The Purusha Sukta
The
Purusha Sukta
is a most commonly used Vedic Sanskrit hymn. It isrecited in almost all Vedic rituals and ceremonies. It is often used during theworship of the Deity of Vishnu or Narayana in the temple, installation and fireceremonies, or during the daily recitation of Sanskrit literature or for oneʹsmeditation.The
Purusha Sukta
is an important part of the
Rig‑veda
(10.7.90.1‑16). It alsoappears in the
Taittiriya Aranyaka
(3.12,13), the
Vajasaneyi Samhita
(31.1‑6), the
Sama‑veda Samhita
(6.4), and the
Atharva‑veda Samhita
(19.6). An explanation ofparts of it can also be found in the
Shatapatha Brahman
, the
Taittiriya Brahmana
,and the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
. The
Mudgalopanishad
gives a nice summary ofthe entire
Purusha Sukta
. The contents of the
Sukta
have also been reflected andelaborated in the
Bhagavata Purana
(2.5.35 to 2.6.1‑29) and in the
Mahabharata
(Mokshadharma Parva 351 and 352).The most commonly used portion of the
Sukta
contains 24 mantras orstanzas. The first 18 mantras are designated as the
Purvanarayana
, and the rest asthe
Uttaranarayana
. Sometimes 6 more mantras are added. This part is called the
Vaishnavanuvaka
since it has been taken from another well known hymn calledthe
Vishnusukta
, a part of the
Rig‑veda Samhita
. Though the mantras of the
Uttaranarayana
and the
Vaishnavanuvaka
do not seem to have any coherence withthe 16 mantras of the
Rig‑veda Samhita
, tradition has somehow tied themtogether.The
Purusha Sukta
is a rather difficult text to explain in a modern way. Thisis primarily because of the archaic language that cannot always lend itself tointerpretations based on the classical Sanskrit, and that many of the words can betaken in several different ways, both literal and symbolic.Nonetheless, the
Purusha Sukta
gives us the essence of the philosophy of
Vedanta
, the Vedic tradition, as well as the
Bhagavad‑gita
and
Bhagavat Purana
. Itincorporates the principles of meditation (
upasana
), knowledge (
jnana
), devotion(
bhakti
), and rituals and duties (
dharma
and
karma
). This is why it is highlyregarded and extensively used today as much as thousands of years ago.
The Text
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