Suktam · Vishnu

Purusha Suktam पुरुष सूक्त

The Rigvedic hymn to the cosmic Person (Purusha) from whom, through the primal sacrifice, the worlds, the seasons, the Vedas, the creatures and human society are described as arising.

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Mantra 1

सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् ।sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt |

स भूमिं विश्वतो वृत्वात्यतिष्ठद्दशाङ्गुलम् ॥१॥sa bhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvātyatiṣṭhaddaśāṅgulam ||1||

Meaning of this verse

The Purusha has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. Pervading the earth on every side, he extends beyond it by ten fingers' breadth.

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Mantra 2

पुरुष एवेदं सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यम् ।puruṣa evedaṃ sarvaṃ yadbhūtaṃ yacca bhavyam |

उतामृतत्वस्येशानो यदन्नेनातिरोहति ॥२॥utāmṛtatvasyeśāno yadannenātirohati ||2||

Meaning of this verse

The Purusha alone is all this, whatever has been and whatever will be. He is also lord of immortality, which grows beyond by means of food.

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Mantra 3

एतावानस्य महिमातो ज्यायाँश्च पूरुषः ।etāvānasya mahimāto jyāyām̐śca pūruṣaḥ |

पादोऽस्य विश्वा भूतानि त्रिपादस्यामृतं दिवि ॥३॥pādo'sya viśvā bhūtāni tripādasyāmṛtaṃ divi ||3||

Meaning of this verse

Such is his greatness, yet the Purusha is greater still. All beings are one quarter of him; three quarters of him are the immortal in heaven.

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Mantra 4

त्रिपादूर्ध्व उदैत्पुरुषः पादोऽस्येहाभवत्पुनः ।tripādūrdhva udaitpuruṣaḥ pādo'syehābhavatpunaḥ |

ततो विष्वङ्व्यक्रामत्साशनानशने अभि ॥४॥tato viṣvaṅvyakrāmatsāśanānaśane abhi ||4||

Meaning of this verse

With three quarters the Purusha rose on high; one quarter of him came to be here again. From that he spread out in all directions, over what eats and what does not eat.

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Mantra 5

तस्माद्विराळजायत विराजो अधि पूरुषः ।tasmādvirāḷajāyata virājo adhi pūruṣaḥ |

स जातो अत्यरिच्यत पश्चाद्भूमिमथो पुरः ॥५॥sa jāto atyaricyata paścādbhūmimatho puraḥ ||5||

Meaning of this verse

From him Viraj was born, and from Viraj the Purusha. Once born, he extended beyond the earth, behind and in front.

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Mantra 6

यत्पुरुषेण हविषा देवा यज्ञमतन्वत ।yatpuruṣeṇa haviṣā devā yajñamatanvata |

वसन्तो अस्यासीदाज्यं ग्रीष्म इध्मः शरद्धविः ॥६॥vasanto asyāsīdājyaṃ grīṣma idhmaḥ śaraddhaviḥ ||6||

Meaning of this verse

When the gods performed the sacrifice with the Purusha as the offering, spring was its ghee, summer its fuel, and autumn its oblation.

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Mantra 7

तं यज्ञं बर्हिषि प्रौक्षन्पुरुषं जातमग्रतः ।taṃ yajñaṃ barhiṣi praukṣanpuruṣaṃ jātamagrataḥ |

तेन देवा अयजन्त साध्या ऋषयश्च ये ॥७॥tena devā ayajanta sādhyā ṛṣayaśca ye ||7||

Meaning of this verse

They sprinkled on the sacred grass that Purusha, born in the beginning, as the sacrifice; with him the gods, the Sadhyas and the seers performed the sacrifice.

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Mantra 8

तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुतः सम्भृतं पृषदाज्यम् ।tasmādyajñātsarvahutaḥ sambhṛtaṃ pṛṣadājyam |

पशून् ताँश्चक्रे वायव्यानारण्यान्ग्राम्याश्च ये ॥८॥paśūn tām̐ścakre vāyavyānāraṇyāngrāmyāśca ye ||8||

Meaning of this verse

From that sacrifice, in which all was offered, the clotted ghee was gathered. He made the animals of the air, and those of the forest and the village.

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Mantra 9

तस्माद्यज्ञात्सर्वहुत ऋचः सामानि जज्ञिरे ।tasmādyajñātsarvahuta ṛcaḥ sāmāni jajñire |

छन्दांसि जज्ञिरे तस्माद्यजुस्तस्मादजायत ॥९॥chandāṃsi jajñire tasmādyajustasmādajāyata ||9||

Meaning of this verse

From that sacrifice, in which all was offered, the Rig verses and the Sama chants were born; the metres were born from it, and from it the Yajus arose.

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Mantra 10

तस्मादश्वा अजायन्त ये के चोभयादतः ।tasmādaśvā ajāyanta ye ke cobhayādataḥ |

गावो ह जज्ञिरे तस्मात्तस्माज्जाता अजावयः ॥१०॥gāvo ha jajñire tasmāttasmājjātā ajāvayaḥ ||10||

Meaning of this verse

From it were born horses, and all animals with teeth in both jaws; cattle were born from it, and from it goats and sheep.

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Mantra 11

यत्पुरुषं व्यदधुः कतिधा व्यकल्पयन् ।yatpuruṣaṃ vyadadhuḥ katidhā vyakalpayan |

मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते ॥११॥mukhaṃ kimasya kau bāhū kā ūrū pādā ucyete ||11||

Meaning of this verse

When they divided the Purusha, into how many parts did they arrange him? What was his mouth, what his arms, what are his thighs and feet called?

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Mantra 12

ब्राह्मणोऽस्य मुखमासीद्बाहू राजन्यः कृतः ।brāhmaṇo'sya mukhamāsīdbāhū rājanyaḥ kṛtaḥ |

ऊरू तदस्य यद्वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ॥१२॥ūrū tadasya yadvaiśyaḥ padbhyāṃ śūdro ajāyata ||12||

Meaning of this verse

The Brahmana was his mouth; the Rajanya (warrior) was made his arms; his thighs became the Vaishya; from his feet the Shudra was born.

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Mantra 13

चन्द्रमा मनसो जातश्चक्षोः सूर्यो अजायत ।candramā manaso jātaścakṣoḥ sūryo ajāyata |

मुखादिन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च प्राणाद्वायुरजायत ॥१३॥mukhādindraścāgniśca prāṇādvāyurajāyata ||13||

Meaning of this verse

The moon was born from his mind, the sun from his eye; from his mouth came Indra and Agni, and from his breath Vayu was born.

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Mantra 14

नाभ्या आसीदन्तरिक्षं शीर्ष्णो द्यौः समवर्तत ।nābhyā āsīdantarikṣaṃ śīrṣṇo dyauḥ samavartata |

पद्भ्यां भूमिर्दिशः श्रोत्रात्तथा लोकाँ अकल्पयन् ॥१४॥padbhyāṃ bhūmirdiśaḥ śrotrāttathā lokām̐ akalpayan ||14||

Meaning of this verse

From his navel came the mid-air; from his head the sky took shape; from his feet the earth, and from his ear the directions. Thus they fashioned the worlds.

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Mantra 15

सप्तास्यासन्परिधयस्त्रिः सप्त समिधः कृताः ।saptāsyāsanparidhayastriḥ sapta samidhaḥ kṛtāḥ |

देवा यद्यज्ञं तन्वाना अबध्नन्पुरुषं पशुम् ॥१५॥devā yadyajñaṃ tanvānā abadhnanpuruṣaṃ paśum ||15||

Meaning of this verse

Seven were its enclosing sticks, thrice seven its fuel-sticks, when the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the Purusha as the victim.

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Mantra 16

यज्ञेन यज्ञमयजन्त देवास्तानि धर्माणि प्रथमान्यासन् ।yajñena yajñamayajanta devāstāni dharmāṇi prathamānyāsan |

ते ह नाकं महिमानः सचन्त यत्र पूर्वे साध्याः सन्ति देवाः ॥१६॥te ha nākaṃ mahimānaḥ sacanta yatra pūrve sādhyāḥ santi devāḥ ||16||

Meaning of this verse

With the sacrifice the gods worshipped the sacrifice; these were the first ordinances. Those great ones reached the heavenly vault, where the ancient Sadhyas, the gods, dwell.

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Read in another script: ગુજરાતી বাংলা தமிழ் తెలుగు ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

Text: Rigveda 10.90 (Shakala recension), the plain Devanagari text block without svara marks at the head of the Sanskrit Wikisource page "ऋग्वेदः सूक्तं १०.९०", revision 336240 (https://sa.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=ऋग्वेदः_सूक्तं_१०.९०&oldid=336240). The same page also prints the accented text (udatta/anudatta) with the pada-patha and Sayana's commentary; the plain block was chosen because the recited form is unaccented, and the accented text of the same page was used as a check (after stripping accents: 32 identical, 0 differing, 0 only in edition, 0 only in witness; letter agreement 100.0%). The edition carries no svara marks, so none were added; candrabindu (ज्यायाँश्च, ताँश्चक्रे, लोकाँ) is kept as printed. Verified on 11 November 2026 against two independent witnesses. Witness 2: GRETIL Rigveda, mandala 10 (Harvard-Kyoto/IAST e-text, http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/1_veda/1_sam/1_rv/rv_hn10u.htm), lines RV_10,090.01a–16c, converted to Devanagari with a mapping script and compared with cmp.py --loose: 29 identical, 3 differing, 0 only in edition, 0 only in witness; letter agreement 100.0% (the 3 differing pairs are only candrabindu versus anusvara before श, a spelling convention). Witness 3: Sanskrit Wikisource "पुरुषसूक्तम्", revision 417938 (https://sa.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=पुरुषसूक्तम्&oldid=417938), which gives the same Rigvedic sixteen verses in the same order, prefixed by the shanti mantra ॐ तच्छं योरावृणीमहे and ॐ; compared after reading its 'S' as avagraha: 16 identical, 16 differing, 0 only in edition, 0 only in witness; letter agreement 98.3%. Every one of its 16 differences is a slip in that transcription (दड्गुलम्, यद्न्नेना, विष्वड्, पश्चाभ्दूमि, बहिर्षि, ऊरु, शीर्षणो, visarga written as a colon, ॐ prefixed) and in each case the edition reading is confirmed by GRETIL. Corrections to the edition: none. Rejected changes: none proposed. Lines agreeing with GRETIL after normalisation: 32 of 32; corrected: 0; edition readings kept where a witness differs: 0 (no substantive difference). Verse numbers are the edition's (॥१॥–॥१६॥). The Yajurvedic recension of the hymn (Taittiriya Aranyaka 3.12; Vajasaneyi Samhita 31) differs in order and adds verses; it is described under variants and is not merged here. Verse-by-verse meanings: an in-house paraphrase by the Udyog Jyotish editorial team, not a translation.

The Roman line is IAST transliteration derived from the Devanagari (ā = long a, ṃ = anusvara, ḥ = visarga, ś/ṣ = sh sounds, c = ch as in “church”). In Hindi, Awadhi and Braj texts the silent final “a” is dropped. Transliteration does not show Vedic accents.

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Questions

What is Purusha Suktam?

The Rigvedic hymn to the cosmic Person (Purusha) from whom, through the primal sacrifice, the worlds, the seasons, the Vedas, the creatures and human society are described as arising.

Who is Purusha Suktam associated with?

Purusha Suktam is associated with Vishnu. The preserver, who descends as avatars such as Rama and Krishna; the supreme deity of Vaishnava traditions. Ekadashi vrats are dedicated to him.

What does Purusha Suktam mean?

A short paraphrase, not a translation. The Purusha has a thousand heads, eyes and feet; he pervades the earth and exceeds it. All that is, was and will be is this Purusha; one quarter of him is the manifest world, three quarters are immortal above. From him the Viraj was born, and from the sacrifice in which the gods offered the Purusha came the clarified butter of the seasons, the Vedic chants and metres, horses, cattle and goats, and the four orders of society; the moon from his mind, the sun from his eye, Indra and Agni from his mouth, the wind from his breath, the sky from his head and …

What is the source of Purusha Suktam?

Rigveda (Shakala recension) — Mandala 10, Sukta 90 (seer Narayana). Tradition: Vedic.

Are there different versions of Purusha Suktam?

Two recensions are current. This text is the Rigvedic one (Shakala, 10.90): sixteen verses, the last in trishtubh. The Yajurvedic recension (Taittiriya Aranyaka 3.12, Vajasaneyi Samhita 31) has eighteen to twenty-two verses in a partly different order, with additional verses such as अद्भ्यः सम्भूतः पृथिव्यै रसाच्च and वेदाहमेतं पुरुषं महान्तम्, and is the form usually recited in temple worship in the south together with the Uttara-Narayana anuvaka; it is a separate text and has not been merged here. The Wikisource page पुरुषसूक्तम् (revision 417938) is the Rigvedic text with the shanti mantra ॐ तच्छं योरावृणीमहे prefixed, not the Yajurvedic recension. Readings differ between editions only in sandhi and the writing of candrabindu/anusvara.

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