The Rig Veda

与君同醉

The Rig Veda (c. 1500 B.C.E.), which everyone agrees is the most ancient extant Indian text, is the foundational text of Hinduism. It consists of about a thousand hymns. The great majority of the hymns are from five to 20 verses in length. The Rig Veda contains hymns of praise to a pantheon of divinities as well as a few cosmogonic hymns that tell of the creation of the universe. These stories are extremely important for the development of later Hinduism.

By far the greatest number of the thousand plus hymns of the Rig Veda are devoted to Indra, king of the gods, a deity connected with rain and storms who holds a thunderbolt, and Agni, the god of fire. The rest of the hymns are devoted to an array of gods, most prominently Mitra, Varuna, Savitri, Soma, and the Ashvins. Less frequently mentioned are the gods who became most important in the later Hindu pantheon, Vishnu and Rudra (one of whose epithets was shiva, the benign). A number of goddesses are mentioned, most frequently Ushas, goddess of the dawn, and Aditi, said to be the mother of the gods. The goddess of speech, Vach (Vak), however, may be most important, since speech is one of the most powerful sacred realities in Hindu tradition, although there are not many references to her.

The religion of the Rig Veda has for a long time been referred to as henotheistic, meaning that the religion was polytheistic, but it recognized each divinity in turn as, in certain ways, supreme. Certainly, later Hinduism continued and enriched this henotheistic concept, and, through time, Hinduism has been able to accept even Christ and Allah as being supreme “in turn.” The Rig Veda, though, was the central text in a very powerful ritual tradition. Rituals public and private, with sacred fire always a central feature, were performed to speak to and beseech the divinities. Sacrifices of animals were a regular feature of the larger public rites of the Vedic tradition.

如若安好

    《梨俱吠陀》是印度教的基础诗集，所有人都认同它是印度现存的最古老的诗集。它由大约一千篇赞美诗组成。大部分诗长为五到二十节。《梨俱吠陀》既包括对众神的万神殿的赞美诗，也包括一些讲述宇宙创造的天体演化诗。这些故事对后来印度教的发展极其重要。
      到目前为止，《梨俱吠陀》一千多首赞美诗中最多的是描写众神之王因陀罗和火神阿格尼的，因陀罗是一位与雨水和风暴有关的，掌握雷电的神。其余的赞美诗献给了一系列的神，最重要的密特拉、婆楼那、沙维特利、 苏摩和阿须云。不经常提到的是那些后来在印度教神学中变得最为重要的神，毗湿奴和鲁陀罗，鲁陀罗的亲切称呼之一是湿婆。其中还提到了很多女神，最频繁地是黎明女神乌莎丝以及据说是众神之母的阿底提。然而，自从语言成为印度传统中最有力的、最庄严神圣的现实事务后，语言女神 Vca 也许是最重要的，尽管并没有关于她的很多介绍。
      虽然在很长一段时间内《梨俱吠陀》的宗教信仰被视为单一主神的，意思就是这个宗教是多神的，但是在某些方面它是轮流将每位神视为至高无上的。当然，后来的印度教继承并丰富了单一主神的这一概念，而且随着时间变迁，印度教甚至已经能够接受基督和真主阿拉是至高无上的 。尽管，《梨俱吠陀》是在强有力的仪式文化传统中的主要诗集。以神圣之火为主要特征的公众和私人宗教仪式通过与众神对话并祈祷他们来展现。在吠陀的传统中，动物祭品是较大的公共仪式的循常例的特征。

与君同醉

The Rig Veda (c. 1500 B.C.E.), which everyone agrees is the most ancient extant Indian text, is the foundational text of Hinduism. 《梨俱吠陀》是印度教的基础诗集，所有人都认同它是印度现存的最古老的诗集。

It consists of about a thousand hymns. The great majority of the hymns are from five to 20 verses in length. 它由大约一千篇赞美诗组成。大部分诗长为五到二十节。

The Rig Veda contains hymns of praise to a pantheon of divinities as well as a few cosmogonic hymns that tell of the creation of the universe. 《梨俱吠陀》既包括对众神的万神殿的赞美诗，也包括一些讲述宇宙创造的天体演化诗。
a pantheon of divinities此处意为众多的神祗，a pantheon of是量词

These stories are extremely important for the development of later Hinduism. 这些故事对后来印度教的发展极其重要。

By far the greatest number of the thousand plus hymns of the Rig Veda are devoted to Indra, king of the gods, a deity connected with rain and storms who holds a thunderbolt, and Agni, the god of fire. 到目前为止，《梨俱吠陀》一千多首赞美诗中最多的是描写众神之王因陀罗和火神阿格尼的，因陀罗是一位与雨水和风暴有关的，掌握雷电的神。
改为：因陀罗是一位掌管雨水和风暴的神，手拿闪电。

The rest of the hymns are devoted to an array of gods, most prominently Mitra, Varuna, Savitri, Soma, and the Ashvins. 其余的赞美诗献给了一系列的神，最重要的密特拉、婆楼那、沙维特利、 苏摩和阿须云。
Less frequently mentioned are the gods who became most important in the later Hindu pantheon, Vishnu and Rudra (one of whose epithets was shiva, the benign). 不经常提到的是那些后来在印度教神学中变得最为重要的神，毗湿奴和鲁陀罗，鲁陀罗的亲切称呼之一是湿婆。
one of whose epithets was shiva, the benign 意为“他的昵称之一，是和善的湿婆”，the benign是“湿婆”的同位语

A number of goddesses are mentioned, most frequently Ushas, goddess of the dawn, and Aditi, said to be the mother of the gods.  其中还提到了很多女神，最频繁地是黎明女神乌莎丝以及据说是众神之母的阿底提。

The goddess of speech, Vach (Vak), however, may be most important, since speech is one of the most powerful sacred realities in Hindu tradition, although there are not many references to her.
然而，自从语言成为印度传统中最有力的、最庄严神圣的现实事务后，语言女神 Vca 也许是最重要的，尽管并没有关于她的很多介绍。
建议：首先，这里按照上下文，为了语义连贯，应先翻译“不过，最重要的也许是语言女神瓦克，”后面的“since”是“因为”，而不是“自从”的意思。“因为语言是印度教传统中最有力、最神圣的实相之一。”


The religion of the Rig Veda has for a long time been referred to as henotheistic, meaning that the religion was polytheistic, but it recognized each divinity in turn as, in certain ways, supreme. 虽然在很长一段时间内《梨俱吠陀》的宗教信仰被视为单一主神的，意思就是这个宗教是多神的，但是在某些方面它是轮流将每位神视为至高无上的。
建议：很长一段时间里，《梨俱吠陀》宣扬的是单一主神教，也就是说，虽然这一宗教有很多神祗，但是每一尊神可能都会以某种形式成为被信奉的至高主神。

Certainly, later Hinduism continued and enriched this henotheistic concept, and, through time, Hinduism has been able to accept even Christ and Allah as being supreme “in turn.”
当然，后来的印度教继承并丰富了单一主神的这一概念，而且随着时间变迁，印度教甚至已经能够接受基督和真主阿拉是至高无上的 。

The Rig Veda, though, was the central text in a very powerful ritual tradition. 尽管，《梨俱吠陀》是在强有力的仪式文化传统中的主要诗集。
建议：though宜译为“不过”。
不过，《梨俱吠陀》是强大的宗教仪式传统所使用的核心文本。

Rituals public and private, with sacred fire always a central feature, were performed to speak to and beseech the divinities.
以神圣之火为主要特征的公众和私人宗教仪式通过与众神对话并祈祷他们（应为：向他们祈祷）来展现。（这句理解错误， to speak to是目的，perform是主语的被动行为，而不是展现这样一个静态的意思。）
建议改为：通过公开或私密的宗教仪式，与众神对话，向众神祈请。点燃圣火为其主要特征。
（通过理解前句与此句的内在逻辑联系，将“宗教仪式”放在句首）

Sacrifices of animals were a regular feature of the larger public rites of the Vedic tradition.
在吠陀的传统中，动物祭品是较大的公共仪式的循常例的特征。
建议：较大的公开仪式上，按吠陀传统惯例，会献祭动物类祭品。（建议注重前后句子的逻辑联系，按照逻辑关系来放置字词。这样读来更流畅和连贯。）