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Oct 25, 2017 Tune in to this ancient vedic chant popularly known as Purusha Suktam only on Rajshri Soul. The word ‘Purusha’ means God Almighty. This Suktam is in praise of the glory of God. It is chanted. Purusha Suktam – In sanskrit with meaning. Atharvaveda’s English translation by Maurice Bloomfield, Purusha suktam text in sanskrit Books of the East, purusha suktam text in sanskrit 42 is available at http: It can be improved with original text with anvaya for ease of students.

The first two verses of the Purusha sukta, with Sayana's commentary. Page of Max Müller's Rig-Veda-sanhita, the Sacred Hymns of the Brahmans (reprint, London 1974).

Purusha sukta (IASTpuruṣasūkta, Devanāgarī पुरुषसूक्तम्) is hymn10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the 'Cosmic Being'.^[1]

It is also found in the Shukla Yajurveda Samhita 30.1-16 and Atharva Veda Samhita 19.6.^[2]^[3]

Slightly different versions of the Sukta appear in different Vedas.^[4] One version of the suktam has 16 verses, 15 in the anuṣṭubh meter, and the final one in the triṣṭubh meter. Another version of the Sukta consists of 24 verses with the first 18 mantras designated as the Purva-narayana and the later portion termed as the Uttara-narayana probably in honour of Rishi Narayana. Some scholars state that certain verses of Purusha Sukta are later interpolations to the Rigveda. One of the reasons given is that it is the only hymn in all the Vedas that mentions the four varnas by name - although the word 'varṇa' itself is not mentioned in the hymn.^[5]^[6]^[7]

1Content
3Authenticity

Content[edit]

The Purusha Sukta gives a description of the spiritual unity of the universe. It presents the nature of Purusha, or the cosmic being, as both immanent in the manifested world and yet transcendent to it.^[8] From this being, the Sukta holds, the original creative will (identified with Viswakarma, Hiranyagarbha or Prajapati) proceeds which causes the projection of the universe in space and time.^[9] The Purusha Sukta, in the seventh verse, hints at the organic connectedness of the various classes of society.

Purusha[edit]

The Purusha is defined in verses 2 to 5 of the Sukta. He is described as a being who pervades everything conscious and unconscious universally. He is poetically depicted as a being with thousand heads, eyes and legs, enveloping not just the earth, but the entire universe from all sides and transcending it by ten fingers length - or transcending in all 10 directions. All manifestations, in past, present and future, is held to be the Purusha alone.^[10] It is also proclaimed that he transcends his creation. The immanence of the Purusha in manifestation and yet his transcendence of it is similar to the viewpoint held by panentheists. Finally, his glory is held to be even greater than the portrayal in this Sukta.

Creation[edit]

Verses 5-15 hold the creation of the Rig Veda. Creation is described to have started with the origination of Virat, or the cosmic body from the Purusha. In Virat, omnipresent intelligence manifests itself which causes the appearance of diversity. In the verses following, it is held that Purusha through a sacrifice of himself, brings forth the avian, forest-dwelling and domestic animals, the three Vedas, the metres (of the mantras). Then follows a verse which states that from his mouth, arms, thighs, feet the four varnas (classes) are born. This four varna-related verse is controversial and is believed by many scholars, such as Max Müller, to be a corruption and a medieval or modern era insertion into the text.^[5]^[6]

After the verse, the Sukta states that the moon takes birth from the Purusha's mind and the sun from his eyes. Indra and Agni descend from his mouth and from his vital breath, air is born. The firmament comes from his navel, the heavens from his head, the earth from his feet and quarters of space from his ears.^[8] Through this creation, underlying unity of human, cosmic and divine realities is espoused, for all are seen arising out of same original reality, the Purusha.^[11]

Yajna[edit]

The Purusha Sukta holds that the world is created by and out of a Yajna or sacrifice of the Purusha. All forms of existence are held to be grounded in this primordial yajna. In the seventeenth verse, the concept of Yajna itself is held to have arisen out of this original sacrifice. In the final verses, yajna is extolled as the primordial energy ground for all existence.^[12]

Context[edit]

The Sukta gives an expression to immanence of radical unity in diversity and is therefore, seen as the foundation of the Vaishnava thought, Bhedabheda school of philosophy and Bhagavata theology.^[13]

The concept of the Purusha is from the Samkhya Philosophy which is traced to the Indus Valley period. It seems to be an interpolation into the Rigveda since it is out of character with the other hymns dedicated to nature gods.^[14]

The Purusha Sukta is repeated with some variations in the Atharva Veda (19.6). Sections of it also occur in the Panchavimsha Brahmana, Vajasaneyi Samhita and the Taittiriya Aranyaka.^[15] Among Puranic texts, the Sukta has been elaborated in the Bhagavata Purana (2.5.35 to 2.6.1-29) and in the Mahabharata (Mokshadharma Parva 351 and 352).^{[citation needed]}

Authenticity[edit]

Many 19th and early 20th century scholars questioned as to when parts or all of Purusha Sukta were composed, and whether some of these verses were present in the ancient version of Rigveda. They suggest it was interpolated in post-Vedic era^[16] and is a relatively modern origin of Purusha Sukta.^[5]^[6]

As compared with by far the largest part of the hymns of the Rigveda, the Purusha Sukta has every character of modernness both in its diction and ideas. I have already observed that the hymns which we find in this collection (Purusha Sukta) are of very different periods.

— John Muir, ^[17]

That the Purusha Sukta, considered as a hymn of the Rigveda, is among the latest portions of that collection, is clearly perceptible from its contents.

That remarkable hymn (the Purusha Sukta) is in language, metre, and style, very different from the rest of the prayers with which it is associated. It has a decidedly more modern tone, and must have been composed after the Sanskrit language had been refined.

— Henry Thomas Colebrooke, ^[19]

There can be little doubt, for instance, that the 90th hymn of the 10th book (Purusha Sukta) is modern both in its character and in its diction. (...) It mentions the three seasons in the order of the Vasanta, spring; Grishma, summer; and Sarad, autumn; it contains the only passage in the Rigveda where the four castes are enumerated. The evidence of language for the modern date of this composition is equally strong. Grishma, for instance, the name for the hot season, does not occur in any other hymn of the Rigveda; and Vasanta also does not belong to the earliest vocabulary of the Vedic poets.

B. V. Kamesvara Aiyar, another 19th-century scholar, on the other hand, disputed this idea:^[10]

The language of this hymn is particularly sweet, rhythmical and polished and this has led to its being regarded as the product of a later age when the capabilities of the language had been developed. But the polish may be due to the artistic skill of the particular author, to the nature of the subject and to several other causes than mere posteriority in time. We might as well say that Chaucer must have lived centuries after Gower, because the language of the former is so refined and that of the latter, so rugged. We must at the same time confess that we are unable to discover any distinct linguistic peculiarity in the hymn which will stamp it as of a later origin.

Scholarship on this and other Vedic topics has moved on decisively since the end of the twentieth century, especially since the major publications of Brereton & Jamison and many others, and views such as the above are nowadays of interest only as part of the history of indology, and not as contributions to contemporary scholarship.

Modern scholarship[edit]

The verses about social estates in the Purusha Sukta are considered to belong to the latest layer of the Rigveda by scholars such as V. Nagarajan, Jamison and Brereton. V. Nagarajan believes that it was an 'interpolation' to give 'divine sanction' to an unequal division in society that was in existence at the time of its composition. He states 'The Vedic Hymns had been composed before the Varna scheme was implemented. The Vedic society was not organized on the basis of varnas. The Purush Sukta might have been a later interpolation to secure Vedic sanction for that scheme'.^[5] Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, 'there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system', and 'the varna system seems to be embryonic in the Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality'.^[21]

Notes[edit]

^Rao, SK Ramachandra. Purusha Sukta - Its meaning, translation, transliteration and commentary.
^Griffith, R.T.H. (1899) The Texts of the White Yajurveda. Benares: E.J. Lazarus & Co., pp 260-262
^Griffith, R.T.H. (1917) The Hymns of the Atharva-Veda, Vol. II (2nd edn). Benares: E.J. Lazarus & Co., pp 262-265
^Purusha Sukta (in Sanskrit). Melkote: Sanskrit Sanshodhan Sansad. 2 October 2011.
^ ^a^b^c^dDavid Keane (2016). Caste-based Discrimination in International Human Rights Law. Routledge. p. 26.
^ ^a^b^cRaghwan (2009), Discovering the Rigveda A Bracing text for our Times, ISBN978-8178357782, pp 77-88
^'Rgveda'. gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
^ ^a^bThe Purusha sukta in Daily Invocations by Swami Krishnananda
^Krishnananda, Swami. A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India. Divine Life Society, p. 19
^ ^a^bAiyar, B.V. Kamesvara (1898). The Purusha Sukta. G.A. Natesan, Madras.
^Koller, The Indian Way 2006, p. 44.
^Koller, The Indian Way 2006, pp. 45-47.
^Haberman, David L. River of Love in an Age of Pollution: The Yamuna River of Northern India. University of California Press; 1 edition (September 10, 2006). P. 34. ISBN0520247906.
^S. Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, Vol. 1.
^Visvanathan, Cosmology and Critique 2011, p. 148.
^Nagarajan, V (1994). Origins of Hindu social system. South Asia Books. pp. 16, 121. ISBN978-81-7192-017-4.
^J. Muir (1868), Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India - their religion and institutions at Google Books, 2nd Edition, pp 12
^Albert Friedrich Weber, Indische Studien, herausg. von at Google Books, Volume 10, pp 1-9 with footnotes (in German); For a translation, see page 14 of Original Sanskrit Texts at Google Books
^Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays Volume 1, WH Allen & Co, London, see footnote at page 309
^Müller (1859), A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, Williams & Norgate, London, pp 570-571
^Jamison, Stephanie; et al. (2014). The Rigveda : The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN978-0-19-937018-4.

Sources

Koller, John M. (2006), The Indian Way: An Introduction to the Philosophies & Religions of India (2nd ed.), Pearson Education, ISBN0131455788
Visvanathan, Meera (2011), 'Cosmology and Critique: Charting a History of the Purusha Sukta', in Roy, Kumkum (ed.), Insights and Interventions: Essays in Honour of Uma Chakravarti, Delhi: Primus Books, pp. 143–168, ISBN978-93-80607-22-1

External links[edit]

Translation by Ralph Griffith at Internet Sacred Text Archive

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Purusha_Sukta&oldid=909160289'

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Sri Purusha Suktam

Purusha Suktam - from Rig Veda (10.90)

पुरुष सुक्तम् - सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात्

Purusha Suktam - Sahasra-Shirsaa Purusah Sahasra-Aksah Sahasra-Paat

सहस्रशीर्षापुरुषःसहस्राक्षःसहस्रपात् ।
सभूमिंविश्वतोवृत्वात्यतिष्ठद्दशाङुलम् ॥१॥
Sahasra-Shiirssaa Purussah Sahasra-Akssah Sahasra-Paat |
Sa Bhuumim Vishvato Vrtva-Atya[i]-Tisstthad-Dasha-Angulam ||1||
Meaning:
1.1: The Purusha (Universal Being) has Thousand Heads, Thousand Eyes and Thousand Feet (Thousand signifies innumerable which points to the omnipresence of the Universal Being),
1.2:He envelops the World from all sides (i.e. He pervades each part of the Creation), and extends beyond in the Ten Directions ( represented by Ten Fingers ),
पुरुषएवेदंसर्वंयद्भूतंयच्चभव्यम् ।
उतामृतत्वस्येशानोयदन्नेनातिरोहति ॥२॥
Purussa Evedam Sarvam Yad-Bhuutam Yacca Bhavyam |
Uta-Amrtatvasye[a-I]shaano Yad-Annena-Ati-Rohati ||2||
Meaning:
2.1: The Purusha is indeed All this (Creation) in essence; That which existed in the Past, and that which will exist in the Future,
2.2: Everything (i.e the whole Creation) is woven by the Immortal essence of the Great Lord (Purusha); by becoming Food of which (i.e. by getting consumed in Whose Immortal essence through surrender) one transcends the gross world (and becomes Immortal).
एतावानस्यमहिमातोज्यायाँश्चपूरुषः ।
पादोऽस्यविश्वाभूतानित्रिपादस्यामृतंदिवि ॥३॥
Etaavaanasya Mahima-Ato Jyaayaash-Ca Puurussah |
Paado-Asya Vishvaa Bhuutaani Tri-Paad-Asya-Amrtam Divi ||3||
Meaning:
3.1: The Purusha is Greater than all the Greatness (which can be expressed by words),
3.2: His One Part has become all these (visible) Worlds, and His Three Parts rest in the Immortal World of the Transcendence.
त्रिपादूर्ध्वउदैत्पूरुषःपादोऽस्येहाभवत्पुनः ।
ततोविष्वङ्व्यक्रामत्साशनानशनेअभि ॥४॥
Tri-Paad-Uurdhva Udait-Puurussah Paado-Asye[a-I]ha-Abhavat-Punah |
Tato Vissvang Vya[i-A]kraamat-Saashana-Anashane Abhi ||4||
Meaning:
4.1: The Three Parts of the Purusha is High Above (in Transcendental Realm), and His One Part becomes the Creation again and again.
4.2:There, in the Creation, He pervades all the Living ( who eats ) and the Non-Living ( who does not eat ) beings.
तस्माद्विराळजायतविराजोअधिपूरुषः ।
सजातोअत्यरिच्यतपश्चाद्भूमिमथोपुरः ॥५॥
Tasmaad-Viraadda-Jaayata Viraajo Adhi Puurussah |
Sa Jaato Atya[i-A]ricyata Pashcaad-Bhuumim-Atho Purah ||5||
Meaning:
5.1:From Him (i.e. the Purusha) was born the Virat; (the Virat came into being) from the presence of the Shining Purusha (Who remained as the background or substratum of Virat);
5.2:He (i.e. the Virat) created the Earth, by manifesting Her from His own being as substratum.
यत्पुरुषेणहविषादेवायज्ञमतन्वत ।
वसन्तोअस्यासीदाज्यंग्रीष्मइध्मःशरद्धविः ॥६॥
Yat-Purussenna Havissaa Devaa Yajnyam-Atanvata |
Vasanto Asya-Asiida-Ajyam Griissma Idhmah Sharad-[d]Havih ||6||
Meaning:
6.1: With the Purusha as the (Sacrificial) Fire, the Deva (the Shining One, referring to Virat) continued the Yagna (Sacrifice of creation),
6.2:Spring was (created as) the clarified Butter (of that Yagna), Summer was (created as) the Fuel (of that Yagna), and Autumn was (created as) the Havis (Sacrificial offering of that Yagna).
तंयज्ञंबर्हिषिप्रौक्षन्पुरुषंजातमग्रतः ।
तेनदेवाअयजन्तसाध्याऋषयश्चये ॥७॥
Tam Yajnyam Barhissi Pra-Ukssan-Purussam Jaatam-Agratah |
Tena Devaa Ayajanta Saadhyaa Rssayash-Ca Ye ||7||
Meaning:
7.1: The First Divine Men were created as the Holy Water sprinkled with the Kusa Grass in that Yagna (Sacrifice of Creation).
7.2: The First Divine Men were the Sadhya Devas and the Rishis, Who were created by Him, the Deva (the Shining One, referring to Virat), Who performed the Yagna. (These Rishis were not human but divine Rishis like Saptarshis created directly by Virat).
तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुतःसम्भृतंपृषदाज्यम् ।
पशून्ताँश्चक्रेवायव्यानारण्यान्ग्राम्याश्चये ॥८॥
Tasmaad-Yajnyaat-Sarvahutah Sambhrtam Prssadaajyam |
Pashuun-Taashcakre Vaayavyaan-Aarannyaan Graamyaash-Ca Ye ||8||
Meaning:
8.1: From the Complete Offering of His (i.e. Virat's) Yagna (Sacrifice of Creation) was obtained Ghee mixed with coagulated Milk, ...
8.2: ... which (i.e. the Ghee and Milk) are (the created) Animals, both of Air (Birds) and of Forests (Wild Animals) and Villages (Domestic Animals).
तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुतऋचःसामानिजज्ञिरे ।
छन्दांसिजज्ञिरेतस्माद्यजुस्तस्मादजायत ॥९॥
Tasmaad-Yajnyaat-Sarvahuta Rcah Saamaani Jajnyire |
Chandaamsi Jajnyire Tasmaad-Yajus-Tasmaad-Ajaayata ||9||
Meaning:
9.1: From the Complete Offering of His (i.e. Virat's) Yagna (Sacrifice of Creation) was born the Rig Veda and Sama Veda,
9.2: The Chandas (Vedic Meters) were born from Him, and the Yajur Veda was born from Him.
तस्मादश्वाअजायन्तयेकेचोभयादतः ।
गावोःहजज्ञिरेतस्मात्तस्माज्जाताअजावयः ॥१०॥
Tasmaad-Ashvaa Ajaayanta Ye Ke Co[a-U]bhayaadatah |
Gaavoh Ha Jajnyire Tasmaat Tasmaaj-Jaataa Ajaa-Vayah ||10||
Meaning:
10.1: From Him (i.e. Virat) was born the Horses, and all those animals who has teeth in both jaws,
10.2: From Him (i.e. Virat) was born the Cows, and from Him was born all types of Goats.
यत्पुरुषंव्यदधुःकतिधाव्यकल्पयन् ।
मुखंकिमस्यकौबाहूकाऊरूपादाउच्येते ॥११॥
Yat-Purussam Vya[i-A]dadhuh Katidhaa Vya[i-A]kalpayan |
Mukham Kimasya Kau Baahuu Kaa Uuruu Paadaa Ucyete ||11||
Meaning:
11.1:What did the Purusha (i.e. Virat) hold within Him? How many parts were assigned in His Huge Form?
11.2:What was His Mouth? What was His Arms? What was His Thighs? And what was His Feet?
ब्राह्मणोऽस्यमुखमासीद्बाहूराजन्यःकृतः ।
ऊरूतदस्ययद्वैश्यःपद्भ्यांशूद्रोअजायत ॥१२॥
Braahmanno-Asya Mukham-Aasiid Baahuu Raajanyah Krtah |
Uuruu Tad-Asya Yad-Vaishyah Padbhyaam Shuudro Ajaayata ||12||
Meaning:
12.1: The Brahmanas were His Mouth, the Kshatriyas became His Arms,
12.2: The Vaishyas were His Thighs, and the Shudras were assigned to His Feet.
चन्द्रमामनसोजातश्चक्षोःसूर्योअजायत ।
मुखादिन्द्रश्चाग्निश्चप्राणाद्वायुरजायत ॥१३॥
Candramaa Manaso Jaatash-Cakssoh Suuryo Ajaayata |
Mukhaad-Indrash-Ca-Agnish-Ca Praannaad-Vaayur-Ajaayata ||13||
Meaning:
13.1: The Moon was born from His Mind and the Sun was born from His Eyes,
13.2:Indra and Agni (Fire) were born from His Mouth, and Vayu (Wind) was born from His Breath.
नाभ्याआसीदन्तरिक्षंशीर्ष्णोद्यौःसमवर्तत ।
पद्भ्यांभूमिर्दिशःश्रोत्रात्तथालोकाँअकल्पयन् ॥१४॥
Naabhyaa Aasiid-Antarikssam Shiirssnno Dyauh Samavartata |
Padbhyaam Bhuumir-Dishah Shrotraat-Tathaa Lokaa Akalpayan ||14||
Meaning:
14.1: His Navel became the Antariksha (the intermediate Space between Heaven and Earth), His Head sustained the Heaven,
14.2: From His Feet the Earth (was sustained), and from His Ears the Directions (were sustained); in this manner all the Worlds were regulated by Him.
सप्तास्यासन्परिधयस्त्रिःसप्तसमिधःकृताः ।
देवायद्यज्ञंतन्वानाअबध्नन्पुरुषंपशुम् ॥१५॥
Saptaasya[i-A]asan Paridhayas-Trih Sapta Samidhah Krtaah |
Devaa Yadyajnyam Tanvaanaa Abadhnan-Purussam Pashum ||15||
Meaning:
15.1: By making Seven Enclosures with Three times Seven sacrificial Firewood, ...
15.2: ... the Deva (the Shining One referring to Virat) in that Yagna (Sacrifice of Creation), bound the infinite expanse of the Purusha as (apparently) finite living beings (Pashu).
यज्ञेनयज्ञमयजन्तदेवास्तानिधर्माणिप्रथमान्यासन् ।
तेहनाकंमहिमानःसचन्तयत्रपूर्वेसाध्याःसन्तिदेवाः ॥१६॥
Yajnyena Yajnyam-Ayajanta Devaas-Taani Dharmaanni Prathamaanya[i-A]asan |
Te Ha Naakam Mahimaanah Sa-Canta Yatra Puurve Saadhyaah Santi Devaah ||16||
Meaning:
16.1: The Devas performed the external Yagna by meditating on the real Yagna (i.e. contemplating on the Purusha Who is Shining behind everything); And thus they first obtained the Dharma (based on the Oneness of the Purusha),
16.2: By Meditating on the Greatness of the Chidakasha (Blissful Spiritual Sky behind everyone, which is the essence of the Purusha), during those earlier times, the Spiritual Aspirants became the Shining One themselves.
Note: Place the mouse over each Sanskrit word to get the meaning.
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Translated by greenmesg

Mantras from Vedas & Upanishads:
Shanti Mantras:
• Om Asato Ma Sadgamaya
• Om Bhadram Karnebhih
• Om Purnamadah Purnamidam
• Om Sahana Vavatu
• Om Sarvesham Swastirvavatu
• Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
• Om Shamno Mitrah Sham Varunah
• Om Vang Me Manasi Pratisthita
• Om Dyauha Shantirantariksha Shantihi
Vedic Suktas / Mantras:
• Ambhasyapare Bhuvanasya Madhye (Mahanarayana Upanishad 1.1)
• Apah Suktam (RV 10.9)

Purusha Suktam Lyrics In English

• Bhoomi Sukta Excerpts (AV 12.1)
• Durga Suktam (Mahanarayana Upanishad)
• Ganapati Atharvashirsha (Ganapati Upanishad)
• Gayatri Mantra (Yajur Veda)
• Kshetrapati Suktam (RV 4.57)
• Mahamrityunjaya Mantra (RV 7.59.12)
• Om Gananam Tva Ganapatim (RV 2.23.1)
• Purusha Suktam (RV 10.90)