Last Hymn of the Rig Veda

Published on 5th February, 2017, in Mid-day. The Rig Veda has over a thousand hymns (sukta) that are arranged in ten chapters (mandala). The first and the tenth mandalas have precisely 191 hymns, indicating that the arrangement of hymns is not random, but deliberate. This organisation of hymns is attributed to Vyasa. Internal evidence in the Rig Veda suggests that originally there were many tribes and clans in the region now known as Punjab. But, 3,000 years ago, one tribe dominated: the Kurus, also known as the Bharatas, under the leadership of one Sudas, who was supported by a sage called Vasishtha. He defeated the ..