According to Prof. A.L. Basham’s celebrated The Wonder That Was India- The Regveda is the oldest religious text in the world. It is a collection of hymns for use at the Yajnas, sacrifices, of the Aryans. The Sama Veda is a collection of certain verses of the Rigveda arranged for liturgical purposes. The Yajur Veda contains sacrificial formulae to be pronounced by the priest during the Yajna. The Atharva Veda consists chiefly of magic spells and incantations, but contains a few poems of great merit. The 1028 hymns of the Rig Veda are the work of many as five centuries. Even the earliest of these is the product of a long tradition, composed according to a strict metrical scheme and a settled literary convention. A number of these hymns show deep feelings for nature and some are very secular. The first god, Agni, was the intermediary between gods and men, for he consumed the offerings and carried them to the gods. The wonderful ‘Hymn of Creation’, the work of a very great poet, marks the development of a high stage of thinking. The Vedas are part of the living Hindu tradition. Their hymns are recited at ceremonies and in the daily devotions of the religious. Presented in this book is a sampler of the hymns, chiefly from the Rig Veda, for a general yet correct understanding of the religion and culture of those earliest times. The translations are by the most respected anthorities on the subject.
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