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Purusha Suktam

पुरुष सूक्तम् in English · English

🕉️ vedic·📿 11× repetitions·🕐 During Vedic rituals, temple visits, or morning meditation·🎵 Audio included·📜 Rigveda (Mandala 10, Hymn 90)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglish

Origin & Story

Rigveda (Mandala 10, Hymn 90) · Rishi Narayana · 1500-1200 BCE

The Purusha Suktam is attributed to Rishi Narayana and appears in the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda. It describes a cosmic sacrifice where the primordial being (Purusha) offers himself to create the universe. The hymn is one of the most philosophically profound texts in the Vedas — it addresses the fundamental question of how the one becomes the many, how unity gives rise to diversity.

✦ As told in scripture

The Purusha Suktam contains one of the most remarkable statements in ancient literature: 'Purusha Evedam Sarvam' — the Cosmic Being IS all this, all that has been AND all that will be. This 3000-year-old text anticipated modern physics' concept that all matter and energy originated from a single source (the Big Bang). The hymn's description of a universe that extends 'ten fingers beyond' the physical — implying dimensions beyond the visible — resonates with modern theories of higher dimensions.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

Harih Om sahasrashirsha purushah sahasrakshah sahasrapat Sa bhumiꣳ sarvata spritvatyatishthaddashangulam

Meaning:The Cosmic Being (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.

Verse 2

Purusha evedaꣳ sarvam yadbhutam yachcha bhavyam Utamritatvasyeshano yadannenatirohati

Meaning:The Purusha alone is all this — all that has been and all that shall be; He is the Lord of immortality, who grows still greater through food (sacrifice).

Verse 3

Etavanasya mahimato jyayanshcha purushah Padosya vishva bhutani tripadasyamritam divi

Meaning:Such is His greatness, and the Purusha is greater still than this; all beings are but a quarter of Him, while three-quarters are the immortal in the heavens.

Verse 4

Tripadurdhva udaitpurushah padosyehabhavat punah Tato vishvan vyakramatsashananashane abhi

Meaning:With three-quarters the Purusha rose upward; one quarter of Him came to be here again; thence He spread out on all sides into all that eats and does not eat.

Verse 5

Tato viradajayata virajo adhi purushah Sa jato atyarichyata pashchadbhumimatho purah

Meaning:From Him was born the Viraj (cosmic body), and from the Viraj the Purusha (cosmic person); once born, He extended beyond the earth, behind and before.

Verse 6

Tasmadyajnat sarvahutah sambhritam prishadajyam Pashunstanshchakre vayavyanaranya gramyashcha ye

Meaning:From that all-offering sacrifice the curds-and-clarified-butter were gathered; from it He fashioned the beasts of the air, the forest and the village.

Verse 7

Tasmadyajnat sarvahutah richah samani jajnire Chhandaꣳsi jajnire tasmadyajustasmadajayata

Meaning:From that all-offering sacrifice the Rik and Sama hymns were born; from it the metres were born, and from it the Yajus was born.

Verse 8

Tasmadashva ajayanta ye ke chobhayadatah Gavo ha jajnire tasmattasmajjata ajavayah

Meaning:From it horses were born, and all creatures with two rows of teeth; cattle were born from it, and from it the goats and sheep.

Verse 9

Tam yajnam barhishi praukshan purusham jatamagratah Tena deva ayajanta sadhya rishayashcha ye

Meaning:That Purusha, born in the beginning, they consecrated as the sacrifice upon the sacred grass; with Him the gods, the Sadhyas and the sages performed the sacrifice.

Verse 10

Yatpurusham vyadadhuh katidha vyakalpayan Mukham kimasyasit kim bahu kimuru pada uchyete

Meaning:When they apportioned the Purusha, into how many parts did they divide Him? What became His mouth, what His arms, what His thighs and His feet?

Verse 11

Brahmanosya mukhamasidbahu rajanyah kritah Uru tadasya yadvaishyah padbhyaꣳ shudro ajayata

Meaning:The Brahmana was His mouth; the Rajanya (Kshatriya) was made His arms; His thighs became the Vaishya; from His feet the Shudra was born.

Verse 12

Chandrama manaso jatashchakshoh suryo ajayata Shrotradvayushcha pranashcha mukhadagnirajayata

Meaning:The moon was born from His mind; the sun came from His eye; from His mouth came Indra and Agni; from His breath the wind (Vayu) was born.

Verse 13

Nabhya asidantarikshaꣳ shirshno dyauh samavartata Padbhyam bhumirdishah shrotrattatha lokankalpayan

Meaning:From His navel arose the mid-air; from His head the heaven evolved; from His feet the earth, and the quarters from His ear — thus they fashioned the worlds.

Verse 14

Yatpurushena havisha deva yajnamatanvata Vasantosyasidajyam grishma idhmah sharaddhavih

Meaning:When the gods, with the Purusha as their oblation, spread out the sacrifice — spring was its clarified butter, summer its fuel, and autumn its offering.

Verse 15

Saptasyasan paridhayastrih sapta samidhah kritah Deva yadyajnam tanvana abadhnan purusham pashum

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

Verse 16

Yajnena yajnamayajanta devastani dharmani prathamanyasan Te ha nakam mahimanah sachanta yatra purve sadhyah santi devah

Meaning:By the sacrifice the gods worshipped the Sacrifice (the Purusha); these were the first ordinances (dharmas). These great powers reached the heaven where the ancient Sadhyas and gods abide.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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Sahasra Shirsha🔊With a thousand heads

Sahasrakshah🔊With a thousand eyes

Sahasrapat🔊With a thousand feet

Purushah🔊The Cosmic Being, the Supreme Person

Bhumim🔊The earth

Dashangulam🔊Ten fingers breadth (transcends the universe)

Bhutam🔊All that has been (past)

Bhavyam🔊All that will be (future)

Amritatva🔊Immortality

Virat🔊The cosmic form, the manifest universe

Yajna🔊Sacred ritual, cosmic sacrifice

Havisha🔊Offering, oblation

Vasantah🔊Spring season (was the ghee)

Grishmah🔊Summer (was the fuel)

Sharat🔊Autumn (was the offering)

Rishayah🔊The sages

Benefits of Chanting पुरुष सूक्तम्

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The most important Vedic creation hymn — describes the origin of the universe

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Chanted during major Vedic rituals, temple consecrations, and homas

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Reveals the cosmic nature of the Supreme Being (Purusha/Vishnu)

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One of the foundational texts of Hindu philosophy and cosmology

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Chanting connects one to the primordial creative energy

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Used in all major temple rituals across South India

How to Chant पुरुष सूक्तम्

Repetitions11times

Best TimeDuring Vedic rituals, temple visits, or morning meditation

The Purusha Suktam is traditionally chanted in Vedic meter with precise pronunciation. Listen to a trained Vedic priest's recitation first. Chant slowly and clearly, focusing on each verse's cosmic imagery. In temples, it is chanted during abhishekam (ritual bathing) of the deity. For personal practice, 11 recitations is standard.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete पुरुष सूक्तम् written in the English script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

It is a hymn from the Rigveda (10.90) with 16 verses describing the Cosmic Being (Purusha) whose sacrifice created the entire universe — the seasons, animals, social order, and all of reality.

It is from the Rigveda, composed between 1500-1200 BCE, making it one of the oldest religious texts in human history — over 3,000 years old.

It is a metaphysical concept — the Cosmic Being 'sacrifices' himself to create the universe. It does not refer to a literal sacrifice but to the self-giving of the divine that manifests as all of creation.

It is the foundational text for understanding Hindu cosmology. It describes how the one becomes the many — how a single divine being manifests as the entire diverse universe. It is chanted in virtually every major Hindu temple ritual.