Rig Veda

The Rigveda (Sanskrit  , a compound of "praise, verse" and "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit  hymns  dedicated to the gods (devas). It is counted among the four Hindu canonical sacred texts (śruti) known as the Vedas. Based on philological and linguistic evidences, the Rigveda was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE (the early Vedic period) in the Sapta Sindhu region (a land of seven great rivers) which is now believed to be the region around Punjab, putting it among the world's oldest religious texts in continued use, as well as among the oldest texts of any Indo-European language.
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Noun
1. a Veda consisting of a collection of Hindu poems dating from before 2000 BC
(hypernym) Samhita

See Veda.
  

[Hindu] The Rig Veda is the oldest and most important of the four Vedas. Rig means praise in Sanskrit, and the Rig Veda is a collection of hymns which sing praise for the gods. To this day, the book is considered the most holy of all Hindu texts, even though many of the gods who are the chief subjects in the hymns have lost much of their importance. Indra is easily the most praised, with nearly a quarter of the over one thousand hymns dedicated to him. Agni, Soma, Surya, and Varuna are also highly spoken of. Of the major gods in later Hinduism, Vishnu has his origin here, but he is of minor importance. Shiva is not mentioned at all, though his precursor Rudra has some significance. Brahma makes no appearance. The ultimate authority of the Rig Veda is said to lie with the gods, for they are the origin of thought and poetry. Some of the hymns are attributed to human authors who are considered to be great sages or seers but whose actual historical existence is not confirmed. The hymns...
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Rig-Veda Rg-Veda (Sanskrit) [from rich verse, hymn of praise + veda knowledge] The first and most important of the four Vedas; so named because it is the Veda composed of 1,028 suktas or hymns of praise addressed to the various entities and powers of nature. To this Veda also belong various subordinate commentaries and treatises of different classes: the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.
"Thus, the Rig-Veda, the oldest of all the known ancient records, may be shown to corroborate the occult teachings in almost every respect. Its hymns -- the records written by the earliest Initiates of the Fifth (our race) concerning the primordial teachings -- speak of the Seven Races (two still to come) allegorising them by the 'seven streams' (I, 35, 8); and of the Five Races ('panca krishtayah' [pancha-krishtayah]) which have already inhabited this world (ibid) on the five regions 'panca pradicah' [pancha-pradisah] (IX, 86, 29), as also of the three continents that were" (SD 2:606).