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Hymn to Purusha
20
Transcript
The Hymn to Purusha
Thousand-headed Purusha, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed - he, having pervaded the earth on all sides, still extends ten fingers beyond it.
Rg Veda X.90
With this sacrificial oblation did the gods offer the sacrifice. These were the first dharma of sacrifice. These greatnesses reached to the sky wherein live the ancient Sadhyas and gods.
Purusha alone is all this - whatever has been and whatever is going to be. Further, he is the lord of immortality and also of what grows on account of food.
Such is his greatness; greater, indeed than this is Purusha. All creatures constitute but one quarter of him, his three-quarters are the immortal in heaven.
Seven were the enclosing sticks in this sacrifice, thrice seven were the fire-sticks made when the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound down Purusha, the sacrificial victim.
With his three-quarters did Purusha rise up; one quarter of him again remains here. With it did he variously spread out on all sides over what eats and what eats not.
From the navel was the atmosphere created, from the head the heaven issued forth; from the two feet was born the earth and the cardinal directions from the ear. This did they fashion the worlds.
From him was Viraj born, from Viraj the evolved Purusha. He, being born projected himself behind the earth as also before it
The moon was born from the mind, from the eye the sun was born; from the mouth Indra and Agni, from the breath, the wind was born.
When the gods performed the sacrifice with Purusha as the oblation, then the spring was its clarified butter, the summer the sacrificial fuel, and the autumn the oblation.
His mouth became the brahman; his two arms were made into the kshatriyas; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shudra was born.
The sacrifical victim, namely Purusha, born at the very beginning, they sprinkled with sacred water upon the sacrificial grass. With him as oblation the gods performed the sacrifice, and also the Sadhyas, and the Rishis.
When they divided Purusha, in how many different portions did they arrange him? What became of his mouth, what of his two arms? What were his two thighs and his two feet called?
From that wholly offered sacrifical oblation were born the verses and the sacred chants; from it were born the meters; the sacrificial formula was born from it.
From it horses were born and also those animals who have double rows of teeth; cows were born from it; from it were born goats and sheep.
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