✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
0927 / 1027

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

Rig Veda · 927 of 1027

Mandala 10: HYMN XC. Puruṣa.

1.A THOUSAND heads hath Puruṣa, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide.

2.This Puruṣa is all that yet hath been and all that is to be; The Lord of Immortality which waxes greater still by food.

3.So mighty is his greatness; yea, greater than this is Puruṣa. All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths eternal life in heaven.

4.With three-fourths Puruṣa went up: one-fourth of him again was here. Thence he strode out to every side over what cats not and what cats.

5.From him Virāj was born; again Puruṣa from Virāj was born. As soon as he was born he spread eastward and westward o’er the earth.

6.When Gods prepared the sacrifice with Puruṣa as their offering, Its oil was spring, the holy gift was autumn; summer was the wood.

7.They balmed as victim on the grass Puruṣa born in earliest time. With him the Deities and all Sādhyas and Ṛṣis sacrificed.

8.From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up. He formed the creatures of-the air, and animals both wild and tame.

9.From that great general sacrifice Ṛcas and Sāma-hymns were born: Therefrom were spells and charms produced; the Yajus had its birth from it.

10.From it were horses born, from it all cattle with two rows of teeth: From it were generated kine, from it the goats and sheep were born.

11.When they divided Puruṣa how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?

12.The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced.

13.The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vāyu from his breath.

14.Forth from his navel came mid-air the sky was fashioned from his head Earth from his feet, and from his car the regions. Thus they formed the worlds.

15.Seven fencing-sticks had he, thrice seven layers of fuel were prepared, When the Gods, offering sacrifice, bound, as their victim, Puruṣa.

16.Gods, sacrificing, sacrificed the victim these were the earliest holy ordinances. The Mighty Ones attained the height of heaven, there where the Sādhyas, Gods of old, are dwelling.

Asked of Guide

Why is Puruṣa described as being both sacrificed and the source of the world?

The hymn says Puruṣa is a cosmic being whose self becomes the universe: “From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up. He formed the creatures of the air, and animals both wild and tame.” The gods perform a ritual sacrifice of Puruṣa and from that sacrificial dismemberment emerge the worlds, the social classes, and the Vedic arts.

That sacrificial act explains origin and order: mouth becomes Brahman, arms the Rājanya, thighs the Vaiśya, feet the Śūdra, and celestial bodies spring from his mind, eye, and breath. This theme echoes later passages in the Purusha-sūkta and connects with the notion in the Upaniṣads that cosmos arises through a primordial unity giving itself up to being known and ordered.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.