released a book "Prithvi Sukta" written by Rajya Sabha Secretary N C Joshi.
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.
