Rig Veda — the 10 mandalas

Character — Anthology of various rishi-families. Opens the Rig Veda. The first hymn (1.1) is to Agni.

Notable hymns — 1.1 (Agni-suktam — first hymn of the Veda). 1.32 (Indra-Vritra-vadha). 1.50 (Surya-upasthana). 1.62 (Indra). 1.89 (Aditi — sarvam-anandam mantra). 1.164 (the "Eka Sat — vipra bahudha vadanti" verse).

Character — The smallest mandala. Largely to Agni + Indra + the Maruts. Known for tight, formal hymns.

Notable hymns — 2.27 (the 7 Adityas with Mitra-Aryaman-Bhaga). 2.33 (to Rudra — the source of the Maruts).

Character — The Vishvamitra mandala. Contains the Gayatri Mantra (3.62.10) — the single most-recited Vedic mantra.

Notable hymns — 3.62.10 — THE GAYATRI MANTRA. 3.33 (the rivers Vipas + Sutudri converse with Vishvamitra). 3.59 (Mitra).

Character — Vamadeva's mandala. Many hymns to Indra + Agni. Vamadeva-shudra-svayam-amritham — the famous self-realisation moment is in 4.26.

Notable hymns — 4.26 (Vamadeva's "I was Manu, I was Surya..." — the supreme jnana-declaration in the Rig). 4.51 (Ushas).

Character — The Atri mandala. Atri seers — Atri himself, his sons, his disciples.

Notable hymns — 5.40 (Soma-Surya eclipse). 5.85 (Varuna). 5.78 (Ashvins). 5.81 (Savitri).

Character — The Bharadvaja mandala. Largely to Indra + Agni. Bharadvaja's family hymns + ritual prescriptions.

Notable hymns — 6.16 (Agni). 6.47 (Indra). 6.75 (Tanunapatra — the war-hymn).

Character — The Vasishtha mandala. Vasishtha is the family-priest of the Sudas-clan; the famous "Battle of 10 Kings" (Dasarajna-yuddha) is described here.

Notable hymns — 7.18 + 7.83 (the Battle of 10 Kings). 7.86, 7.88, 7.89 (Vasishtha to Varuna — the supreme penance-hymns). 7.103 (the famous "Frog Hymn" — the croaking-of-frogs as monsoon-hymn).

Character — The Kanva-Angiras mandala. Contains many short hymns + the Vlkila (additional) collection.

Notable hymns — 8.14 (Indra). 8.48 (Soma). 8.100 (Indra-Vala). 8.103 (Vala-bhedana — Indra breaking open the cave-of-cows).

Character — The Soma mandala. Every single hymn is to Soma (the pressed-juice + the deity). The hymns describe Soma being pressed, filtered, flowing toward the devas. Mandala 9 has no other deity.

Notable hymns — 9.1 (the opening Soma-flow). 9.113 (Soma-payana — Indra drinking soma). 9.114 (Pavamana — the "Soma the Purifier" suktam).

Character — The most philosophical + diverse mandala. Includes the Purusha Sukta, Nasadiya Sukta, Sri Sukta (in Khila), the Hiranyagarbha Sukta, the marriage-hymn, the dead-body-cremation hymn. Also several hymns by women rishikas (Ghosha, Lopamudra, Apala).

Notable hymns — 10.90 (Purusha Sukta — cosmic person, 16 verses). 10.121 (Hiranyagarbha Sukta — golden womb). 10.129 (Nasadiya Sukta — creation hymn). 10.85 (Surya-vivaha — the marriage-hymn). 10.14 (Yama — to the death-deva). 10.18 (cremation-hymn).

एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति अग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः॥

"That which exists is One; the wise speak of it in many ways — Agni, Yama, Matarishvan." The supreme Hindu pluralism verse.

तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि। धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥

The Gayatri Mantra. "We meditate upon the supreme effulgence of Savitri Deva; may he impel our intellect."

ब्राह्मणोऽस्य मुखमासीद्बाहू राजन्यः कृतः। ऊरू तदस्य यद्वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत॥

"His face was the Brahmana, his arms became the Kshatriya. His thighs the Vaishya. From his feet the Shudra was born." (The supreme varna-origin verse — read by all 4 varnas as their cosmic-body origin in Purusha.)

यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन्त्सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा न वेद॥

The supreme cosmological agnosticism: "He who oversees this from the highest heaven, he alone knows. Or perhaps even he does not know."

संवत्सरं शशयाना ब्राह्मणा व्रतचारिणः। वाचं पर्जन्यजिन्वितां प्र मण्डूका अवादिषुः॥

The Frog Hymn (Manduka Sukta) — "Like brahmanas who have observed silence for a year, the frogs raise their voice when the monsoon arrives." The earliest example of natural-history humour + observation in Sanskrit.