This book reconstruct the efforts of ancient Indian thinkers to understand the world and themselves as expressed in the Ṛgveda (c. 13th century BC). It analyses how they created a consistent philosophical system and began to formulate abstract ideas. The first issue has led to the reconstruction of the metaphysical theory of which the central concept was Agni, the fire. The second has shown that the Ṛgveda can be regarded as one of the sources of philosophical thinking seen as a universal human endeavour.

Joanna Jurewicz is professor at the Oriental Studies Department of Warsaw University. She teaches Sanskrit and early Indian philosophy. In her research, she uses the interdisciplinary methodology of philology and cognitive linguistics to analyse ancient Indian texts. She is the author of two books and numerous articles.