The Complete Rig Veda - 12 Volumes

Dr. R. L. Kashyap has done a great service in compiling the complete and well researched Rig Veda translation. The leading essays set the foundation of the deeper symbolism behind many of the concepts. Without this base, the straightforward translation often seem quite senseless. Secondly, as one would expect, given the antiquity of the composition, many words have changed meaning over the millennia. Dr. Kashyap provides the vedic meaning of such words and the evidence to back up his analysis. As an example, the word "kavi" appears often in RV. The colloquial meaning of the term is "poet". However, using this meaning in the translations, as has been the case by western scholars, makes little sense. Dr. Kashyap has shown why the actual vedic meaning of this word was "seer" or "wise one". Similarly, "gau" means cow in general Hindi or classical Sanskrit usage but in vedic times it seems to have meant "light of knowledge". Another example is "vradh". In Hindi or classical Sanskrit it means "an old person" but in Vedic Sanskrit it is used in the sense of "increasing", or "expanding".The Devas and their roles on the suktas make more sense once you consider the deeper symbolic meaning. For instance, Indra is the lord of the "indriyan" or senses. The suktas call for Indra to grow inside the seer. This makes little sense if Indra is viewed as just a god, but it takes a deeper and more spiritual meaning if he symbolizes the capability to control the senses, which is what grows inside the seers.I now see why the straightforward translation of the RV by western scholars is often confusing and chaotic. The RV has significance for study of Indo-European linguistics, mythology, religion, and history. It is one of the earliest composition and indicates clearly a shared heritage between all the IE cultures, which is roughly half the world's population!While the initial effort of western scholars was noteworthy, but it is time the community studying the vedas opened to deeper and more nuanced meanings hidden in the suktas. Dr. Kashyap's translations is an excellent starting point.

My sincere gratitude and respect goes out to Dr. R.L. Kashyap. Thank you! The more I read Kashyap, the more I like him. He has done a wonderful service for the world. His many small summation books are filled with his scholarly knowledge and put into accessible language. I have learned so much from him - and there is always more to learn as the Rig Veda is to my mind a sort of enigmatic oceanic treasure of layers of spherical meanings that I believe hold the secrets of our human origins, spiritual wisdom, and science.R.L Kashyap is Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, Indiana, USA. He has a Master's degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and obtained a PhD. from Harvard University. R.L. Kashyap's translations reflect the spiritual evolutionary teachings of Sri Aurobindo and his theories on the Rig Veda, which have been collected in the book "Secret of the Veda". Aurobindo's teachings are based in his acceptance of human evolution. Thus the translations reflect the idea that through experience and suffering, humans are evolving towards a supra-mental superconscient state -- contrary to the tradition of cyclical time being devolutionary, meaning we begin as the One and move down through the cycles into 'solidification' and inevitable dissolution.The disciple T.V. Kapali Sastry further expanded Sri Aurobindo's ideas. T.V. Kapali Sastry was considered a `brilliant intellect' and wrote in Sanskrit, English, Tamil and Telugu published in 12 volumes. His magnum opus is said to be `Siddhañjana' (1945), a commentary on the first Ashtaka of the Rig Veda, which explores the spiritual and psychological depths of the ancient hymns. T.V. Kapali Sastry finds astonishing echoes of the Veda in the tantra, in thought and in practice. He holds that the tantra is as old as the Veda and both have a common origin. [From the back cover of "Unveiling the Light in the Veda" by R.L. Kashyap; and "New Light on the Veda" (1952) by T.V. Kapali Sastry].For those of us who are not Sanskrit scholars, but who have wanted to read the Rig Veda, Kashyap's translation is an excellent source. However, bear in mind that his esoteric translation is not the only possible one. Kasphyap admits this and suggests that more research needs to be done. In `Unveiling the Light in the Veda' Kashyap states that their interpretation of the Rig Veda is esoteric "based on the inner meaning of the hymns." Kashyap says that there are multiple meanings. He does not believe that the outer meanings are the only meanings. However an outer interpretation "could be helpful for drawing conclusions on the environment, age and other conditions of the ancient society of the Rishis or to unearth history and record. Similarly it may be possible to fix upon, following Mr. B.G.Tilak, the Arctic Home of Vedic Rishis..." Even though B.G. Tilak was a freedom fighter and instrumental in liberating India from British rule, sadly his extensive and detailed scholarly research on the Arctic in the Veda was cast aside by Indian politics.The Hindu recently published an interesting interview with Dr. R.L. Kashyap, July 31, 2014: "Aurobindo points out that Vedic mantras had a symbolic meaning. Kapali Sastri identified 30 key words such as Agni and Gau, which occur more than 500 times in the Rg Veda. These help you arrive at the deeper meaning." But if there are such deeper meanings, does he mean to say that no one had noticed them before Aurobindo did? "The concept is indicated in the Mahabharata. Madhvacharya in his `Rg Veda Bhashya' said that Vedic passages have three meanings - one referring to Gods (Adhidaivika), one referring to rituals (Adhi-Yajna) and the esoteric meaning (Adhyaatmika). Later, Raghavendra Swami looked at the last aspect more elaborately in his work `Mantraartha Manjari.' Aurobindo made a pertinent observation. He said that to understand the Vedas, the Vedas are the only guide."All the translations of the Rig Veda are remarkably different. I prefer the ones made by Indians. Scholars who translate the Rig Veda cannot agree on the meaning of the words. Indian writers admit that their meaning is `forced' to adapt to preconceived beliefs. B.G. Sidharth: "The Rig Vedic hymns on which current theories have been built are in fact not well understood and contemporary interpretations remain obscure and inconsistent." [Celestial Key to the Vedas] "To this day there is no internally consistent and coherent interpretation of the Vedas."The other translations I like are also available on amazon: The Four Vedas: Mantras in Sanskrit, translated by Swami Satya Prakash Sarawati and Satyakam Vidyalankar; and the partial translation by Shyam Ghosh RGVEDA for the Layman, A Critical Survey of One Hundred Hymns of the Rigveda, which is an excellent beginning on the 10,552 rik mantras."Vedic mantras are in the never-decaying remotest sky, where all the gods reside. One who does not know that, what will he do with Vedic mantras? One who knows that, they (gods) will stay with him." [Rig Veda I.164.39]