Rig Veda - The Sense of Art

Sense of art of the Rig Vedic people is seen in the following hymns:

1.62.13

सनायते गोतम इन्द्र नव्यमतक्षद्ब्रह्म हरियोजनाय ।
सुनीथाय नः शवसान नोधाः प्रातर्मक्षू धियावसुर्जगम्यात् ॥१३॥

1.109.1

वि ह्यख्यं मनसा वस्य इच्छन्निन्द्राग्नी ज्ञास उत वा सजातान् ।
नान्या युवत्प्रमतिरस्ति मह्यं स वां धियं वाजयन्तीमतक्षम् ॥१॥

 
1.171.2

एष व स्तोमो मरुतो नमस्वान्हृदा तष्टो मनसा धायि देवाः ।
उपेमा यात मनसा जुषाणा यूयं हि ष्ठा नमस इद्वृधासः ॥२॥

2.19.8

एवा ते गृत्समदाः शूर मन्मावस्यवो न वयुनानि तक्षुः ।
ब्रह्मण्यन्त इन्द्र ते नवीय इषमूर्जं सुक्षितिं सुम्नमश्युः ॥८॥

7.7.6

एते द्युम्नेभिर्विश्वमातिरन्त मन्त्रं ये वारं नर्या अतक्षन् ।
प्र ये विशस्तिरन्त श्रोषमाणा आ ये मे अस्य दीधयन्नृतस्य ॥६॥

 7.64.4

यो वां गर्तं मनसा तक्षदेतमूर्ध्वां धीतिं कृणवद्धारयच्च ।
उक्षेथां मित्रावरुणा घृतेन ता राजाना सुक्षितीस्तर्पयेथाम् ॥४॥

[WIP]

Rig Veda - 1.1.1

Mandala 1 / Suktam 1/ Shloka 1

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् । होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥१॥

agnimIle purohitaM yaj~nasya devamR^itvijam | hotAraM ratnadhAtamam ||1||
agním īḷe
puróhitaṃ yajñásya
devám r̥tvíjam hótāraṃ ratnadhā́tamam

Meaning
agnim Ile - Agni, I adore
The ḷ in later days changed to D, thus ईळे --> ईडे from root इड्

पुरोहितं / purohitaM is derived from the two roots पुर् (pur) and हि (hi)

पुर् = door, gate, entrance, front
हि = throw down, place, stand

पुरोहितं = one who stands at the front/ one who guards the entrance

यज्ञस्य = of yajna from यज्ञ from the root यज् from य from य्
य् -> strength/ tenderness applied to action/ motion
य -> firm and steady expression and application
यज् -> swiftness, decisiveness, brilliance, mastery
यज्ञ -> One who has mastery/ Master or God in a certain sense
Again
यज् - Also means to worship, adore, honor, consecrate, hallow, offer
यज्ञ - Might therefore also mean  one who is worthy of adoration, honor - thus again, Master or God in some sense

पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य - (one who is) standing in front of the Master

देवमृत्विजम् = देवम् , ऋत् , विजम्
 
विजम् from विज् - shaking, moving with a quick darting motion, therefore vibrating
Thus ऋत् + विजम्  => One who is vibrating with Truth, or Knower
होतारं (fighter/ warrior) from होतृ (from हु (attack) from ह् (aggression) via Sri Aurobindo's working notes)
Or hotRRi may mean a celebrant as per traditional rendering. But this begs the question, why should Agni be a celebrant or priest? Does it make sense at all? No, and I'll explain why it does not make sense.
Traditionally, हु means to offer/ present/ sprinkle/ throw
hotRRi would then mean one who throws or sprinkles. And this would only make sense if we assume that when fire is burnt (using wood) shoots sparks and ash into air.
रत् (brilliance) from र् (movement)
अध giving

I adore Agni, who stands in front of the Master (God), who is Divine, knower of Truth, a brilliant warrior. 

The imagery is that of a seer standing in front of a fire. The Fire (Agni) goes upwards towards the sky, is violent and sprinkles ash and dust in its vicinity, and is the gate-keeper of  God (Yajna) in heaven. Agni is bright, brilliant, active and a medium of communication of the Seer with God above. Thus Agni is "yajnasya puro-hota" or one who is in front of God.

Rig Veda - Secular Matters - 01

Secular or non-religious hymns in the Rig Veda:

1. Wedding Hymns - 10.85
2. Funeral Hymns - 10.14 to 18
3. Gambler's Lament - 10.34
4. Didactic Hymn - 10.117
5. Riddles - 1.164, 7.29
6. Frog Hymns - 8.103
7. Dialogue Hymns - 10.10 / 10.95
8. Prophesy - 2.42, 2.43
9. Protection against poisonous creature - 1.191
10. Relief against trouble created by co-wife - 10.145

Rig Veda - Tha Ratha - 02

Root: RRi becomes Stem: ra
RRi -> ra + tha = goer, car, vehicle

a. Made of native timber
khadira, siMShapA - 3.53.19
shalmali - 10.85.20
kiMShuka

b. Drawn mostly by oxen, sometimes by horses, antelopes and birds (ashvins)

Rig Veda - Tha Ratha - 01

The Rig Vedic "ratha" translated often as "vehicle" or "chariot" is not the same as the European horse-drawn chariot.

It is variously described as:

pRRithu - "broad" (1.123.1)
bRRihat - "tall, big" (6.61.13)
variShTha...vandhura - "widest...box/seating space" (6.47.9)
trivandhura - "three seated" (1.41.2; 7.71.4; etc)
aShTavandhura - "eight seated" (10.53.7)

The only real-life, not mythological, ratha in a race is mentioned in 10.102 and this is pulled by oxen.

The Rig Veda does not make a single mention of a real-life battle with horse-drawn rathas.

Source:Nicholas Kazanas