About Purusha Sukta
The Purusha in the title of the Purusha Sukta refers to the Parama Purusha, Purushottama, Narayana, in his form as the Viraat Purusha. He was the source of all creation. It describes this form of his, as having countless heads, eyes, legs, manifested everywhere, and beyond the scope of any limited method of comprehension. All creation is but a fourth part of him. The rest is unmanifested.
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. From this being, the Sukta holds, the original creative will (identified with Vishvakarma, Hiranyagarbha or Prajapati) proceeds which causes the projection of the universe in space and time. The Purusha Sukta, in the seventh verse, hints at the organic connectedness of the various classes of society.
It is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the “Cosmic Being”. It is also found in the Shukla Yajurveda Samhita 30.1-16 and Atharva Veda Samhita 19.6.
Meaning of Purusha Sukta
सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् ।
स भूमिं विश्वतो वृत्वात्यतिष्ठद्दशाङुलम् ॥१॥
The purusha (universal being) has thousand heads, thousand eyes and thousand feet. Thousand signifies innumerable which points to the omnipresence of the universal being. 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.
पुरुष एवेदं सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यम् ।
उतामृतत्वस्येशानो यदन्नेनातिरोहति ॥२॥
The purusha is indeed all this (creation) in essence; that which existed in the past, and that which will exist in the future. Also, he is the Lord of immortality. That which grows profusely by food (is also the 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.
एतावानस्य महिमातो ज्यायाँश्च पूरुषः ।
पादोऽस्य विश्वा भूतानि त्रिपादस्यामृतं दिवि ॥३॥
The purusha is greater than all the greatness which can be expressed by words. His one part has become all these (visible) worlds, and his three parts rest in the immortal world of the transcendence.
त्रिपादूर्ध्व उदैत्पूरुषः पादोऽस्येहाभवत्पुनः ।
ततो विष्वङ् व्यक्रामत्साशनानशने अभि ॥४॥
The three parts of the purusha is high above (in transcendental realm), and his one part becomes the creation again and again. There, in the creation, he pervades all the living ( who eats ) and the non-living ( who does not eat ) beings.
तस्माद्विराळजायत विराजो अधि पूरुषः ।
स जातो अत्यरिच्यत पश्चाद्भूमिमथो पुरः ॥५॥
From 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); he (i.e. the virat) created the earth, by manifesting her from his own being as substratum.
यत्पुरुषेण हविषा देवा यज्ञमतन्वत ।
वसन्तो अस्यासीदाज्यं ग्रीष्म इध्मः शरद्धविः ॥६॥
With the purusha as the (sacrificial) fire, the deva (the shining one, referring to virat) continued the yagna (sacrifice of creation), 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).
तं यज्ञं बर्हिषि प्रौक्षन्पुरुषं जातमग्रतः ।
तेन देवा अयजन्त साध्या ऋषयश्च ये ॥७॥
The first divine men were created as the holy water sprinkled with the kusa grass in that yagna (sacrifice of creation). 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.
तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुतः सम्भृतं पृषदाज्यम् ।
पशून्ताँश्चक्रे वायव्यानारण्यान् ग्राम्याश्च ये ॥८॥
From the complete offering of his (i.e. virat’s) yagna (sacrifice of creation) was obtained ghee mixed with coagulated milk, which (i.e. the ghee and milk) are (the created) animals, both of air (birds) and of forests (wild animals) and villages (domestic animals).
तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुत ऋचः सामानि जज्ञिरे ।
छन्दांसि जज्ञिरे तस्माद्यजुस्तस्मादजायत ॥९॥
From the complete offering of his (i.e. virat’s) yagna (sacrifice of creation) was born the rig veda and sama veda, the chandas (vedic meters) were born from him, and the yajur veda was born from him.
तस्मादश्वा अजायन्त ये के चोभयादतः ।
गावोः ह जज्ञिरे तस्मात् तस्माज्जाता अजावयः ॥१०॥
From him (i.e. virat) was born the horses, and all those animals who has teeth in both jaws, from him (i.e. virat) was born the cows, and from him was born all types of goats.
यत्पुरुषं व्यदधुः कतिधा व्यकल्पयन् ।
मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते ॥११॥
What did the purusha (i.e. virat) hold within him? How many parts were assigned in his huge form? What was his mouth? What was his arms? What was his thighs? And what was his feet?
ब्राह्मणोऽस्य मुखमासीद् बाहू राजन्यः कृतः ।
ऊरू तदस्य यद्वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ॥१२॥
The Brahmanas were his mouth, the kshatriyas became his arms, the vaishyas were his thighs, and the shudras were assigned to his feet.
चन्द्रमा मनसो जातश्चक्षोः सूर्यो अजायत ।
मुखादिन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च प्राणाद्वायुरजायत ॥१३॥
The moon was born from his mind and the sun was born from his eyes, Indra and agni (fire) were born from his mouth, and vayu (wind) was born from his breath.
नाभ्या आसीदन्तरिक्षं शीर्ष्णो द्यौः समवर्तत ।
पद्भ्यां भूमिर्दिशः श्रोत्रात्तथा लोकाँ अकल्पयन् ॥१४॥
His navel became the antariksha (the intermediate space between heaven and earth), his head sustained the heaven, 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.
सप्तास्यासन् परिधयस्त्रिः सप्त समिधः कृताः ।
देवा यद्यज्ञं तन्वाना अबध्नन्पुरुषं पशुम् ॥१५॥
By making seven enclosures with three times seven sacrificial firewood, 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).
यज्ञेन यज्ञमयजन्त देवास्तानि धर्माणि प्रथमान्यासन् ।
ते ह नाकं महिमानः सचन्त यत्र पूर्वे साध्याः सन्ति देवाः ॥१६॥
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), 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.
