मनन Manana · ReflectStep 4 of /18
Puruṣa Sūkta · Ṛgveda 10.90.3
Verse 3One quarter is all beings
एतावानस्य महिमातो ज्यायाँश्च पूरुषः ।
पादोऽस्य विश्वा भूतानि त्रिपादस्यामृतं दिवि ॥
etāvān asya mahimāto jyāyāṃś ca pūruṣaḥ |
pādo 'sya viśvā bhūtāni tripād asyāmṛtaṃ divi ||
Meaning
That is how great he is, and Puruṣa is greater still. All living beings are just one quarter of him. The other three quarters are deathless, up in the heavens.
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
Here is where the hymn becomes truly mind-bending. Everything we have heard so far, every creature, all of time, is only part of Puruṣa. One quarter, to be exact. The Sanskrit word is pāda, which means 'foot', and also 'quarter', the way a cow stands on four feet. So take everything you can see, every star, every ocean, every life ever lived. That is one foot. The other three are somewhere beyond, out of sight, and they never die. It's a humbling thought. The universe we know, as huge as it is, is the smaller part of what is real.
Your reflection
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