Author: Abinas Chandra Das
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Published: 2022-10-27
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781015837041
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Author: Walter H. Maurer
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Published: 1986-01-01
Total Pages: 364
ISBN-13: 9027233861
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The R?gveda is the oldest of the books that comprise the scriptures of Hinduism. While its age cannot be accurately determined, it can be said with reasonable certainty that it must have existed in its present form at least as early as 1000 BC. It consists of 1,028 hymns, arranged, according to the form in which the R?gveda has been transmitted, in ten divisions, called man?d?alas. This volume consists of a selection of hymns, translated into English and annotated, as well as short introductions to the R?gveda as a whole and the different themes around which the selected hymns are grouped, a bibliography, and an index.
Author: R.U.S. Prasad
Publisher: Vernon Press
Published: 2015-07-01
Total Pages: 210
ISBN-13: 1622730267
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The book critically examines and assesses the literary evidence available through Vedic and allied literature portraying the nature of Vedic polity, the functionalities of its various institutions, and the various social and religious practices. The book is not a narrative but critically examines the nature of changes in a host of these areas that occurred at each stage of Vedic polity from early Vedic period to post Ṛig-Vedic period. It outlines in historical perspective the various stages involved in the development of Vedic polity and Vedic canon and how the two processes have gone along together. It contains extensive discussions on political system and institutions, religious and social practices as they obtained during the Rig-Vedic and post Rig-Vedic periods. It provides a fresh approach to the cult of sacrifice and fire rituals practiced by Vedic Aryans along with an in-depth analysis of the Vedic view of Nationalism, Sovereignty and State as discernible from Vedic texts .The book also features an extensive discussion on the institution of kingship, administrative machinery, role of various entities in the polity including the Purohita, the Sabha and the Samiti, position of women, Varna system and features of tribal kingdoms, such as the Kuru-Panchalas and Kosala-Videhas. Isolating political and social aspects from the essentially religious character of Vedic literature, an attempt has been made to show with due corroboration that the tribal polity was not deficient in political content contrary to the stance of some scholars to depict Vedic Aryans as apolitical and inward looking. The present book partakes both the current and previous scholarship on the subject but breaks a new path with its exclusive focus on the Rig-Vedic and Post Rig-Vedic polity, together with a balanced and objective assessment of their features. It brings all the relevant and connected issues on to one platform, and deals with them in a holistic manner. Its unique features include: • The “Vedic Grid”: a graphical representation and tabulations of the characteristics of each of the about 50 Vedic tribes, including information on the location of their habitat, their time line, the names of their chieftains and their linkage with priestly clans. • A special focus on the Second Urbanization taking place in the Gangetic valley between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. It explains how towards the end of the later Vedic period, the polity underwent a change in political, social and economic spheres which blossomed later during the period of Mauryas. • Two appendices dealing with the theories of Aryan migration and the relationship of the Vedic Aryans with the Harappa culture and what can be ascertained by Vedic literature.
Author: Jyotsna Chawla
Publisher:
Published: 1990
Total Pages: 290
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: India's cultural traditions have their origin in diverse sources embedded in the life style of various pre- and proto-historic communities occupying different parts of the sub-continent in the various periods of their existence. Despite high antiquity of several archaeological finds, one has to admit that the earliest recorded references of India's cultural philosophy and ideological concepts are found only in the textual data of Rgveda, which show an already developed stage of thought. The importance of Vedic philosophy and religious concepts especially those defining the form of divinities lies in the fact that they preserve in them the seeds of later Hinduism to a considerable extent. The Rgveda contains references to various types of divinities which have been classified into three broad groups viz., (i) Terrestrial deities like Prithvi, Soma, Agni, (ii) Atmospheric gods like Indra, Vayu, Maruts, Parjanya, and (iii) Heavenly divinities like Varuna, Dyaus, Asvins, Surya, Savitr, Mitra, Pusana and Visnu. Of these last five were regarded as different phases of sun's movements. Varuna, who has been extolled in many hymns, is also associated with the concept of Rta, i.e. the cosmic and moral order. The Rgveda mentions some goddess too like Prthivi, Usas or the dawn, ratri, Ila Bharati or Sarasvati. A few gods like Dyava-Prthivi (i.e. the sky and the earth) are vitally significant for later iconographic development. To propitiate these gods the Rgvedic people made offerings of milk, ghee grains, etc. through sacrificial oblations and chanted hymns in their praise which, undoubtedly, suggest presence of the elements of Bhakti (deep devotional urge) in the Vedic religion. The present work is conditioned by a kind of unconventional approach to the study of Vedic elements of iconic forms and concepts especially those mentioned in Rgveda, She feels that all gods of Hinduism are basically the gods of the Rgveda which changed their forms from time to time to meet the demand of the people. In her view these developments are well attested to by the literature of historical times, e.g. the Smrtis and the Puranas. According to Chawla the early idea of image-making can be traced back in the hymns of the Rgveda particularly in the poetic imagery of early Vedic seers. She agrees that most of the Vedic deities, no doubt, originally represented the forces of nature but in the course of time, during the Rgvedic age itself, she feels that iconic concepts in regard to at least some divinities had already come into vogue. The author had also located and analysed certain Vedic terms preserving in them clues pertaining to bodily features of some deities. The representation of form as reflected in the expressions like rupani pimsatu and rupam sukrtam, is an indication of some kind of artistic activity in Rgvedic times. Perhaps emergence of the concept of Tvastr, the divine craftsman/artist, was a result of constantly growing creative urge of Rgvedic societies. Dr. Chawla views the whole growth of Hindu iconography as a continuous process of development from the period of the Rgveda onwards under the cover of religious philosophies. Yet, she does not deny the role of Indus civilization and external mythological import. Jyotsna Chawla further invites our attention to the Iconographic parellelism between the concept of Dyava-Prthivi, the eternal parents, and the one reflected in the unified form available in the Puranic iconography of Ardhanarisvara. She traces the growth of the iconic forms of Rgvedic deities like Siva, Surya, Soma, Yama, Asvins, etc. in the later periods when the Puranas were compiled. She has beautifully analysed the Vedic symbolism and the attributes held by various gods in the form of vajra, pasa, danda, sruk and sruva in a logical manner.