Rigveda, ṻ岹, Ric-veda, Rig-Veda: 17 definitions
Introduction:
Rigveda means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
The Sanskrit term ṻ岹 can be transliterated into English as Rgveda or Rigveda, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
Alternative spellings of this word include Hrigved.
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopediaṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद).—The ṻ岹 is the oldest recorded work of the human race. The Egyptians claim that another book entitled "Book of the Dead" was also written during the period of the ṻ岹. The Babylonians have an ancient work called 'Gilgamish', which according to scholars, is not as old as the ṻ岹. ṻ岹 is the work that forms the basis of Hindu religion. Of the four Vedas, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda were composed after ṻ岹." The ṻ岹 sūktas were interpreted for the first time in Yāska’s "Nirukta" and Sāyaṇa’s "Vedārthaprakāśa".
The most important of the four Vedas is ṻ岹. It is divided into ten "Maṇḍalas". There are 1017 sūktas and 10472 Ṛks in it. Although there are 11 more Sūktas called "khilas," they are not usually included in the ṻ岹. (See full article at Story of ṻ岹 from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)
: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Indexṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद).—Imparted to Paila by Vyāsa. Paila arranged it in two parts and assigned them to Indrapramati and Bāṣkala. The latter divided that into 4 ś which were imparted respectively to Bodhya, Agnimātara, Pārāśari, and Yājñavalkya. But Indrapramati gave it intact to his pupil Māṇḍuki who taught it to his son who in his turn to his son and so on.1 Served as a horse for the chariot of Tripurāri.2 Present with pada and krama in vāruṇi yajña.3 One ٰ.4 Part of Viṣṇu.5
- 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa 1. 4. 21; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 34. 14-30; Vāyu-purāṇa 32. 2; Viṣṇu-purāṇa III. 4. 8, 13, 16-25.
- 2) Matsya-purāṇa 133. 31.
- 3) Vāyu-purāṇa 65. 24.
- 4) Vāyu-purāṇa 26. 17.
- 5) Viṣṇu-purāṇa V. 1. 37.

The Purana (पुरा�, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
General definition (in Hinduism)
: WikiPedia: HinduismThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these among the world's oldest religious texts in continued use. The Rigveda contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc.
Rigveda (ऋग्वेद ṛgveda) is a compound of ṛc "praise, verse" and veda "knowledge".
: Hindupedia: The Hindu EncyclopediaRigveda is a Veda in form of Sukti's, which mean 'beautiful statements'. A collection of very beautifully composed incantations itself is a Sukta. The Sukta is a hymn and is composed of a set of Riks. 'Rik' means - an incantation that contains praises and Veda means knowledge. The knowledge of the Suktas itself is the literal meaning of Rigveda.
The Rigveda Richas comprises mainly of the praises of God. Other than this it also has incantations containing thoughts which are evolved by the sages through their minute observation, contemplation and analysis. Every element of nature was an issue to contemplate upon for the sages. In this process they have randomly even spoken about the mysteries of the universe, which are not only worth reading but also for practical usage.
Rigveda is the oldest Veda and like all of the Vedas, it is organized into three parts:
- Samhita
- Brahmana
- Aranyaka
These mantras are filed with good thoughts and they have the ability to inspire us greatly. The ultimate aim of all these mantras is to purify the human mind through knowledge. Darkness is symbol of lack of knowledge or illusionary living, which makes us devoid of justness and sagacity.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryṛgvēda (ऋग्वेद).—m (S) The R̤igveda, the first of the four Vedas.
: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishṛgvēda (ऋग्वेद).�m The first of the four Vedas.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद).—the oldest of the four Vedas, and the most ancient sacred book of the Hindus. [The ṻ岹 is said to have been produced from fire; cf. M.1.23. This Veda is divided, according to one arrangement, into 8 Aṣṭakas, each of which is divided into as many Adhyāyas; according to another arrangement into 1 Maṇḍalas, which are again subdivided into 1 Anuvākas, and comprises 1 sūktas. The total number of verses or Ṛi is above 1].
Derivable forms: ṛg岹� (ऋग्वेद�).
ṻ岹 is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms ṛc and veda (वे�).
: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद).—m.
(-岹�) The Rich or Rik Veda, the first of the four Vedas. E. ṛc and veda a Veda.
: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद).—[masculine] the Rigveda (the hymns with or without the Brāhmaṇa and Sūtra works).
: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Aufrecht Catalogus Catalogorum1) ṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:�[Mackenzie Collection] 1. Io. 20-27. 38-40. 129-132. 1473. 1488. 1690. 1691. 2023. 2131. 2378. 2379. 2422. 2423. W. p. 2-6. Oxf. 364^a. 365^a. 376^b. 381^b. 382^b. Paris. (D 164-66. 199. 200. Tel. 2. 3). L. 863. Khn. 3. K. 2. B. 1, 8. 10. Ben. 1-5. Bik. 11-25. Pheh. 13. . 1. NW. 2. 32. Np. Ii, 12. V, 142. Haug. 9-11. Brl. 5. Burnell. 1. Bh. 3. Bhk. 5. Bhr. 5. Poona. 3. 5. Oppert. 20. 1405. 1406. 1659. 1664-69. 1773-75. 2776. 3111. 3764. 4387. 7862. Ii, 1731. 3324. 4270. 4271. 4503. 5103. 6215. 6628. 6746. 6888. 8172. 9012. 10114. Rice. 2. Peters. 1, 113. 2, 167. 169. 3, 383. Bp. 283.
—See Anuvākānukramaṇ�, Anuvākādhyāya, Jaṭāpaṭala.
—with Khilakāṇḍa and Āraṇyaka. Report. I.
‰ڳdzԳٲ Oppert. 1388 (?).
‰ڳdzԳٲ ṻ岹bhāṣya ślokamaya by Ānandatīrtha. Hall. p. 205. K. 2. Bik. 27. Np. V, 42. Burnell. 98^a. Rice. 50. Cc
—� by Jayatīrtha. Io. 46 ([fragmentary]). Bik. 27. Burnell. 98^b. Proceed. Asb. 1869, 134.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Caṇḍūpaṇḍita. Ba. 8.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Caturvedasvāmin. Hall. p. 119.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Bhāskarabhaṭṭa (?). Oppert. 4987. Ii, 511.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Yuvarāja. Ben. 1.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Rāvaṇa. Hall. p. 119. Journal Asb. 1862, 129.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Varadarāja. Oppert. 1407.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Sāyaṇa. Io. 522. 1861-64. 2133-36. 2612. 2992-99. 3126-29. 3151. 3152. W. p. 17 (first aṣṭaka). Oxf. 364^a. 365. 390^a. 405^a. Paris. (D 207-10. 218-20). Bonn. 122 ([fragmentary]). Khn. 2. B. 1, 10. 12. Ben. 1. 2. Bik. 25-28. NW. 2. 36. Np. Ii, 12. Vi, 2. Haug. 27. Burnell. 3^b. Poona. 3. 4. 15. 604 -6. Ii, 226. Oppert. 2777. Ii, 41. 512. 606. 1241. 6048. 6214. Rice. 50. 60. Peters. 2, 168. Bp. 283.
‰ڳdzԳٲ ṻ岹bhāṣyacandrikā. Oppert. Ii, 9453.
‰ڳdzԳٲ ṻ岹bhāṣyaṭīkā. Oppert. 3591. Ii, 43. by Rāmacandratīrtha. Oppert. Ii, 42. Kramapāṭha. Np. Ii, 12. Rice. 2. ṻ岹ghana. Np. Ii, 12. Ind. Antiq. 1874, 133. Jaṭāpāṭha. Np. Ii, 10. Rice. 2. Jaṭodāharaṇa. Burnell. 3^b. Pāvamānya�. B. 1, 12. Pratīka. Burnell. 2^b. Prātiśākhya by Śaunaka. Io. 1355. W. p. 7. Oxf. 405^b. L. 902. Khn. 8. B. 1, 198 (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). 206. Ben. 5. Bik. 137. Haug. 28 (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). Brl. 5. Burnell. 1^b. P. 4. Bhk. 8. Oppert. 1403. 7863. Ii, 6212. 6886. Peters. 2, 168. 169.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Uvaṭa. Io. 28. W. p. 7. Oxf. 405^b. Paris. (D 203). L. 1450. K. 184. Report. I. Bik. 136. NW. 14. Oudh. Xiii, 2. Np. Ii, 2. Burnell. 1^b. Bh. 7. P. 5. Bhr. 515. 516. Oppert. 1923. Ii, 6334. Peters. Ii, 168. 169. Bodl. 20. Sarvānukramaṇ� by Kātyāyana. [Mackenzie Collection] 2. Io. 132. 986. 1152. 1690. 1691. 2140. Oxf. 378^a. 386^a. Ben. 3. Bik. 144. . 1. Burnell. 2^a (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). Lahore. 2. P. 4. Bhk. 8. Oppert. Ii, 6216. Rice. 12 (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). Peters. 2, 167. 169.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Gaṇeśabhaṭṭa Ḍokhale. Np. V, 148.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Jagannātha. Io. 1636. L. 1512. Khn. 10. Ben. 3. Haug. 32. Bhk. 8. Bp. 287.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Ṣaḍguruśiṣya. Io. 1823. 2396. W. p. 12. Oxf. 378^b.
2) ṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):�read W. p. 3-6. Khn. 2, and delete Peters. 1, 113. Pāvamānya�. read B. 1, 14. Prātiśākhya. add Bh. 7.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Uvaṭa. add Ben. 2, and delete Bh. 7. Sarvānukramaṇ�. add Bik. 150 (Paribhāṣāḥ). Haug. 22. Np. Vii, 6 (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). X, 6 (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). Bh. 5. delete Oxf. 378^a.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Gaṇeśa. add B. 1, 212. Ben. 3. Oudh. Xiii, 24. Np. Ii, 6.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Ṣaḍguruśiṣya q. v.
3) ṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):�Cs. 1-11. 15-18. Cu. add. 1927 (pada). Stein 3.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Sāyaṇa. Cs. 14-20. Peters. 4, 1 (Aṣṭaka 7. 8 and two adhyāyas of 6). Jaṭāpāṭha. Cs. 36. Prātiśākhya by Śaunaka. L. 4190. Lund Iii. Stein 3.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Uvaṭa. Stein 3 (inc.). Sarvānukramaṇ�. Cs. 21. Cu. add. 879. 1914. 1920 (and‰ڳdzԳٲ). Rgb. 80. Paribhāṣ�, a part of the Sarvānukramaṇ�. Cu. add. 2087. Rgb. 71. 72. See Ārṣānukramaṇ�.
‰ڳdzԳٲ [anonymous] L. 4259. Rgb. 81.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Gaṇeśa Dokhala, son of Bhaṭṭa Kṛṣṇa. Cs. 22.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Jagannātha. Cu. add. 1909. L. 4241.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Rāma Bhaṭṭa, son of Bālambhaṭṭa. Cs. 23. Anukramaṇīḍhuṇḍhu, the Sarvānukramaṇ� in a tabulated form. Rgb. 39 (inc.).
4) ṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):�Hz. 412 (Saṃhitāpāṭha). 425 (pada, aṣṭaka 4). 455 (Saṃhitāpāṭha, aṣṭaka 1). Ulwar 1-4. 24-27.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Sāyaṇa. Ulwar 25 (aṣṭaka 2-8). Prātiśākhya. Hz. 628 (2 Praśna). Ulwar 17. 31.
‰ڳdzԳٲ by Uvaṭa. Cs. 490. Hz. 429. 439. Ulwar 32. Sarvānukramaṇikā. Ulwar 18. 28. 29.
5) ṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):—As p. 32 (I. F. 27. Iii. F. 190 eighth Aṣṭaka. I. A. 17 first Aṣṭaka with Sāyaṇa’s C.). Ed. U. (Aṣṭaka 1. 3. 4. 5). Hr. Notices Vol. Xi, Pref. p. 19 (Śāṅkhāyana Śākhā). Hz. 699. 698 (pada). 728 (pada. Aṣṭaka 1). L.. 1-9. Whish 13 a (pada of hymn 1, 1-3, 4). 176 (Aṣṭaka 1-4. pada). 177 (Aṣṭaka 5-8. pada). C. by Ānandatīrtha. Cc. by Jayatīrtha. As p. 32 (first Adhyāya). C. by Sāyaṇa. As p. 32 (Iii. D. 46. I. F. 28 [Aṣṭaka 1-3]. Ed. U. (Aṣṭaka 1. 3. 4. 5). Whish 1 a (1, 122-165). 2 (1, 75-121). 13 (Introduction and C. on 1, 1-19). Prātiśākhya by Śaunaka. As p. 32 (4 Mss). 205. Hpr. 2, 25. Whish 73, 1 (1, 16-52). C. Pārshadvṛtti. Whish 73, 1 (Paṭala 1-10). C. by Uvaṭa. As p. 32. Bc 428. Hpr. 2, 136. Sarvānukramaṇikā by Kātyāyana. As p. 216 (2 Mss.). Hpr. 2, 5. Whish 78, 6 (till X, 105). C. by Ṣaḍguruśiṣya. Hpr. 2, 243. Ṛgvedānukramaṇikā, different from the Sarvānukramaṇikā. Hpr. 2, 250. Anuvākānukramaṇ�. As p. 216.
: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):—[=ṛg-岹] [from ṛg > ṛc] m. ‘Hymn - Veda� or ‘Veda of praise�, the Ṛg-veda, or most ancient sacred book of the Hindūs (that is, the collective body of sacred verses called Ṛcas [see below], consisting of 1017 hymns [or with the Vālakhilyas 1028] arranged in eight Aṣṭakas or in ten Maṇḍalas; Maṇḍalas 2-8 contain groups of hymns, each group ascribed to one author or to the members of one family; the ninth book contains the hymns sung at the Soma ceremonies; the first and tenth contain hymns of a different character, some comparatively modern, composed by a greater variety of individual authors; in its wider sense the term Ṛg-veda comprehends the Brāhmaṇas and the Sūtra works on the ritual connected with the hymns), [Aitareya-brāhmaṇa; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Manu-smṛti etc.]
: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):—[ṛg+岹] (岹�) 1. m. Rig Veda.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम� (ṃsṛt), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद) [Also spelled hrigved]:�(nm) the earliest of the four Vedas ; ~[ī] well-versed in, and acting according to, the Rigved.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
: Alar: Kannada-English corpusṚgvēda (ಋಗ್ವೇದ):—[noun] the oldest of the four Vēdas, and the most ancient sacred book of the Hindus, consisting of hymns.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
: unoes: Nepali-English Dictionaryṻ岹 (ऋग्वेद):—n. the most ancient sacred oral text of India. It contains more than a thousand hymns to a variety of gods; many of whom are closely connected with natural phenomena; prominent among these are Indra; god of the thunderstorm;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Rig, Ric, Te, Le, El, Vedavedanga, Rigveda, Ter, Veda.
Starts with (+13): Rigvedabhashya, Rigvedadevata, Rigvedadevatakrama, Rigvedadvarapalamantra, Rigvedahautra, Rigvedahnika, Rigvedahnikacandrika, Rigvedahomavidhana, Rigvedamantrabhashya, Rigvedamantrabhashya, Rigvedamantrabrahmana, Rigvedamantrasamhita, Rigvedamantravibhaga, Rigvedanirukta, Rigvedanukramanika, Rigvedanuvakanukramani, Rigvedapadadisamkhya, Rigvedapadanukramani, Rigvedapancika, Rigvedaparibhasha.
Full-text (+13837): Rigvedavid, Hotri, Bahvric, Trimadhu, Soma, Paila, Ashtaka, Arccika, Shaunaka, Purusha-sukta, Ruj, Bahvrici, Ric, Arcis, Riksamhita, Dama, Vassa, Veda, Dana, Channa.
Relevant text
Search found 309 books and stories containing Rigveda, ṻ岹, Ric-veda, Rig-veda, De rigveda, Ṛc-veda, Rc-veda, Le rigveda, Der rigveda, El rigveda, Ṛgvēda, Rg-veda, Rgveda, Ṛg-veda, The rgveda, The rig veda, The rigveda, Rigved; (plurals include: Rigvedas, ṻ岹s, vedas, De rigvedas, Le rigvedas, Der rigvedas, El rigvedas, Ṛgvēdas, Rgvedas, The rgvedas, The rig vedas, The rigvedas, Rigveds). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Musical Instruments in Sanskrit Literature (by S. Karthick Raj KMoundinya)
Musical instruments in Rig Veda < [Chapter 3 - Musical Instruments of India (with reference to Sanskrit literary sources)]
Evolution of Indian Music < [Chapter 2 - Origin and evolution of Music and Musical instruments]
The concept of Vaishvanara in Vedic literature (by Satyanarayan Rath)
5. Vaiśvānara and Universal Order (Ṛta) < [Chapter 5 - The spiritual concept of Vaiśvānara]
5. Characteristics of the Vedic gods < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
3. Vaiśvānara as Immortal (Amartya): < [Chapter 5 - The spiritual concept of Vaiśvānara]
Minerals and Metals in Sanskrit literature (by Sulekha Biswas)
2. Transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic Age < [Chapter 2 - Minerals and Metals in the Rigveda]
1. Introduction to the Rigveda < [Chapter 2 - Minerals and Metals in the Rigveda]
6. Ornaments and Gems in the Rigveda < [Chapter 2 - Minerals and Metals in the Rigveda]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Page 37 < [Volume 1, Part 1 (1901)]
Page 34 < [Volume 1, Part 1 (1901)]
Page 35 < [Volume 1, Part 1 (1901)]
Chandogya Upanishad (english Translation) (by Swami Lokeswarananda)
Bhakti-rasayana by Madhusudana Sarasvati (by Lance Edward Nelson)
Part 2 - Devotional and Impersonalist Aspects of Vedic Religion < [Chapter 1 - Devotional trends and impersonalism in the early scriptures]
Notes for chapter 1 < [Chapter 1 - Devotional trends and impersonalism in the early scriptures]
1 Bhakti, Personalism, and Impersonalism < [Chapter 1 - Devotional trends and impersonalism in the early scriptures]
Related products
Sarasvati: the Goddess of Inspiration
Mythical Animals in Indian Art
Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
Fifty Stories from Yogavasishtha
Cultural Horizons of India
Chemistry and Pharmacology of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants
(+4 more products available)