the nearly universally assumed eastward expansion from
Gandhara) and his identification of some
Rigvedic rivers
Rivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the ''Rigveda'', and consequently in early Vedic religion. Vedic texts have a wide geographical horizon, speaking of oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts.
The Vedic land is described as a land of ...
, claims this Mandala as the oldest of the family books.
[Talageri, Shrikant. (2000) '' The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis'']
List of incipits
The dedication as given by Griffith is in square brackets
6.1 (442) gni.
6.2 (443) gni.
6.3 (444) gni.
6.4 (445) gni.
6.5 (446) gni.
6.6 (447) gni.
6.7 (448) gni.
6.8 (449) gni.
6.9 (450) gni.
6.10 (451) gni.
6.11 (452) gni.
6.12 (453) gni.
6.13 (454) gni.
6.14 (455) gni.agnâ yó mártiyo dúvo
6.15 (456) gni.
6.16 (457) gni.
6.17 (458) ndra.píbā sómam abhí yám ugra tárda
6.18 (459) ndra.
6.19 (460) ndra.
6.20 (461) ndra.dyaúr ná yá indra abhí bhûma aryás
6.21 (462) ndra. Visvedevas.imâ u tvā purutámasya kārór
6.22 (463) ndra.
6.23 (464) ndra.
6.24 (465) ndra.
6.25 (466) ndra.yâ ta ūtír avamâ yâ paramâ
6.26 (467) ndra.śrudhî na indra hváyāmasi tvā
6.27 (468) ndra.kím asya máde kím u asya pītâv
6.28 (469) ows.â gâvo agmann utá bhadrám akran
6.29 (470) ndra.
6.30 (471) ndra.
6.31 (472) ndra.
6.32 (473) ndra.ápūrviyā purutámāni asmai
6.33 (474) ndra.
6.34 (475) ndra.
6.35 (476) ndra.kadâ bhuvan ráthakṣayāṇi bráhma
6.36 (477) ndra.satrâ mádāsas táva viśvájanyāḥ
6.37 (478) ndra.
6.38 (479) ndra.ápād itá úd u naś citrátamo
6.39 (480) ndra.mandrásya kavér diviyásya váhner
6.40 (481) ndra.índra píba túbhya * sutó mádāya
6.41 (482) ndra.
6.42 (483) ndra.
6.43 (484) ndra.yásya tyác chámbaram máde
6.44 (485) ndra.
6.45 (486) ndra.
6.46 (487) ndra.tuvâm íd dhí hávāmahe
6.47 (488) ndra, Etc.
6.48 (489) gni and Others.yajñâ-yajñā vo agnáye
6.49 (490) isvedevas.
6.50 (491) isvedevas.
6.51 (492) isvedevas.
6.52 (493) isvedevas.
6.53 (494) usan.vayám u tvā pathas pate
6.54 (495) usan.
6.55 (496) usan.
6.56 (497) usan.yá enam ādídeśati
6.57 (498) ndra and Pusan.
6.58 (499) usan.
6.59 (500) ndra-Agni.
6.60 (501) ndra-Agni.
6.61 (502) arasvati.
6.62 (503) svins.
6.63 (504) svins.kúva tyâ valgû puruhūtâ adyá
6.64 (505) awn.
6.65 (506) awn.
6.66 (507) aruts.
6.67 (508) itra-Varuna.
6.68 (509) ndra-Varuna.
6.69 (510) ndra-Visnu.
6.70 (511) eaven and Earth.
6.71 (512) avitar.
6.72 (513) ndra-Soma.
6.73 (514) rhaspati.
6.74 (515) oma-Rudra.sómārudrā dhāráyethām asuryàm
6.75 (516) eapons of War.
References
External links
* – English translation by
Ralph T. H. Griffith
{{Rigveda
Rigveda