Rigveda Samhita contains 10,600 verses in 10 mandalas praising gods like Indra, Agni, Soma. Hymns orally transmitted with exceptional fidelity since 2nd millennium BCE. Composed by rishi families in Punjab-Sarasvati region. No evidence of structured caste system or social stratification. Society semi-nomadic pastoral with agriculture, cattle raising, horse racing. Women appear outspoken, sexually confident, as speakers in hymns. Contains 300 non-Indo-European words from Munda, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman languages indicating interactions. Similar to Avestan Gathas and Homeric Iliad in archaic style. Core books 2-9 earliest, focus on cosmology, rites, god praise. Later books 1,10 add philosophy, charity, universe origins. No iron mentioned, áyas metal predates 1000 BCE. Codified around 1200-1000 BCE in Kuru kingdom after Battle of Ten Kings. Only Śakala shakha survives fully. Manuscripts from 1040 CE, oral tradition dominant until modern times. Hymns in metres like trishtubh (40%), gayatri (25%). Influences other Vedas heavily. Includes Nasadiya Sukta speculating on creation. No direct evidence of political systems. Rice mentioned but not cultivation. Elaborate wedding rites but no dowry or sati.