The Rgveda or the Veda of Praise is the oldest extant literary work in the world. The Hindus have always revered it as the fountain of divine wisdom. All schools of Hindu philosophy claim inspiration from it. The Rgveda contains 1017 hymns (or 1028 according to Valakhilyas) arranged in ten mandalas or books. The first book contains hymns of different character; the seven books, from the second to the eighth, consist of groups of hymns, each group ascribed to one ...
