A Vedic Reader for Students: Containing Thirty Hymns of the Rigveda in the Original Samhita and Pada Texts, with Transliteration, Translation, Explanatory Notes, Introduction and Vocabulary

Title: A Vedic Reader for Students: Containing Thirty Hymns of the Rigveda in the Original Samhita and Pada Texts, with Transliteration, Translation, Explanatory Notes, Introduction and Vocabulary  
Author: Arthur Anthony Macdonell  
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass  
Publication History: First published in England, 1917; reprinted in Delhi, 1992, 1995, 1999 and 2002  
Year of This Edition: 2002  
Language: Vedic Sanskrit and English  
Binding: Paperback  
Pages: xxxi + 263  
ISBN/UPC (if available): 81-208-1018-X

Description

A Vedic Reader for Students contains thirty hymns selected from the Rigveda and presented in the original Saṃhitā and Pada texts, accompanied by transliteration, English translation, explanatory notes, an introduction, vocabulary, and a general index.

Arthur Anthony Macdonell prepared the Reader as a companion to his Vedic Grammar for Students. It was designed particularly for students who are acquainted with Classical Sanskrit but are beginning the study of Vedic Sanskrit without the assistance of a teacher specializing in the earliest period of Indian language and literature. Used together, the Reader and Grammar provide the linguistic and textual guidance required for a detailed understanding of the selections.

The thirty hymns comprise nearly three hundred stanzas drawn from all the books of the Rigveda except the ninth. The selection represents important Vedic deities, principal metres, and several different types of subject matter. In addition to hymns addressed to deities, it includes material concerning social life, magical beliefs, cosmogony, death, and the afterlife. The selections therefore provide students with a concise introduction to the language, poetry, religion, and thought of the Rigveda.

The presentation of both the continuous Saṃhitā text and the word-separated Pada text makes the volume especially valuable for close linguistic and grammatical study. Its translations, explanatory notes, vocabulary, and index support its use as a teaching text and reference work in Sanskrit, Vedic studies, Indology, comparative linguistics, and the history of religion.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Vedic Hymns

Agni

Savitṛ

Maruts

Viṣṇu

Dyāvāpṛthivī

Indra

Rudra

Apāṃ Napāt

Mitra

Bṛhaspati

Uṣas

Agni

Parjanya

Pūṣan

Āpas

Mitra-Varuṇa

Sūrya

Aśvins

Varuṇa

Maṇḍūkas

Viśve Devas

Soma

Funeral Hymn

Pitṛs

The Gambler

Puruṣa

Rātri

Hymn of Creation

Yama

Vāta

Vocabulary

General Index