Rig Veda Book In Tamil Pdf Free Download

The Sanskrit term veda as a common noun means "knowledge".[28] The term in some contexts, such as hymn 10.93.11 of the Rigveda, means "obtaining or finding wealth, property",[31] while in some others it means "a bunch of grass together" as in a broom or for ritual fire.[32]

While according to Mookerji understanding the meaning (vedarthajnana[84] or artha-bodha[85][note 12]) of the words of the Vedas was part of the Vedic learning,[85] Holdrege and other Indologists[86] have noted that in the transmission of the Samhitas the emphasis is on the phonology of the sounds (abda) and not on the meaning (artha) of the mantras.[86][87][68] Already at the end of the Vedic period their original meaning had become obscure for "ordinary people,"[87][note 13] and niruktas, etymological compendia, were developed to preserve and clarify the original meaning of many Sanskrit words.[87][89] According to Staal, as referenced by Holdrege, though the mantras may have a discursive meaning, when the mantras are recited in the Vedic rituals "they are disengaged from their original context and are employed in ways that have little or nothing to do with their meaning."[86][note 14] The words of the mantras are "themselves sacred,"[90] and "do not constitute linguistic utterances."[26] Instead, as Klostermaier notes, in their application in Vedic rituals they become magical sounds, "means to an end."[note 15] Holdrege notes that there are scarce commentaries on the meaning of the mantras, in contrast to the number of commentaries on the Brahmanas and Upanishads, but states that the lack of emphasis on the "discursive meaning does not necessarily imply that they are meaningless."[91] In the Brahmanical perspective, the sounds have their own meaning, mantras are considered as "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer.[26] By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base. As long as the purity of the sounds is preserved, the recitation of the mantras will be efficacious, irrespective of whether their discursive meaning is understood by human beings."[26][note 16] Frazier further notes that "later Vedic texts sought deeper understanding of the reasons the rituals worked," which indicates that the Brahmin communities considered study to be a "process of understanding."[92]

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A literary tradition is traceable in post-Vedic times, after the rise of Buddhism in the Maurya period,[note 17] perhaps earliest in the Kanva recension of the Yajurveda about the 1st century BCE; however oral tradition of transmission remained active.[65] Jack Goody has argued for an earlier literary tradition, concluding that the Vedas bear hallmarks of a literate culture along with oral transmission,[94][95] but Goody's views have been strongly criticised by Falk, Lopez Jr,. and Staal, though they have also found some support.[96][97]

The Vedas were written down only after 500 BCE,[98][65][23] but only the orally transmitted texts are regarded as authoritative, given the emphasis on the exact pronunciation of the sounds.[67] Witzel suggests that attempts to write down the Vedic texts towards the end of 1st millennium BCE were unsuccessful, resulting in smriti rules explicitly forbidding the writing down of the Vedas.[65] Due to the ephemeral nature of the manuscript material (birch bark or palm leaves), surviving manuscripts rarely surpass an age of a few hundred years.[99] The Sampurnanand Sanskrit University has a Rigveda manuscript from the 14th century;[100] however, there are a number of older Veda manuscripts in Nepal that are dated from the 11th century onwards.[101]

Holdrege notes that in Vedic learning "priority has been given to recitation over interpretation" of the Samhitas.[108] Galewicz states that Sayana, a Mimamsa scholar,[114][115][116] "thinks of the Veda as something to be trained and mastered to be put into practical ritual use," noticing that "it is not the meaning of the mantras that is most essential [...] but rather the perfect mastering of their sound form."[117] According to Galewicz, Sayana saw the purpose (artha) of the Veda as the "artha of carrying out sacrifice," giving precedence to the Yajurveda.[114] For Sayana, whether the mantras had meaning depended on the context of their practical usage.[117] This conception of the Veda, as a repertoire to be mastered and performed, takes precedence over the internal meaning or "autonomous message of the hymns."[118] Most rauta rituals are not performed in the modern era, and those that are, are rare.[119]

Mukherjee notes that the Rigveda, and Sayana's commentary, contain passages criticizing as fruitless mere recitation of the ik (words) without understanding their inner meaning or essence, the knowledge of dharma and Parabrahman.[120] Mukherjee concludes that in the Rigvedic education of the mantras "the contemplation and comprehension of their meaning was considered as more important and vital to education than their mere mechanical repetition and correct pronunciation."[121] Mookei refers to Sayana as stating that "the mastery of texts, akshara-prapt, is followed by artha-bodha, perception of their meaning."[85][note 12] Mukherjee explains that the Vedic knowledge was first perceived by the rishis and munis. Only the perfect language of the Vedas, as in contrast to ordinary speech, can reveal these truths, which were preserved by committing them to memory.[123] According to Mukherjee, while these truths are imparted to the student by the memorized texts,[124] "the realization of Truth" and the knowledge of paramatman as revealed to the rishis is the real aim of Vedic learning, and not the mere recitation of texts.[125] The supreme knowledge of the Absolute, para Brahman-jnana, the knowledge of rta and satya, can be obtained by taking vows of silence and obedience[126] sense-restraint, dhyana, the practice of tapas (austerities),[111] and discussing the Vedanta.[126][note 21]

Prodigious energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from generation to generation with inordinate fidelity.[136] For example, memorization of the sacred Vedas included up to eleven forms of recitation of the same text. The texts were subsequently "proof-read" by comparing the different recited versions. Forms of recitation included the ja-pha (literally "mesh recitation") in which every two adjacent words in the text were first recited in their original order, then repeated in the reverse order, and finally repeated in the original order.[137] That these methods have been effective, is attested to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the Rigveda, as redacted into a single text during the Brahmana period, without any variant readings within that school.[137]

Of these, the first three were the principal original division, also called "tray vidy"; that is, "the triple science" of reciting hymns (Rigveda), performing sacrifices (Yajurveda), and chanting songs (Samaveda).[140][141] The Rig Veda most likely was composed between c. 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE.[note 1] Witzel notes that it is the Vedic period itself, where incipient lists divide the Vedic texts into three (tray) or four branches: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.[129]

Only one version of the Rigveda is known to have survived into the modern era.[130] Several different versions of the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda are known, and many different versions of the Yajur Veda have been found in different parts of South Asia.[143]

The Rigveda Samhita is the oldest extant Indic text.[145] It is a collection of 1,028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns and 10,600 verses in all, organized into ten books (Sanskrit: mandalas).[146] The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities.[147]

The Rigveda is structured based on clear principles. The Veda begins with a small book addressed to Agni, Indra, Soma and other gods, all arranged according to decreasing total number of hymns in each deity collection; for each deity series, the hymns progress from longer to shorter ones, but the number of hymns per book increases. Finally, the meter too is systematically arranged from jagati and tristubh to anustubh and gayatri as the text progresses.[129]

The Samaveda Samhita[153] consists of 1549 stanzas, taken almost entirely (except for 75 mantras) from the Rigveda.[41][154] While its earliest parts are believed to date from as early as the Rigvedic period, the existing compilation dates from the post-Rigvedic Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit, between c. 1200 and 1000 BCE or "slightly later," roughly contemporary with the Atharvaveda and the Yajurveda.[154]

In the Samaveda, some of the Rigvedic verses are repeated.[155] Including repetitions, there are a total of 1875 verses numbered in the Samaveda recension translated by Griffith.[156] Two major recensions have survived, the Kauthuma/Ranayaniya and the Jaiminiya. Its purpose was liturgical, and they were the repertoire of the udgt or "singer" priests.[157]

The earliest and most ancient layer of Yajurveda samhita includes about 1,875 verses, that are distinct yet borrow and build upon the foundation of verses in Rigveda.[162] Unlike the Samaveda which is almost entirely based on Rigveda mantras and structured as songs, the Yajurveda samhitas are in prose, and they are different from earlier Vedic texts linguistically.[163] The Yajur Veda has been the primary source of information about sacrifices during Vedic times and associated rituals.[164]

There are two major groups of texts in this Veda: the "Black" (Krishna) and the "White" (Shukla). The term "black" implies "the un-arranged, motley collection" of verses in Yajurveda, in contrast to the "white" (well arranged) Yajurveda.[165] The White Yajurveda separates the Samhita from its Brahmana (the Shatapatha Brahmana), the Black Yajurveda intersperses the Samhita with Brahmana commentary. Of the Black Yajurveda, texts from four major schools have survived (Maitrayani, Katha, Kapisthala-Katha, Taittiriya), while of the White Yajurveda, two (Kanva and Madhyandina).[166][167] The youngest layer of Yajurveda text is not related to rituals nor sacrifice, it includes the largest collection of primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy.[168][169] 17dc91bb1f