The Rig Veda
The Rig Veda is the first of four Vedas from the Hindu religion. The Rig Veda made its first appearance from 1700-1100 BC in the Punjab region of India. It consists of over one thousand Hymns all revolving around great gods and battles that happened in the past (this is almost like historical fiction because its considered mythology). Much of the Hindu religion is based off this first Veda. The flow chart to the right shows the composition of the Rig Veda from the Brahmanas to the Upanishads. It consist of ten Mandalas, one-hundred two Sutras and 10,552 Mantras. Mandalas are depictions of the universe via geometric shapes centered around a deity. Sutras are something that we know today as "inspirational quotes", they pertain to certain aspects of life but serve as guidance for anything. Mantras are chanted prayers such as "less is more". These hymns revolved around asking the gods for worldly things such as wealth and power. This hymn is to the god of fire, Agni. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0QRzBzmwio&feature=share&list=PL00BC0E262CD8CDED
The major gods that these hymns revolved around were Indra, Agni, and Soma. Indra was the god of warfare. He is known in Hindu mythology for separating heaven and earth, and defeating Vrtra a snake-dragon. Angi is the god of fire and is known to be the bridge between man and gods. Soma is a hallucinogenic drink for the sacrifice. However it is unclear how Soma is considered a god.
A famous story from the Rig Veda is Hinduism's creation myth. The story goes that the Universe was initially a giant golden embryo who produced the first man, Brahma. Brahma then created everything that is; air, gods, animals.
http://www.tony5m17h.net/VedicHistLit.%20gif
http://www.aryabhatt.com/vedas/rigveda1.htm
http://4krsna.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/manuscript1_1_1.jpg
http://www.indohistory.com/rig_veda.html
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/deities/vedic_gods.htm
http://www.netplaces.com/hinduism/ancient-scriptures-the-vedas/creation-in-the-vedas.htm
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_500back/vedas/surya/suryamod2.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol0asRNclWs/UAK-Dgn5-SI/AAAAAAAAALk/bmBWzlldvOQ/s1600/Rig+Veda+images.jpg
Amerika Jayme
http://www.aryabhatt.com/vedas/rigveda1.htm
http://4krsna.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/manuscript1_1_1.jpg
http://www.indohistory.com/rig_veda.html
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/deities/vedic_gods.htm
http://www.netplaces.com/hinduism/ancient-scriptures-the-vedas/creation-in-the-vedas.htm
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_500back/vedas/surya/suryamod2.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol0asRNclWs/UAK-Dgn5-SI/AAAAAAAAALk/bmBWzlldvOQ/s1600/Rig+Veda+images.jpg
Amerika Jayme