The eighth Mandala of the Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...

has 103 hymns. Other than the "family books" (Mandalas 2-7, dated as an old part of the RV) and RV 1 and RV 10 (dated as the latest portion of hymns composed shortly before redaction of the Rigveda into shakha

Shakha

A shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...

s), Mandala 8 cannot straightforwardly be dated as a whole relative to the other books, and its hymns may include both ancient and late specimens. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the family. The hymns 8.49 to 8.59 are the apocryphal vālakhilya, the majority of them are devoted to Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

; these are accepted as a recent portion, properly already post-Rigvedic.

The hymns are dedicated to Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

, Agni

Agni

Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...

, the Asvins, the Maruts

Maruts

In Hinduism the Marutas , also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Diti and attendants of Indra. The number of Maruts varies from two to sixty . They are very violent and aggressive, described as armed with golden weapons i.e...

, the Adityas

Ādityas

In Hinduism, Āditya , meaning "of or related to Aditi", refers to the offsprings of Aditi. Adityas are solar class deities. In later Hinduism, Aditya is used in the singular to mean the sun.-Vedas:...

, Varuna

Varuna

In Vedic religion, Varuna is a god of the sky, of water and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld...

, Mitra-Varuna

Mitra-Varuna

Mitra and Varuna are two deities frequently referred to in the ancient Indian scripture of the Rigveda. They are both considered Adityas, or deities connected with the Sun; and they are protectors of the righteous order of rta...

, the Vishvadevas, and Soma

Soma

Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...

. 8.100 is dedicated to Indra and Vak

Vak

VAK or Vak may refer to:* Vāk, Hindu goddess of speech* VAK , a system of learning styles in NLP * Chevak Airport, Alaska...

 (Speech). Of the Valakhilya, six hymns are dedicated to Indra, and one each to the Asvins, the Vishvadevas and Indra-Varuna. 8.55 and 8.56 praise "Praskanva's Gift", the reward given to the rishi

Rishi

Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...

 by Dasyave-vrka "the wolf of the Dasyus", a hero who in alliance with the Kanvas

Kanvas

Kanva was an ancient Hindu rishi, to whom some of the hymns of the Rig Veda are ascribed. He was called a son of Ghora and one of the Angirasas...

 has won a victory over the Dasyus.

According to some scholars, the 8th Mandala has the most striking similarity to the Avesta

Avesta

The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...

.: it contains allusions to Afghan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 Flora and Fauna, e.g. to camels ( = Avestan uštra (c.f. Zaraθ-uštra; RV 8.4.7, 8.5.37, 8.46.22, 8.46.31; elsewhere in the RV only in 1.138.2). The river name

Rigvedic rivers

Rivers, such as the Sapta Sindhu , play a prominent part in the hymns of the Rigveda, and consequently in early Vedic religion...

 Suvastu in 8.19.37 refers to the Swat River

Swat River

The Swat River is a river in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Its source is in the Hindukush Mountains, from where it flows through the Kalam Valley and Swat District...

 in Gandhari

Gandhari language

Gāndhārī was a north-western prakrit spoken in Gāndhāra. Like all prakrits, it is thus descended from either Vedic Sanskrit or a closely related language. Gāndhārī was written in the script...

.

List of incipits

The dedication as given by Griffith is in the square brackets.

8.1 (621) [Indra.]
8.2 (622) [Indra.]
8.3 (623) [Indra.]
8.4 (624) [Indra.]
8.5 (625) [Asvins.]
8.6 (626) [Indra.]
8.7 (627) [Maruts.]
8.8 (628) [Asvins.]
8.9 (629) [Asvins.]
8.10 (630) [Asvins.]
8.11 (631) [Agni.]
8.12 (632) [Indra.]
8.13 (633) [Indra.]
8.14 (634) [Indra.]
8.15 (635) [Indra.]
8.16 (636) [Indra.]
8.17 (637) [Indra.]
8.18 (638) [Adityas.]
8.19 (639) [Agni.]
8.20 (640) [Maruts.]
8.21 (641) [Indra.]
8.22 (642) [Asvins.]
8.23 (643) [Agni.]
8.24 (644) [Indra.]
8.25 (645) [Mitra-Varuna.]
8.26 (646) [Asvins.]
8.27 (647) [Visvedevas.]
8.28 (648) [Visvedevas.]
8.29 (649) [Visvedevas.]
8.30 (650) [Visvedevas.]
8.31 (651) [Various Deities.]
8.32 (652) [Indra.]
8.33 (653) [Indra.]
8.34 (654) [Indra.]
8.35 (655) [Asvins.]
8.36 (656) [Indra.]
8.37 (657) [Indra.]
8.38 (658) [Indra-Angi.]
8.39 (659) [Agni.]
8.40 (660) [Indra-Agni.]
8.41 (661) [Varuna.]
8.42 (662) [Varuna.]
8.43 (663) [Agni.]
8.44 (664) [Agni.]
8.45 (665) [Indra.]
8.46 (666) [Indra.]
8.47 (667) [Adityas.]
8.48 (668) [Soma.]
(vālakhilya)
8.60 (669) [Agni.]
8.61 (670) [Indra.]
8.62 (671) [Indra.]
8.63 (672) [Indra.]
8.64 (673) [Indra.]
8.65 (674) [Indra.]
8.66 (675) [Indra.]
8.67 (676) [Adityas.]
8.68 (677) [Indra.]
8.69 (678) [Indra.]
8.70 (679) [Indra.]
8.71 (680) [Agni.]
8.72 (681) [Agni.]
8.73 (682) [Asvins.]
8.74 (683) [Agni.]
8.75 (684) [Agni.]
8.76 (685) [Indra.]
8.77 (686) [Indra.]
8.78 (687) [Indra.]
8.79 (688) [Soma.]
8.80 (689) [Indra.]
8.81 (690) [Indra.]
8.82 (691) [Indra.]
8.83 (692) [Visvedevas.]
8.84 (693) [Agni.]
8.85 (694) [Asvins.]
8.86 (695) [Asvins.]
8.87 (696) [Asvins.]
8.88 (697) [Indra.]
8.89 (698) [Indra.]
8.90 (699) [Indra.]
8.91 (700) [Indra.]
8.92 (701) [Indra.]
8.93 (702) [Indra.]
8.94 (703) [Maruts.]
8.95 (704) [Indra.]
8.96 (705) [Indra.]
8.97 (706) [Indra.]
8.98 (707) [Indra.]
8.99 (708) [Indra.]
8.100 (709) [Indra. Vak.]
8.101 (710) [Various.]
8.102 (711) [Agni.]
8.103 (712) [Agni.]

Vālakhilya:

8.49 (1018) [Indra.]
8.50 (1019) [Indra.]
8.51 (1020) [Indra.]
8.52 (1021) [Indra.]
8.53 (1022) [Indra.]
8.54 (1023) [Indra.]
8.55 (1024) [Praskanva's Gift.]
8.56 (1025) [Praskanva's Gift.]
8.57 (1026) [Asvins.]
8.58 (1027) [Visvedevas.]
8.59 (1028) [Indra-Varuna.]