The sixth Mandala of the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
has 75 hymns, mainly to
Agni
Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...
and
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes
Indra is the m ...
. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the ' family of
Angirasas, especially to
Bharadvaja. It is one of the "family books" (mandalas 2–7), the oldest core of the Rigveda, which were composed in early vedic period(1500-1000 BCE).
Deities addressed besides Indra and Agni include the
Vishvadevas,
Pushan, the
Asvins,
Ushas (Dawn), the
Maruts,
Dyaus
Dyaus (Vedic Sanskrit: द्यौस्, ) or Dyauspitr (Vedic Sanskrit: द्यौष्पितृ, ) is the Rigvedic sky deity. His consort is Prthvi, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the Rigveda.
N ...
and
Prthivi (Heaven and Earth),
Savitar,
Brhaspati and
Soma-
Rudra
Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...
.
The
rivers
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...
mentioned in the sixth Mandala are the
Sarasvati,
Yavyavati and
Hariupiya. RV 6.61 is entirely dedicated to Sarasvati. In RV 6.45.31 the term Ganga occurs which refers to the River Ganges.
Talageri (2000), based on his proposition of a ''westward'' expansion early Rigvedic culture from
Haryana
Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
(contrary to the nearly universally assumed eastward expansion from
Gandhara
Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
) and his identification of some
Rigvedic rivers, claims this Mandala as the oldest of the family books.
[Talageri, Shrikant. (2000) '' The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis'']
List of incipits
The dedication as given by Griffith is in square brackets
6.1 (442) gni.
6.2 (443) gni.
6.3 (444) gni.
6.4 (445) gni.
6.5 (446) gni.
6.6 (447) gni.
6.7 (448) gni.
6.8 (449) gni.
6.9 (450) gni.
6.10 (451) gni.
6.11 (452) gni.
6.12 (453) gni.
6.13 (454) gni.
6.14 (455) gni.agnâ yó mártiyo dúvo
6.15 (456) gni.
6.16 (457) gni.
6.17 (458) ndra.píbā sómam abhí yám ugra tárda
6.18 (459) ndra.
6.19 (460) ndra.
6.20 (461) ndra.dyaúr ná yá indra abhí bhûma aryás
6.21 (462) ndra. Visvedevas.imâ u tvā purutámasya kārór
6.22 (463) ndra.
6.23 (464) ndra.
6.24 (465) ndra.
6.25 (466) ndra.yâ ta ūtír avamâ yâ paramâ
6.26 (467) ndra.śrudhî na indra hváyāmasi tvā
6.27 (468) ndra.kím asya máde kím u asya pītâv
6.28 (469) ows.â gâvo agmann utá bhadrám akran
6.29 (470) ndra.
6.30 (471) ndra.
6.31 (472) ndra.
6.32 (473) ndra.ápūrviyā purutámāni asmai
6.33 (474) ndra.
6.34 (475) ndra.
6.35 (476) ndra.kadâ bhuvan ráthakṣayāṇi bráhma
6.36 (477) ndra.satrâ mádāsas táva viśvájanyāḥ
6.37 (478) ndra.
6.38 (479) ndra.ápād itá úd u naś citrátamo
6.39 (480) ndra.mandrásya kavér diviyásya váhner
6.40 (481) ndra.índra píba túbhya * sutó mádāya
6.41 (482) ndra.
6.42 (483) ndra.
6.43 (484) ndra.yásya tyác chámbaram máde
6.44 (485) ndra.
6.45 (486) ndra.
6.46 (487) ndra.tuvâm íd dhí hávāmahe
6.47 (488) ndra, Etc.
6.48 (489) gni and Others.yajñâ-yajñā vo agnáye
6.49 (490) isvedevas.
6.50 (491) isvedevas.
6.51 (492) isvedevas.
6.52 (493) isvedevas.
6.53 (494) usan.vayám u tvā pathas pate
6.54 (495) usan.
6.55 (496) usan.
6.56 (497) usan.yá enam ādídeśati
6.57 (498) ndra and Pusan.
6.58 (499) usan.
6.59 (500) ndra-Agni.
6.60 (501) ndra-Agni.
6.61 (502) arasvati.
6.62 (503) svins.
6.63 (504) svins.kúva tyâ valgû puruhūtâ adyá
6.64 (505) awn.
6.65 (506) awn.
6.66 (507) aruts.
6.67 (508) itra-Varuna.
6.68 (509) ndra-Varuna.
6.69 (510) ndra-Visnu.
6.70 (511) eaven and Earth.
6.71 (512) avitar.
6.72 (513) ndra-Soma.
6.73 (514) rhaspati.
6.74 (515) oma-Rudra.sómārudrā dhāráyethām asuryàm
6.75 (516) eapons of War.
References
External links
* – English translation by
Ralph T. H. Griffith
{{Rigveda
Rigveda