32. Adhyāya 32 — Puruṣamedha
Mantras 1–10
32.1
तद् एवाग्निस् तद् आदित्यस् तद् वायुस् तद् उ चन्द्रमाः ।
तद् एव शुक्रं तद् ब्रह्म ता ऽ आपः स प्रजापतिः ॥
tad evāgnis tad ādityas tad vāyus tad u candramāḥ ।
tad eva śukraṃ tad brahma tā ' āpaḥ sa prajāpatiḥ ॥
The One Eternal Lord Supreme is Agni, self-effulgent and omniscient. That is Aditya, all-consuming on annihilation. That is Vayu, omnipotent, all-sustaining. The same is Chandrama, blissful giver of joy. The same is Shukra, instant and immaculate. That is Brahma, greatest and infinite. That is Apah, immanent and omnipresent. And He is Prajapati, lord of creation and father of all His children.
32.2
सर्वे निमेषा जज्ञिरे विद्युतः पुरुषाद् अधि ।
नैनमूर्ध्वं न तिर्यञ्चं न मध्ये परि जग्रभत् ॥
sarve nimeṣā jajñire vidyutaḥ puruṣād adhi ।
nainamūrdhvaṃ na tiryañcaṃ na madhye pari jagrabhat ॥
From the brilliant supreme Purusha are born all the divisions of time from the moment onward, and all the movements from the twinkling of the eye onward. No one can ever catch or hold this Lord from above or middle or crosswise.
32.3
न तस्य प्रतिमा ऽ अस्ति यस्य नाम महद् यशः ।
हिरण्यगर्भ ऽ इत्य् एषः ।
मा मा हिꣳसीद् इत्य् एषा ।
यस्मान् न जात ऽ इत्य् एष ॥
na tasya pratimā ' asti yasya nāma mahad yaśaḥ ।
hiraṇyagarbha ' ity eṣaḥ ।
mā mā hiṁsīd ity eṣā ।
yasmān na jāta ' ity eṣa ॥
There is none and nothing like Him, no picture, no icon, no simile, no metaphor. Great is His Name, mighty His glory. “He is the Golden Seed of the universe”, it is apparent. “No, no, do not kill me, do not punish, I pray”, such is the prayer of humanity to Him. “No one ever born is greater than He or beyond Him”, such is clearly the voice of the Veda.
32.4
एषो ह देवः प्रदिशो ऽनु सर्वाः पूर्वो ह जातः स ऽ उ गर्भे ऽ अन्तः ।
स ऽ एव जातः स जनिष्यमाणः प्रत्यङ् जनास् तिष्ठति सर्वतोमुखः ॥
eṣo ha devaḥ pradiśo 'nu sarvāḥ pūrvo ha jātaḥ sa ' u garbhe ' antaḥ ।
sa ' eva jātaḥ sa janiṣyamāṇaḥ pratyaṅ janās tiṣṭhati sarvatomukhaḥ ॥
Children of divinity, verily this glorious lord of the universe pervades all regions and quarters of space. First bom, i.e., manifested, of existence, in truth, He is at the very centre of the universe and in the depths of the soul. Existent and manifest, He continues to manifest every moment and abides everywhere in everything facing forward in all directions.
32.5
यस्माज् जातं न पुरा किं चनैव य आबभूव भुवनानि विश्वा ।
प्रजापतिः प्रजया सꣳरराणस् त्रीणि ज्योतीꣳषि सचते स षोडशी ॥
yasmāj jātaṃ na purā kiṃ canaiva ya ābabhūva bhuvanāni viśvā ।
prajāpatiḥ prajayā saṁrarāṇas trīṇi jyotīṁṣi sacate sa ṣoḍaśī ॥
The glorious lord is He, nothing whatever was born before Him, none of all those worlds of the universe which came into existence later. Father and sustainer, abiding and rejoicing with His creation, lord of sixteen powers of perfection, He pervades and feeds the three lights of the earth, sky and heaven, i.e., fire, electric energy and sunlight. Note:- Sixteen seems to be the number of kalas (qualities, attributes, virtues and faculties) which comprise the model of perfection from different points of view. From Prashnopanishad, 6, 4, for example, we learn that ‘sixteen kalas’ means the sixteen creative powers of the Purusha, sixteen evolutionary stages of the created universe, and sixteen virtues, qualities and faculties of both cosmic and individual existence. These kalas are : Prana or energy and the Hiranyagarbha or the universally fertilized golden seed of the universe, shraddha or faith, akasha or space, vayu or wind energy, agni or fire and light, apah or waters, prithivi or earth, indriya or faculties of perception and volition, mana or mind, anna or food, virya or vitality of generation, tapa or discipline of inviolable austerity, mantra or knowledge or the art of living, karma or action, loka or world regions of the universe, and nama or individuality and identity.
32.6
येन द्यौर् उग्रा पृथिवी च दृढा येन स्व स्तभितं येन नाकः ।
यो ऽ अन्तरिक्षे रजसो विमानः कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम ॥
yena dyaur ugrā pṛthivī ca dṛḍhā yena sva stabhitaṃ yena nākaḥ ।
yo ' antarikṣe rajaso vimānaḥ kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ॥
By Him the heavens blaze, by Him the earth is firm, by Him the heaven of bliss is sustained, by Him the ecstasy of Moksha is constant, and He is the creator of the worlds in space. Let us worship that lord of glory and eternal bliss, and let us sing in honour of Him with the fragrance of yajna.
32.7
यं क्रन्दसी ऽ अवसा तस्तभाने ऽ अभ्यैक्षेतां मनसा रेजमाने ।
यत्राधि सूर ऽ उदितो विभाति कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम ।
आपो ह यद् बृहतीः ।
यश् चिद् आपः ॥
yaṃ krandasī ' avasā tastabhāne ' abhyaikṣetāṃ manasā rejamāne ।
yatrādhi sūra ' udito vibhāti kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ।
āpo ha yad bṛhatīḥ ।
yaś cid āpaḥ ॥
To Him the heaven and earth, both constant and moving in ecstasy at heart, do homage with awe and reverence. Under His eye does the sun rise and blaze with light. To that Lord of awe and glorious bliss let us offer our homage of praise and worship with love and faith. Whatever the vast oceans of water, and whatever the expansive spaces, all exist in Him.
32.8
वेनस् तत् पश्यन् निहितं गुहा सद् यत्र विश्वं भवत्य् एकनीडम् ।
तस्मिन्न् इदꣳ सं च वि चैति सर्वꣳ स ऽ ओतः प्रोतश् च विभूः प्रजासु ॥
venas tat paśyan nihitaṃ guhā sad yatra viśvaṃ bhavaty ekanīḍam ।
tasminn idaṁ saṃ ca vi caiti sarvaṁ sa ' otaḥ protaś ca vibhūḥ prajāsu ॥
The man of vision and wisdom sees that eternal spirit hidden in mystery where the universe lies nestled in His presence. Therein all this comes into being together, and therein it falls asunder. Infinite is He, immanent and omnipresent in the created beings.
32.9
प्र तद् वोचेद् अमृतं नु विद्वान् गन्धर्वो धाम विभृतं गुहा सत् ।
त्रीणि पदानि निहिता गुहास्य यस् तानि वेद स पितुः पितासत् ॥
pra tad voced amṛtaṃ nu vidvān gandharvo dhāma vibhṛtaṃ guhā sat ।
trīṇi padāni nihitā guhāsya yas tāni veda sa pituḥ pitāsat ॥
32.10
स नो बन्धुर् जनिता स विधाता धामानि वेद भुवनानि विश्वा ।
यत्र देवा ऽ अमृतम् आनशानास् तृतीये धामन्न् अध्य् ऐरयन्त ॥
sa no bandhur janitā sa vidhātā dhāmāni veda bhuvanāni viśvā ।
yatra devā ' amṛtam ānaśānās tṛtīye dhāmann adhy airayanta ॥
He is our father and our brother. He is our sustainer and controller. He knows all the worlds of existence which are home to the created beings. There in His supreme presence, third haven of being (the other two are Prakriti and jiva), the divine souls tasting of the immortal joy of heaven roam around at will.
Mantras 11–16
32.11
परीत्य भूतानि परीत्य लोकान् परीत्य सर्वाः प्रदिशो दिशश् च ।
उपस्थाय प्रथमजाम् ऋतस्यात्मनात्मानम् अभि सं विवेश ॥
parītya bhūtāni parītya lokān parītya sarvāḥ pradiśo diśaś ca ।
upasthāya prathamajām ṛtasyātmanātmānam abhi saṃ viveśa ॥
Having known and crossed over the material forms of existence, having gone over the regions of the world, having crossed through directions and sub-directions all, and reaching the original voice of eternal truth in the Veda by the soul, the man of knowledge and vision attains to the supreme soul of the universe and, one with it in union, abides.
32.12
परि द्यावापृथिवी सद्य ऽ इत्वा परि लोकान् परि दिशः परि स्वः ।
ऋतस्य तन्तुं विततं विचृत्य तद् अपश्यत् तद् अभवत् तद् आसीत् ॥
pari dyāvāpṛthivī sadya ' itvā pari lokān pari diśaḥ pari svaḥ ।
ṛtasya tantuṃ vitataṃ vicṛtya tad apaśyat tad abhavat tad āsīt ॥
Having known and crossed over earth and heaven simultaneously, having gone over the regions of the universe, having crossed through the directions and subdirections, and having transcended even the visions of paradise, and having over-seen the network of reality constituting the structure of the universe, the transcendent soul sees that Supreme Soul and finally grows one with That.
32.13
सदसस् पतिम् अद्भुतं प्रियम् इन्द्रस्य काम्यम् ।
सनिं मेधाम् अयासिषꣳम् स्वाहा ॥
sadasas patim adbhutaṃ priyam indrasya kāmyam ।
saniṃ medhām ayāsiṣaṁm svāhā ॥
In truth of word and deed with all sincerity of mind and spirit I invoke the Lord of the universe, wondrous great, loved and worshipped by the human soul, and, pray for a gift of that intelligence which
32.14
यां मेधां देवगणाः पितरश् चोपासते ।
तया माम् अद्य मेधयाग्ने मेधाविनं कुरु स्वाहा ॥
yāṃ medhāṃ devagaṇāḥ pitaraś copāsate ।
tayā mām adya medhayāgne medhāvinaṃ kuru svāhā ॥
Agni, lord of light and knowledge, I pray, enlighten me here and now with that discriminative intelligence which the noblest people of piety and senior guardians of humanity value and pray for. This is the voice of the heart in truth of word and
32.15
मेधां मे वरुणो ददातु मेधाम् अग्निः प्रजापतिः ।
मेधाम् इन्द्रस् च वायुश् च मेधां धाता ददातु मे स्वाहा ॥
medhāṃ me varuṇo dadātu medhām agniḥ prajāpatiḥ ।
medhām indras ca vāyuś ca medhāṃ dhātā dadātu me svāhā ॥
May Varuna, supreme lord of the universe, and the scholar of highest knowledge, bless me with supreme intelligence. May Agni, lord of universal light, and the eminent scholar and teacher, bless me with discriminative intelligence. May Prajapati, guardian sustainer of creation, and the generous scholar, bless me with generous and life-sustaining intelligence. May Indra, lord of universal grandeur, and the leader of honour and power, bless me with honourable intelligence. May Vayu, lord of universal energy and power, and the scholar of science and technology, bless me with intellectual and vitalizing intelligence. May Dhata, lord preserver of the universe, and scholar of life-sciences, bless me with life-preserving intelligence. This is the divine voice from the heart.
32.16
इदं मे ब्रह्म च क्षत्रं चोभे श्रियम् अश्नुताम् ।
मयि देवा दधतु[ दधवु ] श्रियम् उत्तमां तस्यै ते स्वाहा ॥
idaṃ me brahma ca kṣatraṃ cobhe śriyam aśnutām ।
mayi devā dadhatu[ dadhavu ] śriyam uttamāṃ tasyai te svāhā ॥
May this knowledge of mine and the Brahmana fellowship, and this power and honour of mine and the Kshatra organisation, both grow to excellence and grace. May the noblest people bless me with the best of excellence and grace. All the best for you in truth of word and deed. This is the divine voice of the soul.