The Rig Veda Explained | What I Learned From Wendy Doniger’s Translation

In this video, I break down what I learned from reading The Rig Veda, translated by Wendy Doniger and published in the Penguin Classics series. This ancient Vedic text is one of the oldest surviving religious and philosophical works in human history, offering deep insight into early Indo-Aryan thought, cosmology, ritual, and the origins of later Hindu traditions.

I discuss key themes from the Rig Veda, including creation hymns, the nature of the gods, cosmic order (ṛta), early concepts of sacrifice, and how these ideas shaped later religious systems across India and beyond. I also touch on the importance of translation choices, historical context, and why the Rig Veda still matters today for understanding the foundations of myth, religion, and human civilization.

This is not a devotional reading, but a historical and comparative exploration of one of the world’s most influential texts.