Puruṣa Sūktam — the Hymn of the Cosmic Person (Ṛgveda 10.90), which sees all of creation as arising from the self-offering of the one infinite Being, the Puruṣa. The 16 mantras of the Sūkta proper are followed by the Uttara-nārāyaṇa.
ಸಹಸ್ರಶೀರ್ಷಾ ಪುರುಷಃ ಸಹಸ್ರಾಕ್ಷಃ ಸಹಸ್ರಪಾತ್ । ಸ ಭೂಮಿಂ ವಿಶ್ವತೋ ವೃತ್ವಾತ್ಯತಿಷ್ಠದ್ದಶಾಂಗುಲಂ ॥
sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt | sa bhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvātyatiṣṭhaddaśāṅgulam ||
The Puruṣa has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. Pervading the earth on every side, he still extends beyond it by ten fingers' breadth.
Verse 3 — ಪುರುಷ ಏವೇದಂ ಸರ್ವಂ ಯದ್ಭೂತಂ ಯಚ್ಚ ಭವ್ಯಂ ।…
ಪುರುಷ ಏವೇದಂ ಸರ್ವಂ ಯದ್ಭೂತಂ ಯಚ್ಚ ಭವ್ಯಂ । ಉತಾಮೃತತ್ವಸ್ಯೇಶಾನೋ ಯದನ್ನೇನಾತಿರೋಹತಿ ॥
The Puruṣa alone is all this — all that has been and all that is yet to be. He is the lord of immortality, and grows beyond it through (the sacrifice that is his) food.
tripādūrdhva udaitpuruṣaḥ pādo asyehābhavatpunaḥ | tato viṣvaṅvyakrāmatsāśanānaśane abhi ||
With three quarters the Puruṣa rose upward; one quarter of him came into being here again. From there he spread out in every direction, into all that eats and all that does not.
Verse 6 — ತಸ್ಮಾದ್ವಿರಾಳಜಾಯತ ವಿರಾಜೋ ಅಧಿ ಪೂರುಷಃ । ಸ ಜಾತೋ…
From him was born Virāj, the radiant cosmic form; and from Virāj, the Puruṣa (was manifested) again. Once born, he reached beyond the earth, behind it and before.
When the gods spread out the sacrifice with the Puruṣa as the offering, spring became its clarified butter, summer its firewood, and autumn its oblation.
taṃ yajñaṃ barhiṣi praukṣanpuruṣaṃ jātamagrataḥ | tena devā ayajanta sādhyā ṛṣayaśca ye ||
They consecrated upon the sacred grass that Puruṣa, born in the beginning, as the sacrifice. With him the gods, the Sādhyas, and the seers performed the offering.
tasmādyajñātsarvahutaḥ sambhṛtaṃ pṛṣadājyam | paśūn tā~ścakre vāyavyānāraṇyāngrāmyāśca ye ||
From that wholly-offered sacrifice the sprinkled curds-and-butter were gathered; from it he shaped the creatures of the air, of the forest, and of the village.
From his navel arose the mid-air; from his head the heaven came to be; from his feet the earth, and the quarters of space from his ear. Thus they fashioned the worlds.
Seven were the enclosing sticks of the altar; thrice seven the pieces of firewood were made, when the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the Puruṣa as the offering.
yajñena yajñamayajanta devāstāni dharmāṇi prathamānyāsan | te ha nākaṃ mahimānaḥ sacanta yatra pūrve sādhyāḥ santi devāḥ ||
With the sacrifice the gods worshipped the sacrifice — and these were the first sacred ordinances (dharmas). These mighty powers reached the heaven where the ancient Sādhyas, the gods, dwell.
ಉತ್ತರನಾರಾಯಣಸೂಕ್ತಂ
ಉತ್ತರನಾರಾಯಣಸೂಕ್ತಂ
uttaranārāyaṇasūktam
Uttara-nārāyaṇa — the six mantras (from the Yajurveda / Taittirīya recension) traditionally recited after the Puruṣa Sūkta, which name the Puruṣa as Nārāyaṇa, the light beyond all darkness, and close with a prayer for what is desired.
From the waters and from the essence of the earth he arose; he came into being out of Viśvakarman, the all-maker. Tvaṣṭṛ shapes and unfolds his form — such is the cosmic body of the Puruṣa, made manifest in the beginning.
I know this great Puruṣa, radiant as the sun, beyond all darkness. Knowing him thus, one becomes immortal here and now; there is no other path to liberation.
Prajāpati moves within the womb of creation; himself unborn, he is born in manifold forms. The wise discern his source; the seers long for the station of the Marīcis, the first-born sages.
Bringing forth the radiance of Brahman, the gods in the beginning declared: whoever, being a knower of Brahman, knows him thus — the gods themselves come under his sway.
Hrī (modesty) and Lakṣmī (fortune) are your two consorts; day and night are your two sides; the constellations are your form, the two Aśvins your open mouth. Grant me what I long for, grant me that, grant me all.
About Puruṣa Sūktam
Puruṣa Sūktam is a Sanskrit stotra, composed by Vedic Rishis (Shruti), addressed to Purusha — a Sukta. It is presented here in Devanagari, Roman (IAST), Kannada, each verse with its English meaning. Source text: Sanskrit Wikisource.
The Durgā Sūktam is a Vedic hymn to the Goddess drawn from the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka and the Ṛgveda; as śruti it is anonymous, ancient revelation and wholly in the public domain.
Puruṣa Sūktam is a Sanskrit stotra (devotional hymn), composed by Vedic Rishis (Shruti), addressed to Purusha, of 22 verses. On Avabodhak every verse is shown with its English meaning, so you can understand the text line by line as you read.
How do I pronounce Puruṣa Sūktam correctly?
Avabodhak presents Puruṣa Sūktam in Devanagari, Roman (IAST), Kannada alongside IAST Roman transliteration that marks every long vowel (ā, ī, ū) and conjunct consonant. Reading the Devanagari text with the IAST line lets you follow the exact pronunciation syllable by syllable, and the guided practice mode replays it line by line.
What is the word-by-word meaning of Puruṣa Sūktam?
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Who composed Puruṣa Sūktam?
Puruṣa Sūktam is attributed to Vedic Rishis (Shruti).
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Puruṣa Sūktam is available in Devanagari, Roman (IAST), Kannada on Avabodhak, each with English meaning and IAST transliteration.
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