The Purusha Sukta
Hymn of the Cosmic Being
The Purusha Sukta (Rigveda 10.90): the Vedic hymn of the cosmic Purusha, whose sacrifice gives rise to the worlds and the Vedas.
Verses
Now begins the Hymn to the Cosmic Person.
Verse 1
Om. We choose that which is auspicious and blissful. May there be a path for the sacrifice, a path for the lord of the sacrifice. May divine welfare be ours.
Verse 2
May there be welfare for human beings. May the healing power rise upward. May there be peace for the two-footed and for the four-footed.
Verse 3
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Verse 4
Harih Om.
Verse 5
Om. The Cosmic Person has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet.
Verse 6
Having enveloped the earth on all sides, He transcends it by ten fingers' breadth.
Verse 7
This entire universe is indeed the Purusha—whatever has been and whatever will be.
Verse 8
He is also the lord of immortality, and He grows beyond through food.
Verse 9
Such is His greatness; yet the Purusha is even greater than this.
Verse 10
One quarter of Him is all beings; three quarters are immortal in heaven.
Verse 11
Three quarters of the Purusha rose upward; one quarter of Him became manifest again here.
Verse 12
From that, He spread out in all directions, over both the animate and the inanimate.
Verse 13
From Him was born the Virat; from the Virat, the Purusha.
Verse 14
Having been born, He exceeded everything—behind the earth and also in front.
Verse 15
When the gods performed the sacrifice with the Purusha as the offering.
Verse 16
Spring was the clarified butter, summer the fuel, autumn the oblation.
Verse 17
Seven were the enclosing sticks, three times seven the kindling sticks were made.
Verse 18
When the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the Purusha as the sacrificial animal.
Verse 19
They consecrated that sacrifice, the Purusha born at the beginning, upon the sacred grass.
Verse 20
With Him the gods sacrificed—the Sadhyas and the sages also.
Verse 21
From that sacrifice, offered completely, the curdled ghee was collected.
Verse 22
He made those animals—those belonging to the air, the forest, and the village.
Verse 23
From that sacrifice, offered completely, the Rig verses and Sama chants were born.
Verse 24
From that the meters were born; from that the Yajus was born.
Verse 25
From that horses were born, and all those with two rows of teeth.
Verse 26
From that cows were born; from that goats and sheep were born.
Verse 27
When they divided the Purusha, in how many ways did they arrange Him?
Verse 28
What became His mouth? What His arms? What His thighs? What are called His feet?
Verse 29
The Brahmana was His mouth; the Rajanya was made His arms.
Verse 30
His thighs became the Vaishya; from His feet the Shudra was born.
Verse 31
The moon was born from His mind; the sun was born from His eyes.
Verse 32
From His mouth came Indra and Agni; from His breath Vayu was born.
Verse 33
From His navel arose the mid-region; from His head the sky evolved.
Verse 34
From His feet the earth, from His ear the directions; thus they arranged the worlds.
Verse 35
I know this great Purusha, radiant as the sun, beyond darkness.
Verse 36
The wise one, having distinguished all forms and given them names, sits speaking.
Verse 37
The Creator brought forth the Purusha in front; Indra, the all-knowing, established the four directions.
Verse 38
Knowing Him thus, one becomes immortal here; there is no other path to go.
Verse 39
With the sacrifice, the gods worshipped the sacrifice. Those were the first ordinances.
Verse 40
Those great ones attain the heavenly realm where the ancient Sadhyas and gods dwell.
Verse 41
Om. Salutations to Narayana.
Verse 42
The later Narayana section.
Verse 43
Born from the waters, from the essence of the earth, and from the all-creator, He came forth.
Verse 44
Tvashta, fashioning His form, approaches Him. That form of the Purusha was known as the universe in the beginning.
Verse 45
I know this great Purusha, radiant as the sun, beyond darkness.
Verse 46
Knowing Him thus, one becomes immortal here; there is no other path to go.
Verse 47
Prajapati moves within the womb; though unborn, He is born in many ways.
Verse 48
The wise know His source; they seek the abode of the rays of light.
Verse 49
He who shines for the gods, who is the priest of the gods.
Verse 50
He who was born before the gods—salutations to that radiant Brahman.
Verse 51
The gods, generating that radiant Brahman, spoke thus at the beginning.
Verse 52
Whatever Brahmana knows Him thus, the gods are under his control.
Verse 53
Hri and Lakshmi are Your wives; day and night are Your sides.
Verse 54
The stars are Your form; the Ashvins are Your open mouth. Grant us what is desired, grant us all, grant us everything.
Verse 55
Om. We choose that which is auspicious and blissful. May there be a path for the sacrifice, a path for the lord of the sacrifice. May divine welfare be ours.
Verse 56
May there be welfare for human beings. May the healing power rise upward. May there be peace for the two-footed and for the four-footed.
Verse 57
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Verse 58
Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)
Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)
Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)
Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering
- Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home
Background
The Purusha Sukta is a hymn from the Rigveda (10.90), one of the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Traditionally attributed to ancient seers (rishis), it is recited in various Hindu rituals, especially during yajnas (sacrificial ceremonies) and as part of daily prayers in some traditions. The hymn is revered for its profound vision of a single cosmic person who pervades all creation and from whom the social order and cosmic elements emerge. Locator: Rigveda 10.90 (sixteen verses), also found in the Vajasaneyi Samhita of the Shukla Yajurveda as chapter 31, verses 1-16. The accented text here is the Yajurvedic recitation form, with the opening and closing peace chants and the Uttaranarayana verses added.
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Source and Structure
The Purusha Sukta is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, one of the oldest sacred texts (c. 1500–1200 BCE). Its core is 16 verses, but the version here includes later additions like the Uttaranarayana (verses 43–54) and opening peace chants. The hymn is chanted in Vedic rituals and is foundational to Hindu cosmology.
The Cosmic Being
Purusha is described as a thousand-headed, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed being who pervades the entire universe yet transcends it by ten fingers’ breadth. This imagery emphasizes both immanence and transcendence—Purusha is everything that was and will be, and also the lord of immortality.
The Primordial Sacrifice
The gods perform a sacrifice using Purusha himself as the offering. From this sacrifice, the seasons become ritual implements (spring as ghee, summer as fuel, autumn as oblation), and the Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajus) and poetic meters (Chandas) are born. This establishes sacrifice as the creative principle of the cosmos.
Origin of the Four Varnas
The hymn famously describes the emergence of the four social orders (varnas) from Purusha’s body: the Brahmin from his mouth, the Rajanya (warrior-ruler) from his arms, the Vaishya (merchant-farmer) from his thighs, and the Shudra (laborer) from his feet. This is a key scriptural basis for the varna system, though its interpretation and application have been debated for centuries.
Cosmic Geography and Deities
From Purusha’s mind comes the moon, from his eye the sun, from his mouth Indra and Agni, from his breath Vayu (wind). His navel becomes the atmosphere, his head the sky, his feet the earth, and his ears the directions. This maps the macrocosm onto the microcosm, showing the universe as a single divine body.
Philosophical and Ritual Significance
The closing verses declare that knowing this Purusha leads to immortality, and that there is no other path. The hymn is used in meditation and worship, especially in Vaishnavism, where Purusha is identified with Narayana. The appended Uttaranarayana section adds praises to the supreme being, reinforcing the hymn’s role in devotional practice.
Vishnu
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