Facets of Vedic Religion and Culture

Contents: Preface. 1. Rgvedic concepts of devotion prayer and worship. 2. A note on Rgveda X. 125. 3. The significance of Rgveda X. 71.11. 4. The Vedic concept of Agni as Vaisvanara. 5. Mrtyu in Vedic thought. 6. The sacred Numeral 7 (Sapta) in the Rgveda. 7. The significance of Vedic Yajna. 8. The Vedic concept of Dharma. 9. The Satarudriya Adhyaya of the Yajurveda. 10. The genesis of certain Vedic and post Vedic myths. 11. A note on the origin of Vedic music. 12. Saman-singing on a verse-traid. 13. The use of Stobha in Saman--singing. 14. The status of women as reflected in the Brahmanas and Srautasutras. 15. Sankaradeva\'s Concept of God and the Upanisadic doctrine of Brahman. 16. The teachings of the Upanisads vis-a-vis education for twenty-first century. 17. Yaska\'s Nirukta: an efficient tool for Vedic interpretation. 18. Ecological idea of the Vedic Aryans.
 
"As indicated by its very name the book contains topics dealing with facets of the pre-historic civilization of Vedic India. In this book in eighteen articles attempts have been made to throw some light on various aspects of Vedic religion and philosophy, the Vedic concept of God, the birth of mythology in the hymn poetry, characteristics of the Vedic language, the outlook of the Vedic seers on life and death, the social values of the Vedic Aryans, their ecological ideas etc. 

Attempts have also been made to acquaint the reader with Vedic music and the mechanisms of Saman-singing in the rituals. 

Thus, the book cuts a broad swath of Vedic culture offering the reader a precise and concise presentation of the multifaceted heritage of India." (jacket)