Mandala 2

The second Mandala of the Rigveda has 43 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra chiefly attributed to the Rishi gṛtsamada śaunohotra. It is one of the "family books" (mandalas 2-7), the oldest core of the Rigveda.

Witzel (1995) on the basis of internal evidence suggested that the second Mandala contains the oldest hymns of the Rigveda, but changed his opinion in 2001, dating it with the "mid-level" texts.^[1]. In circumvedic tradition, rishi Grtsamada of Mandala 2 is a descendant of Sunahotra Bharadvaja (of Mandala 6), which would suggests a younger age of Mandala 2 than that of Mandala 6, favoured by Talageri (2000) as the earliest.^[2] There is no generally accepted relative sequence among the family books in terms of age: Being books preserved by individual families preceding the final redaction of the Rigveda into shakhas, they are all accepted to date to the earliest Vedic period, but considered themselves to be the parallel product of several generations.

List of incipits

The dedication as given by Griffith is in square brackets

2.1 (192) [ Agni.] tvám agne dyúbhis tuvám āśuśukṣáṇis.
2.2 (193) [Agni.] yajñéna ? vardhata jātávedasam
2.3 (194) [ Apris.] sámiddho agnír níhitaḥ pṛthivyâm
2.4 (195) [Agni.] huvé vaḥ sudiyótmānaṃ suvṛktíṃ
2.5 (196) [Agni.] hótājaniṣṭa cétanaḥ
2.6 (197) [Agni.] imâm me agne samídham
2.7 (198) [Agni.] śréṣṭhaṃ yaviṣṭha bhārata
2.8 (199) [Agni.] vājayánn iva nû ráthān
2.9 (200) [Agni.] ní hótā hotṛṣádane vídānas
2.10 (201) [Agni.] johûtro agníḥ prathamáḥ pitéva
2.11 (202) [ Indra.] śrudhî hávam indra mâ riṣaṇyaḥ
2.12 (203) [Indra.] yó jātá evá prathamó mánasvān
2.13 (204) [Indra.] ṛtúr jánitrī tásyā apás pári
2.14 (205) [Indra.] ádhvaryavo bháraténdrāya sómam
2.15 (206) [Indra.] prá ghā nú asya maható mahâni
2.16 (207) [Indra.] prá vaḥ satâṃ jyéṣṭhatamāya suṣṭutím
2.17 (208) [Indra.] tád asmai návyam aṅgirasvád arcata
2.18 (209) [Indra.] prātâ rátho ? návo yoji sásniś
2.19 (210) [Indra.] ápāyi asya ándhaso mádāya
2.20 (211) [ Asvins.] vayáṃ te váya indra viddhí ṣú ṇaḥ
2.21 (212) viśvajíte dhanajíte suvarjíte
2.22 (213) [Indra.] tríkadrukeṣu mahiṣó yávāśiraṃ
2.23 (214) [ Brahmanaspati.] gaṇânāṃ tvā gaṇápatiṃ havāmahe
2.24 (215) [Brahmanaspati.] sémâm aviḍḍhi prábhṛtiṃ yá îśiṣe
2.25 (216) [Brahmanaspati.] índhāno agníṃ vanavad vanuṣyatáḥ
2.26 (217) [Brahmanaspati.] ṛjúr íc cháṃso vanavad vanuṣyató
2.27 (218) [ Adityas.] imâ gíra ādityébhyo ghṛtásnūḥ
2.28 (219) [ Varuna.] idáṃ kavér ādityásya svarâjo
2.29 (220) [ Visvedevas.] dhŕtavratā âditiyā íṣirā
2.30 (221) [Indra and Others.] ṛtáṃ devâya kṛṇvaté savitrá
2.31 (222) [Visvedevas.] asmâkam mitrāvaruṇāvataṃ rátham
2.32 (223) [Various Deities.] asyá me dyāvāpṛthivī ṛtāyató
2.33 (224) [ Rudra.] â te pitar marutāṃ sumnám etu
2.34 (225) [ Maruts.] dhārāvarâ marúto dhṛṣṇúojaso
2.35 (226) [ Son of Waters.] úpem asṛkṣi vājayúr vacasyâṃ
2.36 (227) [Various Gods.] túbhyaṃ hinvānó vasiṣṭa gâ apó
2.37 (228) [Various Gods.] mándasva hotrâd ánu jóṣam ándhaso
2.38 (229) [ Savitar.] úd u ṣyá deváḥ savitâ savâya
2.39 (230) grâvāṇeva tád íd árthaṃ jarethe
2.40 (231) [ Soma and Pusan.] sómāpūṣaṇā jánanā rayīṇâṃ
2.41 (232) [Various Deities.] vâyo yé te sahasríṇo
2.42 (233) [ Kapinjala.] kánikradaj janúṣam prabruvāṇá
2.43 (234) [Kapinjala.] pradakṣiníd abhí gṛṇanti kārávo

References

1. ^ Michael Witzel, Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics, in: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 307-352; Witzel, "Westward Ho"
2. ^ Talageri, Shrikant. (2000) The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis