Rudrashtadhyayi: Adhyaya 2 - Purusha Sukta
शिखा - पुरुषसूक्तम्
The second adhyaya of the Rudrashtadhyayi, traditionally called Shikha (the crown limb). Its first sixteen mantras are the Purusha Sukta proper - the primordial hymn of the cosmic being from whom the Vedas, the varnas, the sun, moon and the whole universe arise. The closing mantras (17 onward) are the Uttaranarayana Sukta, used especially in the worship of Lakshmi.
Sanskrit
हरिः॒ ॐ स॒हस्र॑शीर्षा॒ पुरु॑षः स॒हस्रा॑क्षः स॒हस्र॑पात्। स भूमिं॑ सर्व॒तस्पृत्वा॑त्यतिष्ठद्दशाङ्गुलम् ॥१॥
Transliteration
hariḥ oṃ sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt | sa bhūmiṃ sarvataḥ spṛtvā atyatiṣṭhad daśāṅgulam ||1||
Translation
Purusha has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. Having touched the earth on every side, he stood beyond it by ten fingers' breadth.
Deep Meaning
The Purusha Sukta opens with its most famous image: a cosmic being whose heads, eyes and feet are without number, who pervades the whole earth and yet extends beyond it. Note on this edition: it reads "sarvataḥ spṛtvā" (having touched/pervaded on all sides) where some other printings of the Purusha Sukta read "viśvato vṛtvā" (having enveloped on all sides) - both are attested readings; this is transcribed exactly as printed in this Gita Press edition rather than silently harmonised to the more familiar version.
Sanskrit
पुरुष॑ऽएवेदꣳ॒ सर्वं॒ यद्भूतं॒ यच्च॒ भाव्य॑म्। उ॒ता॒मृत॑त्वस्येशा॒नो यदन्ने॑नाति॒रोह॑ति ॥२॥
Transliteration
puruṣa evedaṃ sarvaṃ yad bhūtaṃ yac ca bhāvyam | utāmṛtatvasyeśāno yad annenātirohati ||2||
Translation
Purusha alone is all this - whatever has been and whatever is yet to be. He is also the lord of immortality, inasmuch as he grows beyond through food.
Deep Meaning
Everything that exists, in every time, is declared to be nothing other than Purusha himself. The closing line is read by commentators as pointing to how the living world sustains and renews itself through food even as its deepest nature remains deathless.
Sanskrit
ए॒ताव॑ानस्य महि॒मातो॒ ज्याया॑ꣳश्च॒ पूरु॑षः। पादो॑ऽस्य॒ विश्वा॑ भू॒तानि॑ त्रि॒पाद॑स्या॒मृतं॑ दि॒वि ॥३॥
Transliteration
etāvān asya mahimāto jyāyāṃś ca pūruṣaḥ | pādo 'sya viśvā bhūtāni tripād asyāmṛtaṃ divi ||3||
Translation
Such is his greatness, and greater still than this is Purusha. One quarter of him is all created beings; three quarters are the immortal in heaven.
Deep Meaning
The most quoted line of the sukta: everything manifest - the entire universe of beings - is only a quarter of Purusha. Three-quarters remain unmanifest, immortal, beyond this world entirely. The visible cosmos is thus a small fraction of what Purusha actually is.
Sanskrit
त्रि॒पादू॒र्ध्व ऽउदैत्पुरु॑षः पादो॑ऽस्ये॒हाभ॑वत्पु॒नः। ततो॒ विष्व॒ङ्व्य॑क्रामत्सा॒शना॑न॒शने॑ऽअ॒भि ॥४॥
Transliteration
tripād ūrdhva udait puruṣaḥ pādo 'syehābhavat punaḥ | tato viṣvaṅ vyakrāmat sāśanānaśane 'bhi ||4||
Translation
Three-quarters of Purusha rose upward; one quarter of him came to be here again. From that he spread out in every direction, toward what eats and what does not eat.
Deep Meaning
Having stated the three-to-one ratio, the sukta now describes it as a kind of motion: three parts ascend beyond the world, one part re-enters it, and from that returning quarter the whole of manifest existence - everything that eats and everything that does not - spreads out in all directions.
Sanskrit
तता॑ विरा॒डजा॑यत विरा॒जोऽधि॒ पूरु॑षः। स जा॒तोऽअत्य॑रिच्यत प॒श्चाद्भूमि॒मथो॒ पुरः॑ ॥५॥
Transliteration
tatā virāḍ ajāyata virājo 'dhi pūruṣaḥ | sa jāto 'tyaricyata paścād bhūmim atho puraḥ ||5||
Translation
From him Viraj was born, and from Viraj, Purusha again. He, once born, extended beyond - both behind the earth and before it.
Deep Meaning
A circular image: Purusha gives rise to Viraj (the manifest, shining cosmic form), and Viraj in turn gives rise to Purusha again. This mutual birth, the commentators note, is a way of saying that creator and creation cannot finally be separated from each other.
Sanskrit
तस्मा॒द्यज्ञा॒त्सर्व॑हुतः॒ सम्भृ॑तं पृषदा॒ज्यम्। प॒शूꣳस्ताꣳश्च॑क्रे वाय॒व्याना॑रु॒ण्या ग्राम्याश्च॒ ये ॥६॥
Transliteration
tasmād yajñāt sarvahutaḥ sambhṛtaṃ pṛṣadājyam | paśūṃs tāṃś cakre vāyavyān āraṇyā grāmyāś ca ye ||6||
Translation
From that wholly-offered sacrifice, the sprinkled ghee was gathered. From it were made those creatures of the air, the creatures of the forest, and those of the village.
Deep Meaning
The hymn now narrates creation as the direct product of a cosmic sacrifice in which Purusha himself is the offering. Every kind of animal - wild, domestic, and those that move through air - is said to emerge from the substances gathered at that first yajna.
Sanskrit
तस्मा॒द्यज्ञा॒त्सर्व॑हुत॒ऽऋचः॒ सामा॑नि जज्ञिरे। छन्दाꣳ॑सि जज्ञिरे॒ तस्मा॒द्यजु॒स्तस्मा॑दजायत ॥७॥
Transliteration
tasmād yajñāt sarvahuta ṛcaḥ sāmāni jajñire | chandāṃsi jajñire tasmād yajus tasmād ajāyata ||7||
Translation
From that wholly-offered sacrifice, the Rig and Sama verses were born. The metres were born from it; the Yajus was born from it.
Deep Meaning
Not only living creatures but the Vedas themselves - their verses and their metrical forms - are said to have arisen from this same primordial sacrifice. Scripture, on this account, is not separate from creation; it comes from the same source.
Sanskrit
तस्मा॒दश्वा॑ऽअजायन्त॒ ये के चो॒भया॑दतः। गावो॑ ह जज्ञिरे॒ तस्मा॒त्तस्मा॑ज्जा॒ताऽअ॑जा॒वयः॑ ॥८॥
Transliteration
tasmād aśvā ajāyanta ye ke cobhayādataḥ | gāvo ha jajñire tasmāt tasmāj jātā ajāvayaḥ ||8||
Translation
From it were born horses, and all such creatures as have teeth in both jaws. From it cattle were born; from it goats and sheep were born.
Deep Meaning
The hymn continues its account of creation with the animals most central to Vedic life - horses, cattle, goats and sheep - all traced back to the same originating sacrifice.
Sanskrit
यत्पुरु॑षं॒ व्यद॑धुः कति॒धा व्य॑कल्पयन्। मुखं॒ किम॑स्य॒ कौ बा॒हू का ऊ॒रू पादा॑ऽउच्येते ॥९॥
Transliteration
yat puruṣaṃ vyadadhuḥ katidhā vyakalpayan | mukhaṃ kim asya kau bāhū kā ūrū pādā ucyete ||9||
Translation
When they divided Purusha, into how many parts did they arrange him? What became his mouth? What are called his two arms? What are his two thighs, his two feet?
Deep Meaning
A turning point in the sukta: having described creation flowing out of the sacrifice of Purusha, the hymn now asks directly how his body itself was apportioned - setting up the famous answer about the four varnas in the next mantra. (Note: the numbering in this edition's scan runs 1-9 and then resumes at 11, with no mantra printed as "10" at this point - transcribed exactly as the scan shows it rather than renumbered, per the project's source-fidelity standard.)
Sanskrit
ब्रा॒ह्म॒णो॒ऽस्य॒ मुख॑मासीद्बा॒हू रा॑ज॒न्यः॑ कृ॒तः। ऊ॒रू तद॑स्य॒ यद्वैश्यः॑ प॒द्भ्यांशू॒द्रोऽअ॑जायत ॥११॥
Transliteration
brāhmaṇo 'sya mukham āsīd bāhū rājanyaḥ kṛtaḥ | ūrū tad asya yad vaiśyaḥ padbhyāṃ śūdro 'jāyata ||11||
Translation
The Brahmin was his mouth; the Rajanya (Kshatriya) was made from his arms; that which became the Vaishya is his thighs; from his feet the Shudra was born.
Deep Meaning
The most consequential verse of the sukta: the fourfold social order is described as arising from different parts of the same single body, each part equally necessary, none existing without the others - a single organism rather than four separate origins.
Sanskrit
च॒न्द्रमा॒ मन॑सो जा॒तश्चक्षोः॒ सूर्यो॑ अजायत। श्रोत्रा॒द्वायु॑श्च प्रा॒णश्च॒ मुखा॑दग्निर॑जायत ॥१२॥
Transliteration
candramā manaso jātaś cakṣoḥ sūryo ajāyata | śrotrād vāyuś ca prāṇaś ca mukhād agnir ajāyata ||12||
Translation
The moon was born from his mind; the sun was born from his eye. From his ears, Vayu and prana were born; from his mouth, Agni was born.
Deep Meaning
Having described the human social body, the hymn turns to the cosmos itself: moon, sun, wind, breath and fire are each traced to a specific part of Purusha - the same body that is every person is also, at the same time, the entire visible world.
Sanskrit
नाभ्या॑ऽआसी॒दन्तरि॑क्षꣳ शी॒र्ष्णो द्यौः सम॑वर्तत। प॒द्भ्यां भूमि॒र्दिशः॒ श्रोत्रा॒त्तथा॑ लो॒काँऽअ॑कल्पयन् ॥१३॥
Transliteration
nābhyā āsīd antarikṣaṃ śīrṣṇo dyauḥ samavartata | padbhyāṃ bhūmir diśaḥ śrotrāt tathā lokāṃ akalpayan ||13||
Translation
From his navel came the atmosphere; from his head the heavens took shape. From his feet, the earth; from his ears, the quarters of space - thus they fashioned the worlds.
Deep Meaning
The cosmography continues: the three worlds of Vedic thought - earth, atmosphere and heaven - along with the cardinal directions, are all mapped onto this single body, completing the picture of Purusha as literally co-extensive with the universe.
Sanskrit
यत्पुरु॑षेण ह॒विषा॑ दे॒वा य॒ज्ञमत॑न्वत। व॒सन्तो॑ऽस्यासी॒दाज्यं॒ ग्रीष्म॑ऽइ॒ध्मः श॒रद्धविः॑ ॥१४॥
Transliteration
yat puruṣeṇa haviṣā devā yajñam atanvata | vasanto 'syāsīd ājyaṃ grīṣma idhmaḥ śarad dhaviḥ ||14||
Translation
When, with Purusha as the offering, the gods extended the sacrifice, spring was its clarified butter, summer its kindling-wood, autumn its oblation.
Deep Meaning
The sacrifice is mapped onto the seasons themselves - spring, summer and autumn each supplying one of the elements a Vedic fire-offering requires - making clear that the "sacrifice of Purusha" is not a single historical event but the ongoing, seasonal structure of the world.
Sanskrit
स॒प्तास्या॑सन्परि॒धयः॒ त्रिः स॒प्त समि॑धः कृ॒ताः। दे॒वा यद्य॒ज्ञं त॑न्वा॒नाऽअब॑ध्न॒न्पुरु॑षम्प॒शुम् ॥१५॥
Transliteration
saptāsyāsan paridhayaḥ triḥ sapta samidhaḥ kṛtāḥ | devā yad yajñaṃ tanvānā abadhnan puruṣam paśum ||15||
Translation
Seven were its enclosing sticks, thrice seven the kindling-sticks that were made, when the gods, extending the sacrifice, bound Purusha as the sacrificial victim.
Deep Meaning
The precise ritual numbers - seven enclosing sticks, twenty-one kindling sticks - are given as if this were an ordinary yajna, even as its offering is the cosmic being himself. This mantra closes the sacrifice-narrative proper before the sukta turns to its result.
Sanskrit
यज्ञे॑न य॒ज्ञमय॑जन्त दे॒वास्ता नि ध॑र्मा॒णि प्र॑थ॒मान्या॑सन्। ते ह॒ नाकं॑ महि॒मानः॑ सचन्त॒ यत्र॒ पूर्वे॑ सा॒ध्याः सन्ति॑ दे॒वाः ॥१६॥
Transliteration
yajñena yajñam ayajanta devās tā ni dharmāṇi prathamāny āsan | te ha nākaṃ mahimānaḥ sacanta yatra pūrve sādhyāḥ santi devāḥ ||16||
Translation
With the sacrifice, the gods sacrificed to the sacrifice; these were the first ordinances. Those powers reached the firmament where the ancient Sadhya gods dwell.
Deep Meaning
The closing verse of the Purusha Sukta proper states that this act - sacrifice offered to sacrifice itself - became the very first dharma, the first ordinance establishing how ritual and right action would work from then on, with those who first performed it reaching the highest heaven.
Sanskrit
अ॒द्भ्यः॒ सम्भृ॑तः पृथि॒व्यैरसा॑च्च वि॒श्वक॑र्मण॒ः सम॑वर्त॒ताग्रे॑। तस्य॒ त्वष्टा॑ वि॒दध॒द्रूप॑मेति॒ तन्मर्त्य॑स्य दे॒वत्वमाजा॑नम॒ग्रे ॥१७॥
Transliteration
adbhyaḥ sambhṛtaḥ pṛthivyai rasāc ca viśvakarmaṇaḥ samavartatāgre | tasya tvaṣṭā vidadhad rūpam eti tan martyasya devatvam ājānam agre ||17||
Translation
Gathered from the waters and the essence of the earth, Vishvakarma came into being at the very beginning. Tvashta, fashioning his form, comes forth - this is how mortal man first knew of divinity.
Deep Meaning
The Uttaranarayana Sukta begins here, continuing the creation account but now naming Vishvakarma (the divine architect) and Tvashta (the divine shaper), through whom mortal beings first came to recognise the presence of the divine in form.
Sanskrit
वेदा॑हमे॒तं पुरु॑षं म॒हान्त॑मादि॒त्यव॑र्णं॒ तम॑सः प॒रस्ता॑त्। तमे॒व वि॑दि॒त्वाति॒ मृत्यु॑मेति॒ नान्यः पन्था॑ वि॒द्यते॑ऽय॒नाय॑ ॥१८॥
Transliteration
vedāham etaṃ puruṣaṃ mahāntam ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt | tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti nānyaḥ panthā vidyate 'yanāya ||18||
Translation
I know this great Purusha, radiant like the sun, beyond all darkness. Only by knowing him does one cross over death; there is no other path to that journey's end.
Deep Meaning
One of the most cited lines in all Vedic literature - a direct, first-person declaration that knowing this luminous, all-pervading Purusha is the sole way beyond death, with no alternative route offered or implied.
Sanskrit
प्र॒जाप॑तिश्चरति गर्भे॒ऽअन्तः॑ अजा॒यमा॑नो बहु॒धा वि॒जाय॑ते। तस्य॒ धीराः॒ परि॑ जानन्ति॒ योनि॒ मरी॑चीना॒म्पद॑मिच्छन्ति वे॒धसः॑ ॥१९॥
Transliteration
prajāpatiś carati garbhe antaḥ ajāyamāno bahudhā vijāyate | tasya dhīrāḥ pari jānanti yoniṃ marīcīnām padam icchanti vedhasaḥ ||19||
Translation
Prajapati moves within the womb, unborn yet born in many forms. The wise fully know his origin; the ordainers seek the place of the rays of light.
Deep Meaning
A deliberately paradoxical verse - the creator who is himself unborn nevertheless takes birth again and again in countless forms. Only the wise, the verse says, can trace this origin back to its source, which the ordainers of ritual describe as a realm of pure light.
Sanskrit
यो दे॒वेभ्य॑ऽआत॒पति॒ यो दे॒वाना॑म्पु॒रोहि॑तः। पूर्वो॒ यो दे॒वेभ्यो॑ जा॒तो नमो॑ रु॒चाय॒ ब्राह्म॑ये ॥२०॥
Transliteration
yo devebhya ātapati yo devānām purohitaḥ | pūrvo yo devebhyo jāto namo rucāya brāhmaye ||20||
Translation
He who shines forth for the gods, who is the purohita (household priest) of the gods, who was born before the gods - salutation to that Brahma-radiance.
Deep Meaning
The hymn turns to direct praise of a luminous, priestly presence that predates the gods themselves - a form of Brahman described purely as light (ruc), to which this verse offers salutation.
Sanskrit
रुचं॑ ब्राह्म॒ꣳ ज॑नयन्तो दे॒वाऽअग्रे॒ तद॑ब्रुवन्। यस्त्वैवं॒ ब्रा॑ह्म॒णो वि॒द्यात्तस्य॑ दे॒वाऽअ॑स॒न्वशे॑ ॥२१॥
Transliteration
rucaṃ brāhmaṃ janayanto devā agre tad abruvan | yas tv evaṃ brāhmaṇo vidyāt tasya devā asan vaśe ||21||
Translation
Bringing forth that Brahma-radiance, the gods declared at the very beginning: whoever, being a knower of Brahman, understands this - to him the gods become subject.
Deep Meaning
A striking claim: the gods themselves are said to have announced that true knowledge of this Brahma-light places even them in service to the knower - knowledge here outranking divine power itself.
Sanskrit
श्रीश्च॑ ते ल॒क्ष्मीश्च॒ पत्न्या॑वहो॒रात्रे पा॒र्श्वे ना॒क्ष॑त्राणि॒ रूप॒मश्विनौ॒ व्यात्त॑म्। इ॒ष्णन्नि॒षाणा॒मुम॑ इ॒षाण॒ सर्व॑लोक॒ ममऽइ॑षाण ॥२२॥
Transliteration
śrīś ca te lakṣmīś ca patnyāv ahorātre pārśve nākṣatrāṇi rūpam aśvinau vyāttam | iṣṇann iṣāṇām uma iṣāṇa sarvaloka mama iṣāṇa ||22||
Translation
Shri and Lakshmi are your two consorts; day and night are your two sides; the stars are your form; the Ashvins are your open mouth. Granting our desires, grant to Uma, grant to all the worlds, grant to me.
Deep Meaning
The closing mantra of this adhyaya and the reason the Uttaranarayana Sukta is central to Lakshmi worship: Shri and Lakshmi are named directly as consorts of this cosmic form, and the verse ends as a direct, repeated plea for things to be granted - to Uma, to the whole world, and finally to the one reciting.