My experience with Rigveda was unsatisfying. This religious read came hot on the heels of The Holy Bible, The Qur’an, and The Gita, and I initially assumed its verses would supplement The Gita in the same way Psalms complements The Bible. Perhaps they do, but the softcover “illustrated” version I bought on Amazon was riddled with typographical errors and so poorly printed that it put me off more than any other book I’ve read.
The heavy focus on animism didn’t help either. If you’ve read one prayer devoted to the burning righteousness of fire, you’ve read them all.
I would love to acquire a properly translated and modernized hardcover set of all ten books, but every online search turns up borderline or outright fraudulent sellers peddling sloppy forgeries.
The Gita was so satisfying that it’s a shame my follow-up read was its polar opposite. I’m moving on to Eknath Easwaran’s translation of The Dhammapada—time is too short to waste brute-forcing my way through editions that aren’t made for actual reading.
2025.02.24 – 2025.03.19