I Laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice, The hotar, lavishest of wealth. 2 Worthy is Agni to be praised by living as by ancient seers. He shall bring hitherward the Gods. 3 Through Agni man obtaineth wealth, yea, plenty waxing day by day, Most rich in heroes, glorious. 4 Agni, the perfect sacrifice which thou encompassest about Verily goeth to the Gods. 5 May Agni, sapient-minded Priest, truthful, most gloriously great, The God, come hither with the Gods. 6 Whatever bles...

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. 4 VEDAS: The Rigveda The Yajurveda The Samaveda The Atharvaveda

HYMN I A prayer to Vāchaspati for divine illumination and help. Now may Vāchaspati assign to me the strength and powers of Those Who, wearing every shape and form, the triple seven, are wandering round. Come thou again, Vāchaspati, come with divine intelligence. Vasoshpati, repose thou here. In me be Knowledge, yea, in me. Here, even here, spread sheltering arms like the two bow-ends strained with cord. This let Vāchaspati confirm. In me be Knowledge, yea, in me. Vāchaspati hath been invok...

THEE for food. Thee for vigour. Ye are breezes. To noblest work God Savitar impel you. Inviolable! swell his share for Indra. No thief, no evil-minded man shall master you rich in off-spring, free from pain and sickness. Be constant, numerous to this lord of cattle. Guard thou the cattle of the Sacrificer. 2 Strainer of Vasu art thou. Thou art heaven. Earth art thou. Thou art Mâtarisvan's caldron. Thou art the All-container. Stand thou firmly, secure by Law Supreme, and do not totter. Nor ...

Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Hindu Itihasa. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, the legendary prince of the Kosala Kingdom. It follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest from the kingdom, by his father King Dasharatha, on request of his second wife Kaikeyi. His travels across fores...

InvocationPraise to Válmíki, bird of charming song,Who mounts on Poesy's sublimest spray,And sweetly sings with accent clear and strongRáma, aye Ráma, in his deathless lay.Where breathes the man can listen to the strainThat flows in music from Válmíki's tongue,Nor feel his feet the path of bliss attainWhen Ráma's glory by the saint is sung!The stream Rámáyan leaves its sacred fountThe whole wide world from sin and sta...

"The Rig Veda" is a collection of ancient Indian hymns that form one of the four Vedas, the oldest sacred scriptures of Hinduism. Ralph T. H. Griffith, the scholar you mentioned, was indeed involved in translating and publishing an English version of the Rig Veda.Ralph T. H. Griffith's translation of the Rig Veda is among the most well-known and widely used English translations of this ancient text. Griffith's work involved translating the hymns from Sanskrit into English, as well as provi...

The Samaveda is one of the four Vedas and is primarily associated with the musical and melodic aspect of Vedic rituals. It consists of hymns that are meant to be chanted in specific musical tones, and it is closely connected to the practice of singing during Vedic ceremonies. The Samaveda hymns are typically addressed to various deities and natural forces, praising and invoking their blessings.Ralph T. H. Griffith's translation of the "Hymns of the Samaveda" aimed to make this ancient Vedi...

"The Hymns of the Atharva Veda" is another translation by Ralph T. H. Griffith, this time focusing on the Atharva Veda, one of the four Vedas in Hinduism. Just as in his translation of the Samaveda, Griffith aimed to make the hymns of the Atharva Veda accessible to English-speaking readers by providing translations, explanations, and commentary.The Atharva Veda is unique among the Vedas because it deals with a wider range of subjects compared to the other three Vedas. It includes hymns rel...

The Vedas are a collection of hymns and other ancient religious texts written in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE. It includes elements such as liturgical material as well as mythological accounts, poems, prayers, and formulas considered to be sacred by the Vedic religion.According to tradition, Vyasa is the compiler of the Vedas, who arranged the four kinds of mantras into four Samhitas(Collections). There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and th...

Ramayana is one of the greatest epics of the Hindu Religion. The author captures the pathos and beauty of Valmiki's magic in an inimitable manner. Written in a homely style, the work is striking in originality and beauty of expression. The popularity of the book is so great that it has run into forty-two impressions ever since it was originally published in the year 1951.Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem that narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita fro...

In India both the Rgveda and the Atharvaveda represent the earliest age in the history of sacred literature. However the spirit of the Atharvaveda breathes of a prehistoric stage. Some of its charms, witchcrafts and exorcism go back to Indo-European period. Dr. A. Kuhn has proved how some of its spells for curing bodily ailments agree in purpose and content as well as to some extent even in form, with certain old German, Lettic and Russian charms. Every evil thing in nature, from a drought...