The Rig Veda Quotes

“Who knows for certain?
Who shall here declare it?
Whence was it born, whence came creation?
The gods are later than
this world's formation;
Who then can know the origins of the world?
None knows whence creation arose;
And whether he has or has not made it;
He who surveys it from the lofty skies.
Only he knows-
or perhaps he knows not.”
― Anonymous, The Rig Veda

“Truth is one, but the wise men know it as many; God is one, but we can approach Him in many ways.”
― rigveda, The Rig Veda

“To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan.
एकं सद विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः ||
1:164:46
(ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadantyaghniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ)”
― Anonymous, The Rig Veda

“The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made.
His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced.
बराह्मणो.अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः | ऊरूतदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ||
brāhmaṇo.asya mukhamāsīd bāhū rājanyaḥ kṛtaḥ |
ūrūtadasya yad vaiśyaḥ padbhyāṃ śūdro ajāyata ||
(X, 90)”
― Anonymous, The Rig Veda

“1. A THOUSAND heads hath Purusa”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“Appeased be your malignity and anger, and let the brown dice snare some other captive.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“19 I saw a troop advancing from the distance moved, not by wheels but their own God-like nature.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“5 Thou, Indu, art the food of Gods, O Sovran of all gladdening drinks:
As Friend for friend, be thou best finder of success.
6 Drive utterly away from us each demon, each voracious fiend,
The godless and the false: keep sorrow far away.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“Thy sheltering defence is like a mighty cloak. So may thy glories reach to us.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“Since the R̥gveda does not mention iron but does mention other kinds of metal, it is likely a pre–Iron Age, Bronze Age text. The dates at which iron appears in the archaeological record in South Asia differ in different parts of the subcontinent. For the northwest, which comprises the geographic horizon of the R̥gveda, iron began to be manufactured around 1200–1000 bce. The R̥gvedic hymns, therefore, would have to have been composed no later than this period. However, iron is attested in the Atharvaveda. While the
R̥gveda is older than the Atharvaveda, there is no basis for assuming a substantial gap in time between the end of the R̥gvedic period and the Atharvaveda. Therefore the date of the latest portions of the R̥gveda is not likely to be very much earlier that 1200–1000 bce. It is also likely that the period of the composition of R̥gvedic hymns did not extend more than several centuries before this terminus ad quem. Witzel (in Jamison and Witzel 1992: 2 n. 2) has noted that the poets and kings mentioned in the anukramaṇīs (indices) and in the hymns themselves comprise perhaps five or six
generations. Generously rounding these numbers, we can then place the period of
the composition of the R̥gvedic hymns sometime within the period 1400–1000 bce
or, even more approximately, within the second half of the second millennium bce.”
― Stephanie W. Jamison, The Rig Veda

“Since the R̥gveda does not mention iron but does mention other kinds of metal, it is likely a pre–Iron Age, Bronze Age text. The dates at which iron appears in the archaeological record in South Asia differ in different parts of the subcontinent. For the northwest, which comprises the geographic horizon of the R̥gveda, iron began to be manufactured around 1200–1000 bce. The R̥gvedic hymns, therefore, would have to have been composed no later than this period. However, iron is attested in the Atharvaveda. While the
R̥gveda is older than the Atharvaveda, there is no basis for assuming a substantial gap in time between the end of the R̥gvedic period and the Atharvaveda. Therefore the date of the latest portions of the R̥gveda is not likely to be very much earlier that 1200–1000 bce. It is also likely that the period of the composition of R̥gvedic hymns did not extend more than several centuries before this terminus ad quem. Witzel (in Jamison and Witzel 1992: 2 n. 2) has noted that the poets and kings mentioned in the anukramaṇīs (indices) and in the hymns themselves comprise perhaps five or six
generations. Generously rounding these numbers, we can then place the period of
the composition of the R̥gvedic hymns sometime within the period 1400–1000 bce
or, even more approximately, within the second half of the second millennium bce.”
― Joel P. Brereton, The Rig Veda

“Dire is his death who pours no gifts great light hath he who offers them. Good are the gifts that Indra gives.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“12 The prudent finds it easy to distinguish the true and false: their words oppose each other.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“17 So sapient Indra, Lord of Might, brought Turvaśa and Yadu, those
Who feared the flood, in safety o’er.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“Sister of Varuna, sister of Bhaga, first among all sing forth, O joyous Morning.
Weak be the strength of him who worketh evil: may we subdue him with our car the guerdon.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“O Śatakratu, biting cares devour me, singer of thy praise, as rats devour the weaver's threads. Mark this my woe, ye Earth and Heaven.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“come hither with the Gods;
3 Indra, Vāyu, Brhaspati, Mitra, Agni, Pūsan, Bhaga,
Ādityas, and the Marut host.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]

“Thou art our herald, meet for praise.
4 Wake up the willing Gods, since thou, Agni, performest embassage:
Sit on the sacred grass with Gods.
5 O Agni, radiant One, to whom the holy oil is poured, burn up
Our enemies whom fiends protect.”
― Anonymous, The Complete Rig Veda [Unabridged]