The seventh 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 ...

("book 7", "RV 7") has 104 hymns. In the Rigveda Anukramani, all hymns in this book are attributed to '' Vashista''. Hymn 32 is additionally credited to Sakti Vashista, and hymns 101-102 (to Parjanya) are additionally credited to Kumara Agneya. 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). The hymns are dedicated 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. ...

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 ...

, the Visvadevas, the Maruts, Mitra-Varuna, the Asvins, Ushas (Dawn), Indra-Varuna,

Varuna Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...

Vayu Vayu (; ), also known as Vata () and Pavana (), is the Hindu deities, Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine messenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king o ...

(Wind), two each to Sarasvati, Rudra, the Waters, the Adityas,

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, Vastospati, Brhaspati, one each to the Apris, to Vashista, Savitar,

Bhaga Bhaga (), is the Vedic god of wealth, as well as a term for "lord, patron" and "wealth, prosperity". He is an Āditya, a group of societal deities who are the sons of Aditi. Bhaga's responsibility was to make sure that people received a shar ...

, the Dadhikras, the Rbhus,

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), Parjanya (Rain) and Indra- Soma. 7.103 is dedicated to the

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s. 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 7th Mandala are the Sarasvati, Asikni, Parusni and possibly the

Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...

(in 7.18.19 the name of a helper of Indra, maybe also the name of a woman or goddess). Hymns 95 and 96 are entirely dedicated to Sarasvati. The verse 7.59.12, probably a late addition, gained importance as Mahāmrityunjaya Mantra or Tryambakam mantra.

The battle of ten kings

The Battle of the Ten Kings (') is a battle alluded to in the

(Book 7, hymns 18, 33 and 83.4-8), the ancient Indian sacred collection of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

hymns. The battle took place during the middle or main

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...

,Witzel (2000): between approximately 1450 and 1300 BCE near the Ravi river in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. It was a battle between the Puru kingdom, allied with other tribes of the northwestern India, guided by the royal sage Vishvamitra, and the Bharata king Sudas, who defeated the Purus.

References

External links

* – English translation by Ralph T. H. Griffith {{Rigveda Rigveda