For those interested

[Satyamavejayanti]

Namaste,

I don't know if anyone is already aware of this but there appears to be a full English translation of the 4 Veda Samhits available for purchase in PDF format from one of my fav site.

According to the website the translator is a Dr Tulsi Ram, I have previously purchased his translations of the Sukla YajurVeda, i found it bit more "relaxed", then your usual Arya samaj translations and was much better then the Devi Chand , and i would recommend this to those interested in a English translation which is based on the Swami Dayananda Saraswati style.

It costs around $60.00 AUD.

heres a link.
4 Vedas


What I mostly like about the translations of Arya Samaj or even other Hindu scholars is that it tries to bring out the factual meaning to the Vedas, I also like the HH Wilson translations of the Rig.
I hope they do justice to the Atharva Veda mostly, i feel it has been largely ignored and ridiculed in this field, I am reading the W.D Whitney translations of the Atharva Veda currently, and it so far its quite questionable, but i will power through.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

I thought i post a comparison of the translations from the different scholars from the fist Mantras of the 4 Vedas so we can get an idea of the degree of interpretations.
Rig Veda 1.1.1

“I glorify Agni, the high priest of the sacrifice, the divine, the ministrant, who presents the oblation (to the gods), and is the possessor of great wealth.”—Wilson.

“I laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice, The hotar, lavishest of wealth.”—Griffith.

“We worship the adorable God, the high priest of cosmic activities, the divine, the one who works through the eternal laws, and who feeds and sustains all that is divine and luminous.”—Satya Prakash and Vidyalankar.

Sukla yajur veda 1.1

“Thee for food. Thee for vigor. Ye are breezes. To noblest
work God Savitar impel you. Inviolable! swell his share for
Indra. No thief, no evil-minded man shall master you rich in
offspring, free from pain and sickness, Be constant, numer-
ous to this lord of cattle. Guard thou the cattle of the
Sacrificer.”—Griffith.

“O Lord, we resort to Thee for the supply of foodstuffs and
vigour. May the Creator, the fountain of happiness and
knowledge, inspire us for the performance of noblest deeds
with our organs. May the cows, which should never be killed,
be healthy and strong. For the attainment of prosperity and
wealth, may the cows be full of calves, free from consump-
tion and other diseases. May a thief and a sinner be never
born amongst us. May the lord of land and cattle be in con-
stant and full possession of these. May Ye protect the cattle,
wealth and progeny of the virtuous soul!”—Devi Chand.

“We invoke you O Lord, for food. We invoke you for
vigour. You are the vital breaths. May the creator Lord depute
you, O sacrificers, to the noblest accomplishments. O cows,
may you flourish with the blessings of the resplendent Lord.
May you be free from disease and consumption and bear
good progeny. May no thief nor a slaughterer be in posses-
sion of you. May you permanently multiply in large numbers
in the house of the master of cattle. O Lord, preserve the
cattle of the sacrificer.”—Satya Prakash and Udaya Vir Viraj.

Sama Veda 1.1.1
“Come, O Agni, to the banquet of him who celebrates thy praise, to forward the offering. Herald (of the gods), sit down on the sacred grass.”—Stevenson.

“Come, Agni, praised with song, to feast and sacrificial offering: sit
As Hotar on the holy grass!”—Griffith.

“O God, we realise Thee, as Thou art Luminous, Pervading
and Giver of enjoyable objects. Thou art Worthy of adoration,
present in the world and our soul, like a Hota in the Yajna.” —Devi Chand.

“O God, come to give us knowledge And devotion we desire.
Sit in the sanctuary of our hearts And draw us out of mire.”—Dharma Deva.

“Agni moves and arouses the desires of the devotee for and bestows oblations, He presides down below in existence and binds us with desires to the motley sense activities.”—Ganapati.

“Having been praised by us, come O adorable Lord, to bless the dedicated devotee with prosperity. May you be seated in our innermost heart, O liberal giver.”—Satya Prakash and Vidyalankar.

Atharva Veda 1.1.1
“Now may Vachaspati assign to me the strength and
powers of Those Who, wearing every shape and form, the triple seven, are wandering round.”—Griffith.

“The thrice seven that go about, bearing all forms—let the lord of speech assign to me today their powers, [their] selves (tanÒ).”—Whitney.

“May God ever assign to me the strength and powers of
those twenty one objects, which sustaining the animate and
inanimate creation, are wandering round.”—Devi Chand.

“Now May Vachaspatih, the master of language with grammar, impart to me the knowledge of the origin and scope of the system of those triple seven vibhaktis, the inflections of the grammatical cases which bear the various names and forms.”—Vaidya Nath Shastri.

“May, this day, the Lord of Speech (Vacaspati) assign to me
the selves and powers of those triple seven (tri˝apteh) that
roam all around wearing all the shapes and forms (rup).”
—Satya Prakash.

enjoy

 

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

Regarding translation of Veda, these are my impressions:

1) Jargon should not be translated.
2) Jargon means, terms such as: hotR, Rtvija, Rta, nAsatya, sat, theonyms (e.g., "agni" not to be translated as "divine-fire", etc), yagya, amaratva, and hundreds of such other terms.
3) These terms should be given "as it is", but detailed explanation can be provided in glossary.
4) This practice will make the translation standard, and significant variations of different translations will not happen.
5) In this way, the progressive editions of the translation would see major changes not in the main body of translations (which is any way controlled by grammar), but in the definitions assigned to the jargon in the glossary.

6) Jargon and their true meaning belongs to the "global vision" of the Veda, while the actual translation belongs to the "local vision". If these two domains are not acknowledged, and duly separated from each other, any transnational effort will not be a lasting contribution.

7) The best end result will be an internet based (free access to all) edition with interspersed hyperlinks.

 

[Kalidas]

It is in fact very interesting. I am not sure I have the 60$ to send on it though

 

[Poeticus]

I thought i post a comparison of the translations from the different scholars from the fist Mantras of the 4 Vedas so we can get an idea of the degree of interpretations.
Rig Veda 1.1.1

“I glorify Agni, the high priest of the sacrifice, the divine, the ministrant, who presents the oblation (to the gods), and is the possessor of great wealth.”—Wilson.

“I laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice, The hotar, lavishest of wealth.”—Griffith.

“We worship the adorable God, the high priest of cosmic activities, the divine, the one who works through the eternal laws, and who feeds and sustains all that is divine and luminous.”—Satya Prakash and Vidyalankar.

What about the following?

"I magnify Agni the one placed in front,
the divine ministrant of the sacrifice,
the invoker, best bestower of treasure." -Jonathan Slocum & Karen Thomson

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

Regarding translation of Veda, these are my impressions:

1) Jargon should not be translated.
2) Jargon means, terms such as: hotR, Rtvija, Rta, nAsatya, sat, theonyms (e.g., "agni" not to be translated as "divine-fire", etc), yagya, amaratva, and hundreds of such other terms.
3) These terms should be given "as it is", but detailed explanation can be provided in glossary.
4) This practice will make the translation standard, and significant variations of different translations will not happen.
5) In this way, the progressive editions of the translation would see major changes not in the main body of translations (which is any way controlled by grammar), but in the definitions assigned to the jargon in the glossary.

6) Jargon and their true meaning belongs to the "global vision" of the Veda, while the actual translation belongs to the "local vision". If these two domains are not acknowledged, and duly separated from each other, any transnational effort will not be a lasting contribution.

7) The best end result will be an internet based (free access to all) edition with interspersed hyperlinks.

Actually i would agree with all points you make, I guess its just up to someone to actually put their head down and do something like this. In the mean while there are many complete and partial translations that we can compare. I also think it should really be up to the reader to try to understand the Mantra rather then just parrot someone else interpretations.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

It is in fact very interesting. I am not sure I have the 60$ to send on it though

To be honest I was thinking the same thing, maybe ill wait till someone publishes it free on the net or till it comes out in print. I will be purchasing it but not just yet.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

What about the following?

"I magnify Agni the one placed in front,
the divine ministrant of the sacrifice,
the invoker, best bestower of treasure." -Jonathan Slocum & Karen Thomson

Actually I've never read from nor heard of the authors, did they do a complete translation of all 4 samhita or just some Mandala or only the Rig?

 

[Poeticus]

Actually I've never read from nor heard of the authors, did they do a complete translation of all 4 samhita or just some Mandala or only the Rig?

Sadly, they do not have a complete translation of all the Four Samhita-s. Thomson, however, has translated several verses of the Shri Rig, as far as I know. Her translations are very neutral in their approach and do not have a personal agenda. This is important because most of the current translations in existence are of either AIT or OIT schools of thought.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

Sadly, they do not have a complete translation of all the Four Samhita-s. Thomson, however, has translated several verses of the Shri Rig, as far as I know. Her translations are very neutral in their approach and do not have a personal agenda. This is important because most of the current translations in existence are of either AIT or OIT schools of thought.

I did a Google search found some info, and their approach seems quite logical and honest, I read this Sacred Mysteries: Why the Rigveda has resisted decipherment (TLS, March 26, 2004), and the approach to the Rig Veda at least seems refreshing.