Table Of ContentThe Rigveda
Guides to Sacred Texts
THE DAODE JING
Livia Kohn
THE YIJING
Joseph Adler
THE RIGVEDA
Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton
The Rigveda
A Guide
JOEL P. BRERETON
STEPHANIE W. JAMISON
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Brereton, Joel P., 1948– author. | Jamison, Stephanie W., author.
Title: The Rigveda : a guide / Joel P. Brereton and Stephanie W. Jamison.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2020. |
Series: Guides to sacred texts | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2019035401 (print) | LCCN 2019035402 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190633363 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190633370 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780190633394 (epub) | ISBN 9780190633387 (updf) | ISBN 9780190633400 (online)
Subjects: LCSH: Vedas. R̥gveda—Criticism, interpretation, etc. |
Vedic literature—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC BL1112.56 .B74 2020 (print) | LCC BL1112.56 (ebook) |
DDC 294.5/9212046—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035401
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035402
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Paperback printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
Contents
Guides to Sacred Texts viii
Note on the Title ix
1. Introduction 1
What is the R̥gveda: A brief overview 2
A significant moment 4
World literature and religion 6
2. Historical Context 9
Migration 9
Indo- Iranian background 11
3. Dating and Authorship 13
Dating 13
Oral tradition and composition 15
Poets and poetic lineages 17
4. Structure of the Text 20
Collection and ordering of the hymns 20
The transmission of the text and the state of the
transmitted text 23
Structure of the text 25
5. Social and Political Context 31
Way of life 31
Social organization 32
Kingship 37
Mundane daily life and the depiction of women 40
6. Ritual 43
Overview 43
The Soma Sacrifice in later Vedic texts 44
Changes between R̥gvedic ritual and middle Vedic ritual 48
Pre- R̥gvedic ritual 50
vi Contents
The R̥gvedic ritual model 52
Other types of ritual in the R̥gveda 58
7. The Gods 62
Overview 62
The major gods 69
Indra 69
Agni 73
Soma 77
Aśvins 81
Maruts 84
Aditi and the Ādityas 86
Savitar 90
Sūrya 91
Uṣas, “Dawn” 92
Vāyu/ Vāta, “Wind” 94
Heaven and Earth 95
Tvaṣṭar 96
R̥bhus 97
Pūṣan 99
Viṣṇu 100
Rudra 102
8. Eschatology 104
9. R̥gvedic Poetry and Poetics 112
The purpose of R̥gvedic poetry: the power of the word 112
The poet 115
The status of the poet 116
Homologies, semantic webs, secret names, and riddles 119
Praise and request in the R̥gvedic praise hymn 127
Praise of deeds: mythology 128
Praise of attributes 133
The “ask” 138
Structures and types of R̥gvedic hymns: some organizing
principles 140
Thematic organization 141
Formal organizational devices 143
Repetition 143
Lists 148
Contents vii
Numbers 149
Questions 151
Ring composition and the omphalos 151
Initial and final verses 153
Poetic repair 155
Riddles and lists 156
Some specialized types of hymns 158
Cosmic speculation and poetic self- reflection 158
Dialogues and monologues 160
Frogs: sui generis 163
Hymns for domestic rituals; spells 163
Praise of the gift 165
Imagery, metaphors, similes 166
Language 174
Grammar 174
Register 177
Lexicon 179
Syntax, grammar, and the pursuit of obscure style 180
Meter 185
Technical description 185
Relevance of meter for the general reader 188
10. Canonical Status and the Reception of the R̥gveda 191
The R̥gveda in the śrauta tradition 191
R̥gvedic Schools 196
Transmission 202
Interpretation 209
Reception 213
Publication 217
Text and Translation 220
Appendix: Selection of R̥gvedic Hymns 223
Bibliography 249
Passage Index 257
Subject Index 267
Guides to Sacred Texts
What is a sacred text? The Oxford English Dictionary offers
a definition of “sacred” as “Set apart for or dedicated to some
religious purpose, and hence entitled to veneration or religious
respect.” The definition is necessarily vague. What does it mean to
be “set apart?” What constitutes a “religious purpose?” How formal
is “veneration?” Does minimal “religious respect” qualify? The
sphere of meanings surrounding the word “sacred” will depend on
the religion involved. For that reason “sacred texts” in this series
is a term conceived broadly. All of the texts covered by this series
have held special regard—they have been “set apart”—in a reli-
gion either ancient or modern. Such texts are generally accorded
more serious attention than other religious documents. In some
cases the texts may be believed to be the words of a deity. In other
cases the texts may be part of an atheistic religion. This breadth of
application indicates the rationale behind Guides to Sacred Texts.
This series offers brief, accessible introductions to sacred texts,
written by experts upon them. While allowing for the individuality
of each text, the series follows a basic format of introducing the text
in terms of its dates of composition, traditions of authorship and
assessment of those traditions, the extent of the text, and the issues
raised by the text. For scripture that continues to be utilized, those
issues will likely continue to generate controversy and discussion
among adherents to the text. For texts from religions no longer
practiced, the issues may well continue to address concerns of the
present day, despite the antiquity of the scripture. These volumes
are useful for introducing sacred writings from around the world to
readers wanting to learn what these sacred texts are.
Note on the Title
Although throughout this book we use the scholarly transliteration
of the name of the text, the R̥gveda, we have chosen the rendering
Rigveda in the title of the book to avoid the problems that might
arise from having a diacritic in the first letter.
