The Rgveda Samhita: Vasanti Bhasya (Volume I)

Rgveda, the oldest literary document of the world, is the transcendental language of prayers and hymns to glorify the elemental deities. Basanta Kumar Ganguly has translated and annotated the entire Rgveda in the light of his own mature experience. He has evinced considerable originality by differing from the traditional commentary of Sayana. What makes the work unique is that it contains the huge Rgveda in Roman transliteration. This is particularly attractive to foreign scholars. This s a work of author’s Herculean effort to grasp the real sense of the rks and to take an integral view of the entire Rgveda where the rsis recorded their experiences of the pilgrimages from mortality to immortality. Introductory part of this work is a real treasure. Here, he interprets Rgveda thematically in his expressive and lucid language and differs greatly from the annotations of the traditional commentators as well as the European scholars which opens a new threshold to the readers of philosophy an Indian antiquity. Author’s explanatory notes emerged from his unique philosophical concept on the mystical and abstruse words. The elucidation of Vedic symbolism will benefit a modern reader endowed with a rational bent of mind to be adequately equipped for understanding the hymns as well as to have a glimpse of the radiance of Vedic scripture.