Hamid Ansari releases book Prithvi Sukta

Addressing the gathering, Ansari said Prithvi Sukta, which is part of the Atharvaveda is in the tradition of hymns to the forces of nature contained in a chronologically much earlier work, the Rigveda.

The Atharvaveda, and its Prithvi Sukta, has an entire hymn of 63 verses dedicated to the earth. "This speaks of a rare dedication to a subject of immense interest and that was his labour of love for over a decade," Ansari said.

While Rajya Sabha member Karan Singh has written the foreword, space scientist and ISRO K Kasturirangan has written the introduction.