The Religion of the Veda: Die Religion des Veda

The Religion of the Veda: Die Religion des Veda

The Vedic Literature, which is the oldest product of the Aryan mind and is held in the highest esteem and is regarded as the most sacred by Hindus, presents a panorama of the life of the ancient population of India in all of its facets. Vedic Literature is the oldest product of the Aryan mind and is held in the highest esteem. Herman Oldenberg was the professor who pioneered the first critical examination of frightening literature in the last several centuries, and European academics, mostly Germans, were the ones who conducted the research. His masterpiece, titled Die Religion des Vedas, was published for the first time in 1894, and a revised version was released in 1916. In his thorough and in-depth research on the Vedic religion, he took use of linguistic approaches, as well as those from the fields of ethnology and folklore. This work has had a significant influence on subsequent Vedic studies and has an enduring interest to the student of the Veda, as is amply evident from the fact that even after nearly a century has passed since its first publication, it continues to attract the attention of Vedic researchers and is very frequently sought for guidance and consultation by them, and here is the first ever English translation of these four classic texts.

The book is divided into four chapters, each of which is preceded by an introduction that provides a comprehensive discussion of the source material, which includes the Vedas, Brahmanas, and sutra. The first chapter discusses the gods and demons of the Vedic tradition in general, while the second chapter delves into the specific gods of the Vedic tradition, including Agni, Indra, Vruna Mitra, and others, as well as the bad demons, the beginning of the universe, and the divine and moral realms. The third chapter discusses in depth the religion of sacrifice, which includes topics such as magic observances, festivals, prayer, and priests. The fourth chapter discusses animism, the dead, soul heaven, and ell, as well as ghosts, fathers, and burial ceremonies.

Author

HERMANN OLDENBERG

About the Author(s)

Hermann Oldenberg, who lived from 1854 to 1920, is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished Indologists to come out of Germany. After completing his education in Gottingen and Berlin in classical and Indian philology, he went on to become a university professor at both Kiel and Berlin. In 1912 and 1913, he travelled to India. The fields of Vedic and Buddhistic studies have benefited tremendously from his work. German was his chosen language for the translation of the Dipavaqmsa rgveda and the Grhyasutras.

Of his numerous writings like Buddha sein Leben , sein Lehre, sein Gemeide, Die Lehre des Upanischadern und die Anfange des Buddhism Die Literature des alten Indiens among other Die Religion des Veda (1894) is most notable and oft-quoted book.

Shridhar B. Shrotri, who was born in 1934, completed his schooling at Pune. In the year 1965, he made history by being the first person to get a doctoral degree in German from an Indian university. In addition, he attended Heideberg and Munich for his education. Before beginning his career at Karnatak University Dharwad in 1962, he was a professor at rajaram college in Kolhapur, as well as M.E.S and fergusson colleges in Pune. In 1985, he was promoted to the post of professor in the department that deals with foreign languages. Dr. Shroti has published a number of research articles as well as translations of other works.