It is difficult to systematically study and appreciate the Rig Veda other than through audio programs, inasmuch as considerable force of the revelation comes through in the poetic force and recitation of these verses, and thus, we have created a series of audio files which include the recitation of the Sanskrit text of the Rig Vedic hymns chosen, and the English translation provided by Sri Aurobindo. All recordings were created in 1973 at Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Commentary and Translation by Sri Aurobindo. Recitation in Sanskrit by Sri Vinayak. English recitation by Santosh Krinsky. Click on the enclosed links to go directly to each of the audio files included here. Page references to the U.S. edition of The Secret of the Veda by Sri Aurobindo, published by Lotus Press are provided for further elucidation and reading on the subject of each hymn.
Sri Aurobindo writes: “My object has been to show in as brief a compass as possible the real functions of the Vedic gods, the sense of the symbols in which their cult is expressed, the nature of the sacrifice and its goal, explaining by actual examples the secret of the Veda. I have purposely selected a few brief and easy hymns, and avoided those which have a more striking depth, subtlety and complexity of thought and image, — alike those which bear the psychological sense plainly and fully on their surface and those which by their very strangeness and profundity reveal their true character of mystic and sacred poems. It is hoped that these examples will be sufficient to show the reader who cares to study them with an open mind the real sense of this, our earliest and greatest poetry. By other translations of a more general character it will be shown that these ideas are not merely the highest thought of a few Rishis, but the pervading sense and teaching of the Rig-veda.”
Hymns to the Dawn:
Sri Aurobindo devotes considerable space in The Secret of the Veda to the Divine Dawn. Chapter 13 (pp. 126-131) is focused on the Dawn. In the section titled Selected Hymns, one of the Hymns has been chosen and commented on (pp. 281-286). In a later section titled Guardians of the Light, there is a Hymn to the Divine Dawn (pp. 429-432). Finally, in a section titled Other Hymns, there are Hymns to the Dawn (pp. 524-528)
Rig Veda Samhita, Mandala V, Sukta 79, Hymn to the Dawn (Secret of the Veda, pp. 524-526
Rig Veda Samhita, Mandala III, Sukta 61 Hymn to the Divine Dawn To illustrate the method of interpretation, Sri Aurobindo chose 13 hymns and provided translation and commentary under the heading ‘Selected Hymns’. This is the sixth of these selected hymns, the Hymn to The Divine Dawn. (The Secret of the Veda, US edition, pp. 281-286) The English translation was provided by Sri Aurobindo
Rig Veda Samhita, Mandala I, Sukta 113 Hymn to the Dawn In Part I, Chapter 13 of The Secret of the Veda, Sri Aurobindo provides an extensive commentary on the significance of the Divine Dawn. Mandala I, Sukta 113 is referenced therein a number of times. The translation of this Hymn was provided by Nolini Kanta Gupta.
Sri Aurobindo, The Secret of the Veda, U.S. edition published by Lotus Press
Sri Aurobindo Studies 