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The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit ṛc 'praise' + veda 'knowledge') is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. It consists of 1,017 hymns (1,028 including the apocryphal valakhilya hymns 8.49-8.59) composed in Vedic Sanskrit, many of which are intended for various sacrifical rituals). These are contained in 10 books, known as Mandalas. This long collection of short hymns is mostly devoted to the praise of the gods. However, it also contains fragmentary references to historical events, notably the struggle between the early Vedic peoples (known as Aryans) and their enemies, the Dasa. The chief gods of the Rig-Veda are Agni, the sacrificial fire, Indra, a heroic god that is praised for having slain his enemy Vrtra, and Soma, the sacred potion, or the plant it is made from. Other prominent gods are MitraMitra is an important deity of Indic culture; he appears in the Vedas as one of the Adityas, a solar deity and the god of honesty, friendship, and contracts. In Iranian civilization, where his name was rendered as Mithra he later came into increased promi, VarunaThis article is about the god. See 20000 Varuna for the trans-Neptunian object. In Vedic religion, Varuna ("he who covers", referring to the sky) is one of the most important gods in the pantheon, and chief of the asuras. In pre- Vedic era, he was probabl and UshasUshas (उषः #xfa;ṣas , Sanskrit for "dawn", is the chief goddess (sometimes imagined as several goddesses, Dawns) exalted in the Rigveda. She is portrayed as a beautifully adorned, sexually attractive young woman riding in a chario (the dawn). Also invoked are Savitar, VishnuVishnu is an aspect of God, or Brahman, whom Hindus pray to. He is the second God of the Trimurti (also called the Hindu Trinity), along with Brahma and Shiva. Known as the Preserver he is most famously identified with his avatars, or incarnations of God,, RudraIn Hinduism, Rudra ("howler") is a storm, the hunt, death, wild nature and a wind god. He has arrows which cause disease in whomever they hit, god, human or animal. With Diti, he is the father of the Maruts. Rudra is also another name of Lord Shiva, the l, Pushan , Brhaspati, Brahmanaspati, Dyaus Pita (the sky), Prithivi (the earth), Surya (the sun), Savitar, Vayu (the wind), the Maruts, the Asvins, the Adityas, the Rbhus, the Vishvadevas (the all-gods) as well as various further minor gods, persons, concepts, phenomena and items.
Some of the names of gods and goddesses found in the Rig-Veda are found amongst other Indo-European peoples as well: Dyaus is cognate with Greek Zeus, Latin Jupiter, and Germanic Tyr, while Mitra is cognate with Persian Mithra (who became Roman Mithras) and Ushas with Greek Eos, Latin Aurora. Finally, Agni is cognate with Latin ignis, "fire".
