The Rig Veda Blog
Journeys into Vedic Thought
Long-form, researched essays on the deities, language, ritual and history of the Rig Veda. All free to read.
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What Tree Did They Cut the World From? The Rigveda's Life in Wood
A Rigvedic poet asks which tree the universe was carved out of, and asks it twice. The question turns out to be technical, not mystical: these were people who knew exactly which timber goes into an axle, and who spoke to their tools.
Metallurgy in the Mantras: Gold, Bronze, and the Material World of the Rigvedic Poets
The Rigveda names metals, describes chariots, catalogues ornaments, and treats gold as the substance closest to the divine. Reading the metallurgical vocabulary alongside the archaeology of the late Bronze Age Punjab recovers the material world the poets actually inhabited: a world of copper-alloy tools, gold exchange, spoked-wheel vehicles, and no iron.