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A channel dedicated to the study of, and appreciation for the beautiful verses of the Rigveda.
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Ye raised up Vandana, strong Wonder-Workers! with great might, and with power ye rescued Rebha.
From out the sea ye saved the son of Tugra, and gave his youth again unto Chyavāna.
To Atri, fast down to the fire that scorched him, ye gave, O Aśvins, strengthening food and favour.
Accepting his fair praises with approval, ye gave his eyes again to blinded Kaṇva.
For ancient Śayu in his sore affliction ye caused his cow to swell with milk, O Aśvins.
The quail from her great misery he delivered, and a new leg for Viśpalā provided.
A white horse, Aśvins, ye bestowed on Pedu, a serpent-slaying steed sent down by Indra,
Loud-neighing, conquering the foe, high-mettled, firm-limbed and vigorous, winning thousand treasures.
Such as ye are, O nobly born, O Heroes, we in our trouble call on you for succour.
Accepting these our songs, for our well-being come to us on your chariot treasure-laden.
Come unto us combined in love, Nāsatyas come with fresh swift vigour of the falcon.
Bearing oblations I invoke you, Aśvins, at the first break of everlasting dawn.
Rigveda I.CXVIII AŚVINS
We who add strength to thine own splendid vigour, laying within thine arms of splendid thunder—
With us mayst thou, O Indra, waxen splendid, with Sūrya overcome the Dāsa races.
Rigveda II.XI 4 INDRA
Indra the singers with high praise, Indra reciters with their lauds,
Indra the choirs have glorified.
Indra hath ever close to him his two bay steeds and word-yoked car,
Indra the golden-haired, thunder-armed.
Indra hath raised the Sun on high in heaven, that he may see afar:
He burst the mountain for the kine.
Help us, O Indra, in the frays, yea, frays, where thousand spoils are gained,
With awful aids, O awful One.
In mighty battle we invoke Indra, Indra in lesser fight,
The Friend who bends his bolt at fiends.
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Praise Agni in the sacrifice, the Sage whose ways are ever true,
The God who driveth grief away.
God, Agni, be his strong defence who lord of sacrificial gifts,
Worshippeth thee the messenger.
Who-so with sacred gift would fain call Agni to the feast of Gods,
O Purifier, favour him.
Such, Agni, Purifier, bright, bring hither to our sacrifice,
To our oblation bring the Gods.
So lauded by our newest song of praise bring opulence to us,
And food, with heroes for our sons.
O Agni, by effulgent flame, by all invokings of the Gods,
Show pleasure in this laud of ours.
Rigveda I:XII AGNI
Virāj is associated with creation and, confusingly, is considered a secondary creator & primeval being ("..From him Virāj was born; again Puruṣa from Virāj was born." X.90.5).
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"Yellowness" ("..let us give away my yellowness" 1.50 XI,XII) refers to being jaundiced, referencing here the sun's ability to provide medicinal effects to man. And Āditya ("...this Āditya hath gone up on high, 1.50 XIII) is a name given to Sūrya and, collectively, Ādityas are a group of solar Deities and the offspring of Aditi and Kashyapa.
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His bright rays bear him up aloft, the God who knoweth all that lives,
Sūrya, that all may look upon him.
The constellations pass away, like thieves, together with their beams,
Before the all-beholding Sun.
His herald rays are seen afar refulgent o'er the world of men,
Like flames of fire that burn and blaze.
Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Sūrya, maker of the light,
Illuminating all the radiant realm.
Thou goest to the host of Gods, thou comest hither to mankind,
Hither all light to be beheld.
With that same eye of thine wherewith thou lookest brilliant Varuṇa,
Upon the busy race of men,
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Closely was Gāyatrī conjoined with Agni, and closely Savitar combined with Ụshṇih.
Brilliant with Ukthas, Soma joined Anuṣṭubh: Bṛhaspati's voice by Bṛihatī was added.
Virāj adhered to Varuṇa and Mitra: here Triṣṭubh day by day was Indra's portion.
Jagatī entered all the Gods together: so by this knowledge men were raised to Ṛiṣhis.
So by this knowledge men were raised to Ṛiṣhis, when ancient sacrifice sprang up, our Fathers.
When the mind's eye I think that I behold them who first preformed this sacrificial worship.
They who were versed in ritual and metre, in hymns and rules, were the Seven Godlike Ṛiṣhis.
Viewing the path of those of old, the sages have taken up the reins like chariot-drivers.
Rigveda X.CXXX CREATION: SACRIFICE
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Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit.
Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's kinship in the non-existent.
Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it then, and what below it?
There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and energy up yonder
Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation?
The Gods are later than this world's production.
Who knows then whence it first came into being?
He, the first original of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it,
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not.
Rigveda X.CXXVIII CREATION
Flying, with falcons, may your chariot, Aśvins, most gracious, brining friendly help, come hither,—
Your chariot, swifter than the mind of mortal, fleet as the wind, three-seated O ye Mighty.
Come to us with your chariot triple seated, three-wheeled, of triple form, that rolleth lightly.
Fill full our cows, give mettle to our heroes, and make each hero son grow strong, O Aśvins.
With your well-rolling car, descending swiftly, hear this the press-stone's song, ye Wonder-Workers.
How then have ancient sages said, O Aśvins, that ye most swiftly come to stay affliction?
O Aśvins, let your falcons bear you hither, yoked to your chariot, swift, with flying pinions,
Which, ever active, like the airy eagles, carry you, O Nāsatyas, to the banquet.
The youthful Daughter of the Sun, delighting in you, ascended there your chariot, Heroes.
Borne on their swift wings let your beauteous horses, your birds of ruddy hue, convey you near us.
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Unclose, our manly Hero, thou for ever bounteous, yonder cloud,
For us, thou irresistible.
Still higher, at each strain of mine, thunder-armed Indra's praises rise;
I find no laud worthy of him.
Even as the bull drives on the herds, he drives the people with his might,
The Ruler irresistible:
Indra who rules with single sway men, riches, and the fivefold race
Of those who dwell upon the earth.
For your sake from each side we call Indra away from other men:
Ours, and none others, may he be.
Rigveda I.VII INDRA
The Strong, the scatterers of the foe,
Indra and Agni, we invoke;
May they be kind to one like me.
They slay our Ārya foes,
these Lords of heroes, slay our Dasyu foes,
And drive our enemies away.
Rigveda VI.L; (5-6)
We choose Agni the messenger, the herald, master of all wealth,
Well skilled in this our sacrifice.
With callings ever they invoke Agni, Agni, Lord of the House,
Oblation-bearer, much beloved.
Bring the Gods hither, Agni, born for him who strews the sacred grass:
Thou art our herald, meet for praise.
Wake up the willing Gods, since thou, Agni, performest embassage:
Sit on the sacred grass with Gods.
O Agni, radiant One, to whom the holy oil is poured, burn up
Our enemies whom fiends protect.
By Agni Agni is inflamed, Lord of the House, wise, young, who bears
The gift: the ladle is his mouth.
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A thousand heads hath Puruṣa, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet.
On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide.
This Puruṣa is all that yet hath been and all that is to be;
The Lord of Immortality which waxes greater still by food.
So mighty is his greatness; yea, greater than this is Puruṣa.
All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths eternal life in heaven.
With three-fourths Puruṣa went up: one-fourth of him again was here.
Thence he strode out to every side over what cats not and what cats.
From him Virāj was born; again Puruṣa from Virāj was born.
As soon as he was born he spread eastward and westward o’er the earth.
When Gods prepared the sacrifice with Puruṣa as their offering,
Its oil was spring, the holy gift was autumn; summer was the wood.
They balmed as victim on the grass Puruṣa born in earliest time.
With him the Deities and all Sādhyas and Ṛṣis sacrificed.
From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up.
He formed the creatures of-the air, and animals both wild and tame.
From that great general sacrifice Ṛcas and Sāma-hymns were born:
Therefrom were spells and charms produced; the Yajus had its birth from it.
From it were horses born, from it all cattle with two rows of teeth:
From it were generated kine, from it the goats and sheep were born.
When they divided Puruṣa how many portions did they make?
What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?
The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Kṣatriyaḥ made.
His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced.
The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth;
Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vāyu from his breath.
Forth from his navel came mid-air the sky was fashioned from his head
Earth from his feet, and from his car the regions. Thus they formed the worlds.
Seven fencing-sticks had he, thrice seven layers of fuel were prepared,
When the Gods, offering sacrifice, bound, as their victim, Puruṣa.
Gods, sacrificing, sacrificed the victim these were the earliest holy ordinances.
The Mighty Ones attained the height of heaven, there where the Sādhyas, Gods of old, are dwelling.
Rigveda X.90 PURUṢA
From that great general sacrifice Ṛichas and Sāman-hymns were born:
Therefrom were spells and charms produced; the Yajus had its birth from it.
From it were the horses born, from it all the cattle with two rows of teeth:
From it were generated kine, from it the goats and sheep were born.
When they divided Paruṣha how many portions did they make?
What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?
The Brahmin was his mouth, of both his arms was the kṣatriyaḥ made.
His thighs became the Vaishya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced.
Rigveda X.XC 9-12 PARUṢHA
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Traversing sky and wide mid-air, thou metest with they beams our days,
Sun, seeing all things that have birth.
Seven Bay Steeds harnessed to thy car bear thee, O thou farseeing One,
God, Sūrya, with the radiant hair.
Sūrya hath yoked the pure bright Seven, the daughters of the car; with these,
His own dear team, he goeth forth.
Looking upon the loftier light above the darkness we have come
To Sūrya, God among the Gods, the light that is most excellent.
Rising this day, O rich in friends, ascending to the loftier heaven,
Sūrya remove my heart's disease, take from me this my yellow hue.
To parrots and to starlings let us give away my yellowness,
Or this my yellowness let us transfer to Haritāla trees.
With all his conquering vigour this Āditya hath gone up on high,
Giving my foe into mine hand: let me not be my foeman's prey.
Rigveda I.L SŪRYA
Here, we see the Indo-European theme of the First Sacrifice enter the Rigvedic creation myth. As in the Norse Mythology, where the primordial being Ymir is sacrificed, "...to the Deities the God was sacrificed... (10.130 III)". It then alludes to Sacrifice being revealed to Man, "So by this knowledge men were raised to Ṛiṣhis, when ancient sacrifice sprang up... (10.130 VI)", who must continue the practise of Sacrifice to maintain the Cosmic Order. Ṛiṣhi is the Vedic name given to men of particular enlightenment, who may perform Sacrifice and transcribe the Vedas.
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The sacrifice drawn out with threads on every side, stretched by a hundred sacred ministers and one,—
This do these Fathers weave who hitherward are come: they sit beside the warp and cry, Weave forth, weave back.
The Man extends it and the Man unbinds it: even to this vault of heaven hath he outspun, it.
These pegs are fastened to the seat of worship: they made the Sāman-hymns their weaving shuttles.
What were the rule, the order and the model? What were the wooden fender and the butter?
What were the hymn, the chant, the recitation, when to the Deities the God was sacrificed?
Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky behind it.
What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?
Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there, the day's and night's divider.
That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever.
Darkness there was: at first concealed in the darkness this All was indiscriminate chaos.
All that existed then was void and form less: by the great power of Warmth was born that Unit.