पुरुषसूक्तPuruṣa Sūkta

मनन Manana · ReflectStep 3 of 18

Puruṣa Sūkta · Ṛgveda 10.90.2

Verse 2Puruṣa is all this

पुरुष एवेदं सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यम् ।

उतामृतत्वस्येशानो यदन्नेनातिरोहति ॥

puruṣa evedaṃ sarvaṃ yad bhūtaṃ yac ca bhavyam |

utāmṛtatvasyeśāno yad annenātirohati ||

Meaning

Puruṣa is all of this: everything that has been, and everything that will be. He is the lord of the deathless, and of everything that grows by eating.

Word by word

Words joined in recitation are shown split. Where sounds change at the joins, the dictionary form is given under the word.

Reflection

Now the rishi makes a bold claim. Puruṣa is not just in the world. He is the world. All of it. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Think about that for a moment. Most creation stories have a maker who stands outside and builds things, like a potter shaping clay. Here there is no outside. And notice the two things Puruṣa rules over. One is the deathless, whatever lasts forever. The other is everything that eats and grows: plants, animals, us. Things that are born, grow old and die. Forever, and the fragile life we know, both belong to the same being.

Your reflection

How well do you know this verse?

The audio plays the chant, the meaning, then the reflection. Tap a word for its meaning. Space plays and pauses.

0:00 / 1:08