The Rig Veda is the oldest surviving text originally written in Vedic Sanskrit, the earliest known version of Sanskrit that was preserved orally until the invention of writing. These hymns probably originated around 1500-1000 BC/BCE, and they have been organized into 10 books, or mandalas, that amount to thousands of pages of hard-to-interpret text. I obviously haven’t read all of them, but Penguin Classics offers a collection (pictured above) of 108 of these hymns, which have been selected, translated, and annotated by Wendy Doniger. I found this collection and Doniger’s insights to be a good introduction to this important ancient work. According to Doniger, she chose this number of hymns because the number 108 is holy in India, and because it constitutes 10% of the 10-book collection (p. 12).
As I mentioned, many of these hymns are difficult to interpret, since they have been written in the form of riddles and metaphors. Doniger believes that the riddles are not necessarily meant to have answers – they “are designed to present one half of a Socratic dialogue through which the reader becomes aware of the inadequacy of his certain knowledge” (p. 16). Additionally, much of the mythology referred to in these hymns is lost to us today and thus can only be interpreted through context or in comparison to other hymns. Whether these ambiguities become frustrating or fascinating fully depends on the reader’s own level of interest and attitude towards a challenge. I personally find it fascinating.
There are, however, plenty of instances in which the meaning of a Vedic hymn is fairly straightforward. Take, for instance, the many comments made by men about the complexities and attractions of women, the recurring themes of desire for “health, wealth, long life, and progeny” (p. 229), and even a highly relatable “Gambler’s Lament” (p. 239-241), in which a man struggles with an addiction to the thrill of the dice and loses his wife and property: “Because of a losing throw of the dice I have driven away a devoted wife. … My wife’s mother hates me, and my wife pushes me away; the man in trouble finds no one with sympathy. They all say, ‘I find a gambler as useless as an old horse that someone wants to sell.’” (p. 240) Further into “Gambler’s Lament,” I found this description of the dice absolutely genius in its insightful simplicity: “Down they roll, and up they spring. Handless, they master him that has hands. Unearthly coals thrown down on the gaming board, though they are cold they burn out the heart.” (p. 240) In the end, the gambler begins to see the error of his ways: “This is what the noble Savitr shows me: ‘Play no longer with the dice, but till your field; enjoy what you possess, and value it highly. There are your cattle, and there is your wife, O gambler.’” (p. 241) This hymn felt more like a modern drama than something I expected to find in a 3,000-year-old religious text. Isn’t it amazing how human human beings have always been?
I hope you enjoyed exploring the Rig Veda if you picked it up, or that you feel encouraged to try it if you haven’t yet. Whether you choose Doniger’s edition or another, just make sure it’s full of explanatory notes that will help you get as much out of these hymns as possible. They’re well worth your time.
Please join me next in exploring The Upanishads, which I will also be reading from the Penguin Classics edition. I expect that post to go up on February 28. Happy reading!
Source used:
The Rig Veda: An Anthology. Edited and translated by Wendy Doniger. Penguin Books, 1981.
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