# ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/rigveda

ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) is a Sanskrit word meaning the first of the four Vedas, rig Veda, the Rigveda, the oldest of the four Vedas, springing from Narayana, the forerunner of Shiva's chariot. Its 9 recorded definitions are grouped into 3 contexts, among them The Ṛgveda: Definition, Nature, and Textual Composition, Historical Attestation of the Term 'Ṛgveda', Ṛgveda in Epic/Puranic Literature and Traditional Accounts.

- **SLP1:** `fgveda`  **IAST:** ṛgveda  **Devanagari:** ऋग्वेद
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigveda
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/rigveda/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### The Ṛgveda: Definition, Nature, and Textual Composition (7 definitions)
- the oldest sacred book of the Hindus consisting of a collection of hymns  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 225,1] ऋग् (ṛg) — वेद (—veda) अस् (as), 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 (Title); Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa (Title); Manu-smṛti (Title) &c. [ ID=38737 ]
- The first of the four Vedas  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > ऋग्वेद (veda) (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 167 ] ऋग्वेद (veda) (ṛgveda) m. ( - दः (-daḥ) ) The Ṛc or Ṛk Veda, the first of the four Vedas. E. ऋच् (ṛc) and वेद (veda) a Veda. Page168 [ ID=7980 ]
- Rig Veda  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 138-a ] ऋग्वे _ द (ṛgve_da) ( दः ) ((daḥ)) 1. m. Rig Veda. [ ID=7395 ]
- The oldest of the four Vedas.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 150-10 ] ऋच् - वेद (ṛc-veda) m. The oldest of the four Vedas. [ ID=7279 ]
- The first of the four Vedas.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > ऋग्वेद (veda) (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 137-b ] ऋग्वेद (veda) (ṛgveda) m. ( - दः (-daḥ) ) The Rich or Rik Veda, the first of the four Vedas. E. ऋच् (ṛc) and वेद (veda) a Veda. [ ID=7976 ]
- the Rigveda  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 096 ] ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) m. the Rigveda (the hymns with or without the Brāhmaṇa and Sūtra works). [ ID=6227 ]
- the Rigveda  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 135-b ] ṛg-vedá, m. the Rigveda (each stanza of which is called an ṛc in distinction from a yajus and a sāman ). [ ID=908 ]

### Historical Attestation of the Term 'Ṛgveda' (1 definition)
- the formal name of the collection of verses  
  *The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*
  > ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 1-108 ] Ṛg-veda, the formal name of the collection of Ṛcs, first appears in the Brāhmaṇas, 1 and thereafter frequently in the Āraṇyakas 2 and Upaniṣads. 3 [ Footnote: 1) Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, i. 32, and implied in Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, iii. 12, 9, 1; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, vi. 5, 4, 6; 8, 3; xii. 3, 4, 9.] [ Footnote: 2) Aitareya Āraṇyaka, iii. 2, 3. 5; Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka, viii. 3. 8.] [ Footnote: 3) Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, i. 5, 12; ii. 4, 10; iv. 1, 6; 5, 11; Chāndogya Upaniṣad, i. 3, 7; iii. 1, 2. 3; 15, 7; vii. 1, 2. 4; 2, 1; 7, 1.] [ ID=422 ]

### Ṛgveda in Epic/Puranic Literature and Traditional Accounts (1 definition)
- 1. The Rigveda in the palace of Brahman. 2. Springing from Narayana. 3. The forerunner of Shiva's chariot.  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > ऋग्वेद (ṛgveda) [Printed book page 600-2 ] Ṛgveda. § 270 (Brahmasabhāv.): II, 11, 449 (in the palace of Brahmán).—§ 459 (Mārkaṇḍeyas.): III, 189, 12963 (springs from Nārāyaṇa).—§ 606 (Tripurākhyāna): VIII, 34, 1498 (forerunner of Śiva's chariot).—§ 717 b (Nārā- yaṇīya): XII, 342, 13136 (in Ṛ. the names of Kṛṣṇa are enumerated); 343, 13256 ( ekaviṃśatisāhasraṃ, identified with Kṛṣṇa); 349, III), 13568 ( °pāṭhapaṭhitaṃ vrataṃ ).— § 736 b (Vītahavyop.): XIII, 30, 1998 ( °e vartate cāgryā śrutir yasya —sc. Gṛtsamada's— mahātmanaḥ ).—§ 747 b (Suvarṇotpatti): XIII, 85 ε, 4107 ( padakramavibhūsitaḥ ). Cf. ṛc, pl. [ ID=9147 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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