The Purusha Sukta, RG VEDA, 10:90

(translated: Swami Krishnanda http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_pura.html, Griffith, Ralph T.H, [1896], at sacred-texts.com, http://www.danielharper.org/yauu/2011/08/the-hymn-of-purusha/; Quelle: )

ōm sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākśaḥ sahasrapāt,

sa bhūmiṁ viśvato vṛtvā'tyatiṣṭaddaśāgulam. Before the beginning of all things, a giant being named Purusha existed. Purusha had thousands of heads, and thousands of eyes, and thousands of feet. He was huge and embraced the earth on all sides; and at the same time he filled a space only ten fingers wide, the size of the space which holds a human soul. Purusha was the Primeval Man, the man who came before all human beings.

[1] Thousand-headed is the Purusha, thousand-eyed and thousand-legged. Enveloping the earth from all sides, He transcends it by ten fingers’ length1. 1 A THOUSAND heads hath Puruṣa, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide.

puruṣa evedaṁ sarvam yadbhūtaṁ yacca bhavyam,

utāmṛtattvasyeśāno yadannenātirohati.

etāvānasya mahimā ato jyāyāgïśca pūruṣaḥ,

pādo'sya viśvā bhūtāni tripādasyā'mṛtaṁ divi. Purusha was everything, all that had once been, and all that which shall be in the future. He was the god of immortality, and he now lives through sacrificial food which humans offer up to him. All beings and creatures make up one quarter of him; the rest of him is immortal life in a world beyond this world. The three quarters of Purusha which are immortal life rose up high, and the remaining one quarter of him remains here on earth.

2. All this (manifestation) is the Purusha alone— whatever was and whatever will be. He is the Lord of Immortality, for He transcends all in His Form as food (the universe). 3 Such is His Glory; but greater still is the Purusha. One-fourth of Him all beings are, (while) three-fourth of Him rises above as the Immortal Being. 2 This Puruṣa is all that yet hath been and all that is to be; The Lord of Immortality which waxes greater still by food. 3 So mighty is his greatness; yea, greater than this is Puruṣa. All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths eternal life in heaven.

1 Note:—This is the first mantra of the famous Purusha Sukta of the Veda. Here the transcendent totality of all creation is conceived as the Cosmic Person, the Universal Consciousness animating all manifestation. The word ‘earth’ is to be understood in the sense of all creation. ‘Dasangulam’ is interpreted as ten fingers’ length, in which case it is said to refer to the distance of the heart from the navel, the former having been accepted as the seat of the Atma and the latter symbolic of the root of manifestation. The word ‘ten’ is also said to mean ‘infinity’, as numbers are only up to nine and what is above is regarded as numberless. (http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_pura.html)

tripādūrdhva udaitpuruṣaḥ pādo'syehābhavātpunaḥ,

tato viśvaṅ vyakrāmatsāśanānaśane abhi.

tasmādvirāḍajāyata virājo adhipūruṣaḥ,

sa jāto atyaricyata paścādbhūmimatho puraḥ. Before the beginning, Purusha gave birth to his female counterpart, who was named Virat. When she was born, she took the form of an egg. And then Virat in turn gave birth, and she bore her male counterpart, Purusha. As soon as Virat had given birth to Purusha, he spread to the east and to the west over the earth. So the universe was produced.

4 That, Three-footed (Immortal) Purusha stood above transcending (all things), and His one foot was this (world of becoming). Then He pervaded (everything) universally, the conscious as well as the unconscious. 5 From That (Supreme Being) did the Cosmic Body (Virat2) originate, and in this Cosmic Body did the Omnipresent Intelligence manifest itself. Having manifested Himself, He appeared as all diversity, and then as this earth and this body. 4 With three-fourths Puruṣa went up: one-fourth of him again was here. Thence he strode out to every side over what cats not and what cats. 5 From him Virāj was born; again Puruṣa from Virāj was born. As soon as he was born he spread eastward and westward o’er the earth.

yatpuruṣeṇa haviṣā devā yajñamatanvata,

vasanto asyāsīdājyam grīṣma idhmaḥ śaraddhaviḥ.

taṁ yajaṁ barhiṣi praukśan puruṣaṁ jātamagrataḥ,

tena devā ayajanta sādhyā ṛṣayaśca ye. Then the gods prepared Purusha as a spiritual sacrifice. They sacrificed Purusha, and they offered up their sacrifice to Purusha, who was being sacrificed. The clarified butter or ghee which they used in preparing the sacrifice was springtime. The wood which they gathered for the fire to burn the sacrifice was autumn. And the sacrifice himself, the giant Purusha, was summertime. All the gods, and all the celestial beings, and all the sages sacrificed with him.

6 When (there being no external material other than the Purusha) the Devas performed a universal sacrifice (in contemplation by mind), with the Purusha Himself as the sacred offering, the spring season was the clarified butter, summer the fuel, autumn the oblation. 7 They set up for sacrifice the Purusha as the object of their meditation—Him who was prior to all creation; and they, the Devas, Sadhyas and Rishis, performed (this first sacrifice). 6 When Gods prepared the sacrifice with Puruṣa as their offering, Its oil was spring, the holy gift was autumn; summer was the wood. 7 They balmed as victim on the grass Puruṣa born in earliest time. With him the Deities and all Sādhyas and Ṛṣis sacrificed.

2 Viraj, this word in Sanskrit language, indicates sovereignty, excellence or splendour. Viraj is the mythical primeval being associated with creation who is often personified as the secondary creator and who can be either male or female.

tasmādyajñātsarvahutaḥ saṁbhṛtaṁ pṛṣadājyam,

paśūgïstāgïścakre vāyavyānāraṇyān grāmyāścaye.

tasmādyajñātsarvahutaḥ ṛcaḥ sāmāni jajñire, chandāgïsi jajñire tasmātyajustasmādajāyata. The ghee from the sacrifice was gathered up. Purusha, who was born in the beginning, was sprinkled on the grass. He formed the creatures of the air, and he formed the beasts of the forest and the beasts of the village. From that sacrifice were born horses, and cattle, and goats, and sheep. And from the sacrifice were born the hymns of the Rig Veda, and the melodies of the Sama Veda. From the sacrifice came the ritual, and from it came the meters of poetry.

8 From that (Purusha), who was of the form of a Universal Sacrifice, the sacred mixture of curds and ghee (for oblation) was produced. (Then) He brought forth the aerial beings, the forest-dwelling animals, and also the domestic ones. 9 From that (Purusha), who was the Universal Sacrifice, the Riks and the Samans were produced; from Him the metres (of the mantras) were born; from Him the Yajus was born. 8 From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up. He formed the creatures of-the air, and animals both wild and tame. 9 From that great general sacrifice Ṛcas and Sāma-hymns were born: Therefrom were spells and charms produced; the Yajus had its birth from it.

tasmādaśvā ajāyanta ye ke cobhayādataḥ,

gāvo ha jajñire tasmāt tasmād jātā ajāvayaḥ.

yatpuruṣaṁ vyadhadhuḥ katidhā vyakalpayan,

mukhaṁ kimasya kau bāhū kā vūrū pādā vucyete.

10 From Him were born horses and whatever animals have two rows of teeth. Verily, cows were born of Him; from Him were born goats and sheep. 11 And when they contemplated the Purusha (as the Universal Sacrifice), into how many parts did they divide Him (in their meditations)? What was His mouth called, what were His arms, what were His thighs, what were His feet called? 10 From it were horses born, from it all cattle with two rows of teeth: From it were generated kine, from it the goats and sheep were born. 11 When they divided Puruṣa how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?

brāhmaṇo'sya mukhamāsīd bāhū rājanyaḥ kṛtaḥ,

ūrū tadasya yad vaiśyaḥ padbhyāgï śūdro ajāyata.

candramā manaso jātaḥcakśoḥ sūryo ajāyata,

mukhādindraścāgniśca prāṇādvāyurajāyata. When Purusha was divided up after the sacrifice, his mouth became the Brahmins or the priests; his arms became the warriors and soldiers; his legs became the traders and farmers; and his feet became the workers and the slaves. When Purusha was divided up, the Moon was born from his mind and his spirit; the Sun was born from his eye; from his mouth were born both Indra, the god of storms and warfare, and Agni, the god of fire; from his breath was born Vayu, the god of wind and of blowing breath and of life.

The Brahmana (spiritual wisdom and splendour) was His mouth; the Kshatriya (administrative and military prowess) His arms became. His thighs were the Vaisya (commercial and business enterprise); of His feet the Sudra (productive and sustaining force) was born. The Moon (symbol of the mind) was born from His (cosmic) mind; the Sun (symbol of self and consciousness) was born from His eyes. Indra (power of grasping and activity) and Agni (will-force) came from His mouth; from His vital energy air was born. 12 The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced. 13 The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vāyu from his breath.

nābhyā āsīdantarikśam śīrṣṇo dyauḥ samavartata,

padbhyāṁ bhūmirdiśaḥ śrotrātathā lokāṁ akalpayan.

saptāsyāsṇ paridhyasṛitaḥsapta samidḥa kṛtaḥ,

devā yadyajñam tanvānā abaḍhnaṇ purūṣaṁ paśum. When Purusha was divided up, his navel became the middle sky, his head became the heavens, his feet became the earth. And so it was that all the worlds were made, and all that is began.

14 (In that Universal Meditation as Sacrifice) the firmament came from His navel; the heavens were produced from His head; the earth from His feet; from His ears the quarters of space—so they constituted the worlds. 15 The enclosures of the sacrificial altar were seven (the seven metres like the Gayatri), and twenty-one (the twelve months, the five seasons, the three worlds and the sun) were the logs of sacrificial fuel, when the gods (the pranas, the senses and the mind) celebrated the Universal Sacrifice with the Supreme Purusha as the object of contemplation therein. 14 Forth from his navel came mid-air the sky was fashioned from his head Earth from his feet, and from his car the regions. Thus they formed the worlds. 15 Seven fencing-sticks had he, thrice seven layers of fuel were prepared, When the Gods, offering sacrifice, bound, as their victim, Puruṣa.

yajñena yajñamayajanta devāḥtāni

dharmāṇi prathamānyāsan,

te ha nākaṁ mahimānaḥ sacante yatra pūrve sādhyāḥ

santi devāḥ.

16 By sacrifice (universal meditation) did the gods adore and perform (visualise) the sacrifice (Universal Being). These were the original creations and the original laws (that sustain creation). Those great ones (the worshippers of the Cosmic Being by this type of meditation) attain that Supreme Abode in which abide the primeval contemplators (the gods mentioned above) who thus worshipped that Being. 16 Gods, sacrificing, sacrificed the victim these were the earliest holy ordinances. The Mighty Ones attained the height of heaven, there where the Sādhyas, Gods of old, are dwelling.

vedāhametaṁ puruṣaṁ

mahāntamādityavarṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt,

tameva viditva'timṛtyumeti nānyaḥ panthā vidyate'yanāya.

I know this Great Purusha who shines like the sun beyond darkness. By knowing Him alone does one cross beyond death; there is no other way of going over there. This great Purusha, brilliant as the sun, who is beyond all darkness, I know him in my heart. Who knows the Purusha thus, attains immortality in this very birth. I know of no other way to salvation. http://www.ramanuja.org/purusha/sukta-intro.html

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ayvRqxVi4E