The first hymn from the Rig Veda – A praise of Agni!

Rig Veda is India’s biggest asset. The first of four Vedas carries thousands of Sanskrit hymns. Even today which is no big surprise, Rig Veda is the most sought book. The whole set of hymns or suktas in the Rig Veda are full of praises. Like I have always written, the Vedas in India are as old as 10,000+ years. But the historians haven’t been able to see the logic in the rich history of Vedas. The Rig Veda is famous for discovering answers on various aspects like life, deity, godliness and more.

The Vedic text consists of Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyaka’s and Upanishads.

Of these four types of texts available in the Rig Veda, Samhita carries a lot of importance. Samhita is generally called something that’s ‘put together or ‘joined’. The Samhitas are the oldest of the lot and they constitute praises to the deities. The deity here refers to mother nature and the elements of nature like Sun, Fire, Water, Air and more. There are about 1,028 Suktas in the Rig Veda’s Samhitas. An average would know nothing more than 10 suktas.
Vedas
The Brahmanas are the section that’s dedicated to the commentaries for the hymns or suktas. Whereas ‘Aranyakas’ is known as the forest books and the Upanishads include all the other verses of religious text. Each of these four parts of Rig Veda has different objectives. As we saw, Samhita is full of Mantras and those which are used in rituals. Aranyakas are the textual format of the rituals and sacrifices. Brahmanas are as usual the commentary of various rituals and sacrifices. Finally, Upanishads talk about meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge in the Vedas.

Marriage and other religious rituals in today’s world are followed with the help of ‘Suktas’ from the Rig Veda.

Each of the Hindu rituals carried out has a sukta or Samhita written. The famous ones are even today recited in the daily rituals by the Brahmins. To mention, it’s not written anywhere that only ‘Brahmin’ by birth should recite or carry the Vedic rituals. Instead, anyone with knowledge, right behaviour and high morals & ethics can practice the Vedic rituals. Another mention, Vedas are never Hindu bound. Vedas depicted the life of an individual irrespective of any religion and gives everyone the option to follow them. Following the Vedic life will only make the person more intelligent and wiser. Such is the greatest values and the importance of the irreplaceable knowledge that Vedas have showered on us.
Agni, The Vedic Fire God of Hinduism
The Vedas especially Rig Veda describes the deep-rooted praise to mother nature. Following are some of the most famous people for whom the praises are found in the Rig Veda. These hymns are dedicated to the various deities of today’s Hinduism which was the way of life for a civilization. The gods praised in Rig Veda include Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Grahas (nine planets), Rivers, Bhumi, and the most powerful Sun God.

Mandalas in the Rig Veda

The praises are written are again sub-divided as per the Mandalas. There are 10 Mandalas in Rig Veda. Each Mandala has its significance and consists of a different number of Hymns or Suktas. Out of the 10 Mandalas, the 3rd Mandala is most famous because of the presence of ‘Gayatri Mantra’. The first mandala is discovered as the largest one and the youngest one of all the 10 mandalas. The same is observed to be characteristic of the 10th mandala. The first word in the 1st mandala is dedicated to the Lord Agni (fire). It goes like this…
अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम्।
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥१॥
Agnimīḷe purohitam yajñasya devamṛtvijam,
hotāram ratnadhātamam.
“Agni, I adore, who stands before the Lord, the God who seeth Truth, the warrior, strong disposer of delight.”

Rig VedaRig Veda

The meaning of the first hymn:

In the first-ever hymn of Rig Veda, Agni is praised. It is said that Agni is the mightiest and I adore him who stands before all the Lords. Remember it is the Agni that is lit first for any kind of Yajna or Prayer as per Vedic Rituals. It is he who stands as a warrior and seeks nothing other than the truth. Taking all these, he always desires for an outcome that’s fulfilling and satisfying!
That puts an end to the first-ever hymn of Rig Veda. A rich text with huge learning and very deep-rooted meaning. This first hymn itself tells us how sacred, divine and how the feeling of ‘God exists everywhere’ is practised in the Vedas…

Published by Sriram

A Teacher trying to Learn new things and explore the world each day! Believe in Happiness by the virtue of sacrifice and forgiveness.

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