An ancient collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas), the Rigveda (Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, from ṛc “praise” and veda “knowledge”) is an Indian collection of hymns. Known as the Vedas, it is one of the four holy, canonical Hindu books (śruti). Out of the numerous Shakhas that existed, only the akalya Shakha is extant. A large portion of the information found in the surviving Shakhas has either been lost or isn’t accessible to the general audience. The northwest of the Indian subcontinent is where the Rigveda Samhita was written (modern day India, Afghanistan and Pakistan)
The earliest known Vedic Sanskrit text is the Rigveda. Among all the Indo-European languages still in existence are some of its earliest levels. Since the second millennium BCE, the Rigveda’s sounds and texts have been passed down orally. The Rigveda Samhita was created in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent (see Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, however a larger estimate of 1900–1200 BCE has also been proposed based on philological and linguistic data.