Rig Veda
Sakhaanmoola Pramaanaaya Vishoramitatejase
Aadyaaya Sarva Vedaanaam Rig Vedaaya Namonamah
"Among the Vedas, Rig Veda is the oldest. It captures the glory of Lord Vishnu. I bow down to Rig Veda".
Verily, the Rig Veda is the source of all Vedic Knowledge. When Sage Vedavyasa compiled and categorized the Vedas, the first Veda he took up is Rig Veda. Rig Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word, ‘Rik’ which means, ‘to invoke, to praise (the divinity).’ ‘Rik’ has been derived from the root, ‘Ruchastutau.’ In Rig Veda, all the Mantras are in praise of and glorifying all the Gods, such as god of fire, god of rain, Lord Vishnu, etc. Hence it got the name, Rig Veda. According to ancient lore, the Rig Veda originated from a place called Lohapuram (current day Lahore in Pakistan) on the banks of Sindhu river. This Veda is mainly used in Yagnas to invoke and invite the various gods. Rig Veda is composed of many ‘Ruks.’ It is a Veda that deals with Gods, just as Yajur Veda deals with human beings, and Sama Veda deals with ancestors.
Sage Saunaka described the Rig Veda as having 10,580 Ruks. Each of the Ruks in Rig Veda is in the form of ‘Padya’, i.e., it is imbued with Chandas. Each chandas has clear rules about the number of alphabets (aksharas). There are five Shakhas in Rig Veda: Shakala, Bhaskala, Aashwalaayana, Maandukya and Sankhyaayana. At present, the only surviving Shakha in Rig Veda is Shakala.
In Rig Veda, there are three parts, namely Samhita, Brahmanam and Aaranyaka. In the Aaranyaka portion, there are five Upanishads that include Aitareya Upanishad and Samhitopanishad.
Samhita in Rig Veda in contemporary parlance is viewed in two different forms. These are respectively Ashtakaas and Mandalaas. Ashtakaas are divided into Adhyaayas (lessons), which are further divided into Vargas. Mandalaas are divided into Anuvaakas and Suktaas. In South India, the most common form of viewing Rig Veda, is Ashtakas. In this form of viewing, in the Samhimta portion of the Rig Veda, there are eight Ashtakas, each having eight Adhyayas. Alternately, the same Rig Veda is viewed as having ten Mandalaas. In North India, Rig Veda is viewed as having ten Mandalaas.
In this expansive landscape (1017 Suktaas having 10580 Ruks) there are 1,53,825 shabdas (words). These are comprised of 4,32,000 aksharas (fundamental characters in Sanskrit), as per the description of Sage Saunaka. Very coincidentally, it is said that the current epoch (Kali Yuga) will last for 4,32,000 years.
Rig Veda has six branches of learning. Astrology (Jotish Shastram) is one of these branches. It is embedded in one of the Suktas of Rig Veda (in the 2nd Ashtakaa, 3rd Adhyayam, from the beginning of Asyavaamasya Suktam and continues thereafter for 52 Ruks). The Rig Veda has many wonderful aspects that relate to human well-being. Some of suktas in Rig Veda describe stories relating to days of yore. It has many stotras (praise to various gods). In the 10th Mandalam, is the famous ‘Purusha Suktam’ in praise of Lord Vishnu. Rig Veda has beautiful descriptions on right conduct for a human being in society. Rig Veda is used by humans to fulfil their desires relating to material well-being. For example, invoking the rain god by chanting Parjanya Sookta is believed to yield rains. Another example is reciting the sukta that starts with ‘Anobhadrah Kratavo Yentu Vishwathah’ is believed to provide long life to human beings. In this Veda, many suktas proscribe gambling. Some of these suktas carry descriptions of what will happen to a person who gambles.
Adi Sankara glorified Rig Veda. Through some of his commentaries, he described the contents of Rig Veda.