Purusha Sooktham - A translation attempt.
From the Bhakti List Archives
• February 17, 1995
Statutory warning : I planned this series initiall for alt.religion.vasinava, so a lot of this may be old hat to people on our mailing list. However, this is more for *me* recieveing your comments, and criticisms, which will be greatly appreciated. Caveat lector =) That said... ***** Invocation to the Acharyas : ---------------------------- lakshmeenAtha samArambhAm nAthAyamuna madhyamAm | asmadAcArya paryantAm vande guruparamparAm || That wondrous lineage of preceptors, that starts with Sriman Narayana, and came through Nathamuni down to my own Acharya, I salute that. Invocation to Vishvaksena (sEnai mudaliAr) ------------------------------------------ yasyadvirata vaktrAdhyA pArishadyA parashcatam | vighnam nighnanti satatam viSHvaksenam tamAshraye || An Introduction to the Purusha Sooktham. --------------------------------------- * Where is the Purusha Sooktham in the 'Shruthi's ? Hindu religious sources are classified as 'Shruthi's or 'Smrithi's. Shruthi - that which is heard, is of the nature of divine revelation. We believe that the Vedas, hymns composed by seers and sages beginning, as best as we date them in 3000 BC, were sung under divine inspiration This is why they are 'Shruthi's. These sages "heard" them as the voice of the Divine. Only two bodies of hymns are recognized as divinely composed. One being the Vedas, and the other, the Tiruvaaymozhi of Kaari Maaran Sadagopan, or Sri Nammaazhvaar, which are recognized as equivalent to the 4 Vedas in the Ubhaya Vedanta school, Srivashnava Tradition. The six compositions of Kaliyan Neelan, or Sri Thirumangai Aazhvaar, are recognized as the 6 vedangas. Smrithi is that which is remembered, and includes a large part of the commentary of the Vedas, different Puranas, epics, and other sources. The Purusha Sooktham (PS) is one of the Pancha Sookthams of the Srivaishnava Sampradaya, or tradition. The other four are the Narayana Sooktham, Sri Sooktham, Bhu Sooktham, and the Nila Sooktham. The PS is seen earliest in the Rg Veda, as the 90th Sooktham of its 10th mandalam, with 16 mantrams. Later, it is seen in the Vajasaneyi Samhitam of the Shukla Yajur Vedam, the Taittriya Aranyakam of the Krishna Yajur Vedam, the Sama Vedam, and the Atharvana Vedam, with some modifications and redactions. In South India, the PS, Vishnu Sooktham, Sri Sooktham, and Narayana Sooktham are generally chanted together in paarayanam. The Sri Rudram, PS, Upanishads, the Gita, and the Vishnu Sahasra Naamam are also recommended for daily paarayanam - chanting. Since the PS is seen in all Vedas, it is cited as the essence of all Shruthis, by Veda Vyasa in the Mahabharatha. Shaunaka, Apasthamba, and Bodhayana have also written concerning the use of the PS. * What does the Purusha Sooktham talk about ? The Purusha in the title of the P.S. refers to the Parama Purusha, Purushottama, Narayana, in his form as the Viraat Purusha. He was the source of all creation. It describes this form of his, as having countless heads, eyes, legs, manifested everywhere, and beyond the scope of any limited method of comprehension. All creation is but a fourth part of him. The rest is unmanifested. Purusha as Brahma remained inactive, and Aniruddha Narayana, one of the four aspects of Narayana in the first tier at the base of the Vishaaka Yoopa, asked him " Why do you do nothing ?" " Because of not knowing", Brahma replied. " Perform a yagnya. Your senses, the Devas, shall be the ritviks. Your body shall be the havis. Your heart, the altar. And I shall be he who enjoys the havis- offering. From your body sacrificed, shall you create bodies for all living creatures, as you have done in kalpas before this". - Thus says the sAkalya brAmhaNA. This yagnya was called "Sarvahut" - the offering of all. The act of creation itself grew out of Yagnya, the rite of sacrifice. Who was worshipped at this sacrifice ? It was the Purusha. Who performed it ? Brahma, the creative aspect of the Purusha. Who were the Ritvik priests ? The devas, who are the Purusha's senses. Who was tied as the beast of the sacrifice ? Brahma, again. What was barhis, the altar of the sacrifice ? All of nature.. Who was the fire ? The Purusha's heart. What was sacrificed ? Again, the Purusha himself, his great body that contained all of creation. In a way, this is a message of love, that the Purusha would consume himself in the fire of creation, to create all the worlds. From this sacrifice did all of creation emanate. This is central to the message of the PS. "vedAhametam purusham mahAntham Aditya varNam tamasas parastAt tam evam vidhvaan amrta iha BHavati na anya: panthA vidhyate ayanaaya" 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. * What about this translation attempt ? The redaction I have attempted to translate is based to a large part on thiestic tradition and approach, rather than a critical approach. This is because this is the way this wonderful cosmogenical song speaks to me. My sources for the translation are to put it mildly, a hodgepodge. I have little skill in Sanskrit myself, and have had to borrow heavily from these sources : - Purushasuktha Bhashya of Ranganaathamuni. Ranganaathamuni is also known as Periya Jeeyar in the Srivaishnava Sampradaya. - Hymns from the Rig veda, by Jean Le Mee New York, 1975 - Hymns from the Vedas, by Avinash Chandra Bose. Bombay, 1966 - "Anna" ' s translation into Tamil of the Purusha Sooktham. Madras, 1986. - Rg bhAshya samgraha - Chanana, ed., Orient Punlishing House, Delhi, 1965. * How about transliteration a, A, i, ee, u, oo, e, ai, o, ou, -m, : - for the vowel sounds k, kh, g, gh, G p, ph, b, bh, m t, th, d, dh, n - the soft dental t-s T, TH, D, DH, N - the aspirates, or palatal t-s c, ch, j, jh, ny y, r, l, v, s, sh, SH, h, ksh, tr, gny and R (RSHi) and L (neeLa etc.) - for the consonants Hopefully, that works. And now, on with the show ! The 'lineage' of the Purusha Suktham ------------------------------------ Each hymn or mantra is identified with three factors as its 'lineage', or 'qualification'. This is called the "RSHi - chandas - devatA. The RSHi, is the seer who "saw" the hymn, or chant, and praised with it. He inspires the mind with the mantra. And so, in the RSHi's honor, the forehead is touched iwth the fingers of the right hand while mentioning this in the samkalpa - the statement of intent to chant the mantra. chandas is the metre, the rhythm of the chant, associated with vAk, the power of speech. chandas is the means by which the hymn flows, and 'walks'. To honor the chandas, and vAk, that resides in the tongue, we touch the mouth, or lips, in samkalpa. devatA is the diety the chant is addressed to, whose praises are sung in it. devatA should be manifested (avAhaneeyam) in the heart, should reside there to illumine the singer. To honor the devata, we touch the chest in samkalpa. asya sri puruSHa sookta mahA mantrasya sriman nArAyaNo RSHI: antya triSHtup shiSHta anuSHtubhah: chanda: avyakta mahatAdi lakshaNo ya: puruSHa: sa devatA "For this great hymn, the Song of Purusha, Narayana himself was the seer who saw it.. triSHtup and anuSHtubh among its metres, And the puruSHa who alone adorned the unmanifest universe, its Diety" Having said this, we invoke peace. shAnti, peace, is a universal goal. When it is combined with the praNava, Om, it is a prayer for peace for all creation. Here then is the shAnti pATHa, the invocation to peace, of the PS.. A wonderful prayer for all time, and all people. The Invocation to Peace in the puruSHa sooktam. ---------------------------------------------- shree: shree puruSHa sooktam shAnti pATHa: tacchamyo-rAvrNeemahe | gAtum yagnyAya | gAtum yagnyapataye | daivee: svastirastu na: | svasti mAnushebhya: | oordhvam jigAtu bheSHajam | sham no astu dvipade | sham chatushpade | om shAnti: shAnti: shAnti: || (AvrNeemahe) We seek (tat) that which (chamyo) gives us peace from sorrows, present and future. We seek (gAtum) growth (yagnyAya) for the rite of sacrifice and (gAtum) growth for (yagnyapataye) patron of the rite, the yajamAna. (daivee: svasti) The grace of the Gods (astu) be (na:) unto us. (svasti) Well being (mAnushebhya:) to all mankind. (bheshajam) May plants, like medicinal herbs (jigAtu) flourish and grow (oordhvam) upwards. (sham) Good (na: astu ) come unto us from (dvipade) creatures that go on two feet (sham) and good from (chatuSHpade) those that go on four feet. (shAnti:) Peace. This prayer for peace is quite large in its scope, including all of creation, humans, plants, and animals, like this prayer. It is very human-centered. It asks that sham, good, also meaning mangaLam, be unto humans with all living creatures, animals and plants.. Literally, may flora and fauna be well disposed towards us. Also the Gods. But for plants and animals to be well disposed twards us, they must flourish.. this is what this prayer asks for. Vedic life was centered around the rite of sacrifice, at least for the seers who composed hymns like this. The greatness of sacrifices is sung all through the vedas and the brAhmaNas. The very Gods derive their strengths, to grant boons, from the mantras of praise uttered at sacrifices.. viz. varam deva balam, devam mantra balam, mantram brAmhaNa balam. The food of the gods is havis, the offering at these rites, and Agni, the divine fire, speeds between heaven and earth carrying havis to the gods. In return, the Gods granted boons, power, and blessed foods such as prShadAjyam, (yogurt mixed with clarified butter), madhuparkam (honeyed milk) and the soma juice. This is why the seers ask that sacrifices flourish, and may the yajamAnas prosper. "Free translation" - I have tried to make this reflect, in English, the flow of the mantra. Sorrows that are, and sorrows to be We seek that which grants us Peace from these May the rite flourish, And those who keep it.. The grace of the Gods Be with all mankind.. May the earth be covered With growing green And good come to us >From all creation >From beings that go On two feet and four.. May the three-fold peace Embrace the Land.. - Sundar
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