The Rigveda Saṃhitā consists of 1028 hymns, containing more than ten thousand verses. This consists of praise of various deities such as Agni, Indra, Soma, Marut, Vayu, Varuna etc. More than these many verses connected with marriage, funeral and philosophical as well as secular hymns. The hymns are attributed to ‘Rishis’ i.e. seers like Viswamitra, Vasista, Gritsamada, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharatdwaja and so on. There are two Kramas of Rigveda available. The one is Mandala Krama and other is Astaka Krama. The Mandalas are ten in numbers and Astakas are eight in numbers.
There are mainly five recensions or ‘Śākhā’ available now of Rigveda they are 1) Sakala śākhā 2) Asvalayana śākhā 3) Baskala śākhā 4) Sankhyayana śākhā and 5) Mandukya śākhā. There are two Brāhmaṇas available to Rigveda they are Aitareya Brāhmaṇa and Sankhyayana Brāhmaṇa also known as Kauṣītaki s consisting 40 and 30 chapters respectively. Aranyakas, are also known as Aitareya Aranyaka and Kauṣītaki Aranyaka having 18 and 15 chapters respectively. Upaniṣads are also having the same names as Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Upaniṣads.
