The first Mandala of the Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...

has 191 hymns. Together with Mandala 10

Mandala 10

The tenth Mandala of the Rigveda has 191 hymns. Together with Mandala 1, it forms the latest part of the Rigveda, containing much mythological material, including the Purusha sukta and the dialogue of Sarama with the Panis , and notably containing several dialogue hymns...

, it forms the latest part of the Rigveda, its composition likely dating to the Early Iron Age.

Hymn 1.1 is addressed to Agni

Agni

Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...

, arranged so that the name of this god is the first word of the Rigveda. The remaining hymns are mainly addressed to Agni and Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

. Hymns 1.154 to 1.156 are addressed to (the later Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 god) Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

. Verse 1.164.46, part of a hymn to the Vishvadevas, is often quoted as an example of emerging monism

Monism

Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...

 or monotheism

Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...

:

"They call him Indra, Mitra

Mitra

*Mitra was an important Indo-Iranian divinity. Following the prehistoric cultural split of Indo-Aryan and Iranian cultures, names descended from *mitra were used for the following religious entities:...

, Varuna

Varuna

In Vedic religion, Varuna is a god of the sky, of water and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld...

, Agni / and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman."

"To what is One, sages give many a title / they call it Agni, Yama

Yama

Yama , also known as Yamarāja in India and Nepal, Shinje in Tibet, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, Yeomla Daewang in South Korea and Enma Dai-Ō in Japan, is the lord of death, in Hinduism and then adopted into Buddhism and then further into Chinese mythology and Japanese mythology. First...

, Matarisvan

Matarisvan

in the Rigveda is a name of Agni , or of a divine being closely associated with Agni, a messenger of Vivasvat, bringing the hidden fire to the Bhrigus. Sayana identifies him with Vayu, the wind, in RV 1.93.6...

." (trans. Griffith)

The editio princeps of the book is due to Friedrich August Rosen

Friedrich August Rosen

Friedrich August Rosen was a German Orientalist, brother of Georg Rosen and a close friend of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. He studied in Leipzig, and from 1824 in Berlin under Franz Bopp...

, published posthumously in 1838. It was the earliest edition of a Rigvedic Mandala, predating Max Müller

Max Müller

Friedrich Max Müller , more regularly known as Max Müller, was a German philologist and Orientalist, one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion...

's edition of the entire Rigveda by more than 50 years.

List of hymns

Sukta	Name	Deity	Rishi	Metre	Incipit
	Agni Agni Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods... -Sukta	Agni	Vishvamitra	gayatri
	Vishnu-Sukta	Ashvins Ashvins The Ashvins , in Hindu mythology, are divine twin horsemen in the Rigveda, sons of Saranya , a goddess of the clouds and wife of Surya in his form as Vivasvat. The Ashvins are Vedic gods symbolising the shining of sunrise and sunset, appearing in the sky before the dawn in a golden chariot,...  and others	Medhatithi Kanva	gayatri
	Indra Indra ' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda... -Sukta	Indra	Hiranyastupa Angiras	trishtubh
	Shanti-Sukta	Vishvedevas	Gotama Rahugana	jagati (trishtubh)
	Madhu-Sukta	Vishvedevas	Gotama Rahugana	gayatri (anushtubh)
	Agni-Durga Durga For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion... -Sukta	Agni	Kashyapa Marica	trishtubh
	Ashvamedha Ashvamedha The Ashvamedha was one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda... -Sukta	The Horse Ashva Aśvaḥ is the Sanskrit word for a "horse", one of the significant animals finding references in the Vedas as well as later Hindu scriptures. The corresponding Avestan term is aspa...	Dīrghatamas Aucathya Dirghatamas Dīrghatamas was an ancient sage well known for his philosophical verses in the RgVeda. He was author of Suktas 140 to 164 in the first Mandala of the RgVeda.-Background:...	(trishtubh)

See also