Rating: 
Summary: This is not even a literal translation ...
Review: I must confess that I have read only portions of this book required for a class that I am taking. To qualify my evaluation..I am a Hindu and I do know Sanskrit (atleast well enough to note the discrepancies here). That said, the problem I have with her translation is *not* that she is scholarly and hence in some sense "disrespectful" to tradition (though that could rightly rile other Hindus) but that she *deliberately* leaves out words, takes tertiary (or even non-existent) meanings, or adds words to suit her own purposes. The words she leaves out are very significant in determining the meanings ..(And even if they weren't why leave them out?..especially given that she is translating into prose) The short Purusha Sukta hymn in itself shows at least 4 instances of such trickery (and again I am *not* talking about interpretative issues which differ from pious expositions) made towards substantiating her own thesis of this being the "Primal Sacrifice". These deliberate omissions/commisions are not even relegated to the footnotes. I wonder why...To see an example of someone who is scholarly and has yet done a very honest job (and differed at many places from traditional expositions), take the "Early Upanisads" by Olivelle. He has not let his own thesis about the fragmentary nature of these texts interfere with his translations (for the most part at least) That Doniger has as a very deep knowledge of Sanskrit is well known. For her to still make such "errors" only smacks of malice. I don't know if she retains the flavor of the original texts. It just left a bad taste in my mouth
Rating:
Summary: Gets lost in the foliage
Review: If the Rigveda is a tree with a grand plan, Wendy Doniger doesn't know it. Her translation has a Freudian slant that does violence to the vision of the Vedic hymnmakers.
Rating:
Summary: The Indian Elephant
Review: Ms. Doniger seems to be biased against the Vedic religion (aka Hinduism) which can be easily gleaned by a careful reader of this work. The author also has hidden agenda in her portrayal of the Hindu religion by negative stereo-typing. Any Westerner wanting to know about the Rig veda is well advised to ignore this shananigan. The author suffers from the same syndrome as the 6 blind men trying to describe an elephant by just touching it. Ms. Doniger would never understand as she has preconceived notions about other religions :-(
Rating:
Summary: The author does not quite understand the text itself
Review: The author does not quite undertand the text itself and comes through as being very biased. The author has wasted her efforts to put through incorrect views of her own, much better if she had researched some other texts perhaps the bible? However, knowing her knack for misinterpreting ancient texts I shudder to even think about it. In ending I think anyone who commented the following on the most sacred Indian text as follows should not have tried interpreting a religious text of the relgion that she is biased against: The Bhagavad Gita is not as nice a book as some Americans think," the good professor informed her audience. "Throughout the Mahabharata ... Krishna goads human beings into all sorts of murderous and self-destructive behaviours such as war.... The Gita is a dishonest book ; it justifies war." Prof. Doniger added for good measure : "I'm a pacifist. I don't believe in `good' wars." (Philadelphia Inquirer of 19 November.)
Rating:
Summary: The author does not quite understand the text itself
Review: The author does not quite undertand the text itself and comes through as being very biased. The author has wasted her efforts to put through incorrect views of her own, much better if she had researched some other texts perhaps the bible? However, knowing her knack for misinterpreting ancient texts I shudder to even think about it. In ending I think anyone who commented the following on the most sacred Indian text as follows should not have tried interpreting a religious text of the relgion that she is biased against: The Bhagavad Gita is not as nice a book as some Americans think," the good professor informed her audience. "Throughout the Mahabharata ... Krishna goads human beings into all sorts of murderous and self-destructive behaviours such as war.... The Gita is a dishonest book ; it justifies war." Prof. Doniger added for good measure : "I'm a pacifist. I don't believe in 'good' wars." (Philadelphia Inquirer of 19 November.)
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book, Good Selection, Different View
Review: The problem with most translations of ancient religious books, is that they are usually translated by devotees, who give their own "spiritual spin" to things, and who definitely have an "agenda". The author not only avoids this, but she explains what she did and why. Most translators never explain this or any of the problems of translating. And since things like the Rig Veda are huge, she expalins her slections quite well. The translation is plain not flowery religious language. Some examples are like: "mom's a doctor..." and " Oh Wondferful Agni..." and I believe this preserves the flavor of the Rig Veda. That can be appreciated by someone who feels that accuracy in translation is useful. If you are looking for a flowery "spirtitual" translation this is not it. However if you want a translation that is good in inspired moments, and also good with pizza and beer this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, Good Selection, Different View
Review: The problem with most translations of ancient religious books, is that they are usually translated by devotees, who give their own "spiritual spin" to things, and who definitely have an "agenda". The author not only avoids this, but she explains what she did and why. Most translators never explain this or any of the problems of translating. And since things like the Rig Veda are huge, she expalins her slections quite well. The translation is plain not flowery religious language. Some examples are like: "mom's a doctor..." and " Oh Wondferful Agni..." and I believe this preserves the flavor of the Rig Veda. That can be appreciated by someone who feels that accuracy in translation is useful. If you are looking for a flowery "spirtitual" translation this is not it. However if you want a translation that is good in inspired moments, and also good with pizza and beer this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: The Indian Elephant
Review: This is quite a good book, as far as it goes. Readers who would like to find a far fuller selection taken from the entire corpus of the Vedas, one that carries us beyond the merely scholarly into a Christian approach which sees the Vedas as a revelation of our shared humanity, as "a disclosure of something that enriches the human experience," might care to take a look at Raimundo Panikkar's magisterial 'The Vedic Experience - Mantramanjari - An Anthology of the Vedas for Modern Man and Contemporary Celebration.' At almost 1000 pages, with full introductions to each beautifully translated text, and with detailed annotations for those who are interested in precise sources and in the original Sanskrit terminology, it must be one of the best bargains going. Even the most hard-boiled could open this book up at any page and immediately become enthralled. There is a freshness and purity to these songs and chants that is irresistible. It is like coming across a blossom-filled meadow in spring. These vigorous and life-affirmative songs give us what men and women once were, and what we may yet become once again, for it is what deep down we still are though we have forgotten. Life, despite its hardships, is supposed to be joyous, something to be celebrated. And one is intensely grateful to anyone who undertakes the hard labor of devoting a book, of no matter what size, to a literature which can enrich us all.
Rating: 
Summary: The Vedas as a Revelation of Our Shared Humanity
Review: This is quite a good book, as far as it goes. Readers who would like to find a far fuller selection taken from the entire corpus of the Vedas, one that carries us beyond the merely scholarly into a Christian approach which sees the Vedas as a revelation of our shared humanity, as "a disclosure of something that enriches the human experience," might care to take a look at Raimundo Panikkar's magisterial 'The Vedic Experience - Mantramanjari - An Anthology of the Vedas for Modern Man and Contemporary Celebration.' At almost 1000 pages, with full introductions to each beautifully translated text, and with detailed annotations for those who are interested in precise sources and in the original Sanskrit terminology, it must be one of the best bargains going. Even the most hard-boiled could open this book up at any page and immediately become enthralled. There is a freshness and purity to these songs and chants that is irresistible. It is like coming across a blossom-filled meadow in spring. These vigorous and life-affirmative songs give us what men and women once were, and what we may yet become once again, for it is what deep down we still are though we have forgotten. Life, despite its hardships, is supposed to be joyous, something to be celebrated. And one is intensely grateful to anyone who undertakes the hard labor of devoting a book, of no matter what size, to a literature which can enrich us all.
Rating:
Summary: A flawed, literal translation of a great book
Review: Wendy Doniger's book refuses to consider the spiritual dimensions of the Vedic hymns. That makes it a very flawed book that cannot be trusted to provide the real meanings of the hymns that are the oldest text to have come down to mankind.
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