Purusha-sukta (Rigveda 10.90) is one of the most famous hymns in the Vedic literature. It views the entire universe as the living body of a single, conscious Supreme Being (Purusha).
In traditional recitation contexts—especially within the Yajurveda tradition—the hymn begins and ends with a special prayer for peace and healing, known as Shanti Path.
Here follows a verse-by-verse translation of both the Shanti Path and the sixteen main verses of the Purusha-sukta.
1. Shanti Path (Introductory Prayer for Peace)
oṃ tac chaṃ yor āvṛṇīmahe । gātuṃ yajñāya । gātuṃ yajñapataye । daivī svastir astu naḥ । svastir mānuṣebhyaḥ । ūrdhvaṃ jigātu bheṣajam । śaṃ no astu dvipade । śaṃ catuṣpade । oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥
We pray for that well-being and freedom from suffering which cures all ailments.
May the cosmic sacrifice flourish, and may the performer of the sacrifice flourish.
May divine grace and peace rest upon us. May peace prevail over all of humanity.
May healing herbs grow abundantly upwards.
May peace prevail for all two-legged creatures (humans and birds).
May peace prevail for all four-legged creatures (animals).
Om peace, peace, peace.
2. Purusha-sukta
Part 1: The Vision of the Cosmic Being
The first part of the hymn establishes the staggering scale of the Divine: it contains the entire universe while simultaneously transcending it.
Verse 1: The cosmic being has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet. He encompasses the universe from all sides and yet extends ten fingerbreadths beyond it.
Verse 2: Purusha alone is all this—all that has been and all that is to come. He is also the Lord of immortality, and lord of all that grows and lives by food.
Verse 3: Such is His immense greatness, but Purusha is even greater than that. All created beings constitute only one-fourth of Him; three-fourths remain immortal in the transcendent, celestial spheres.
Verse 4: With three-fourths of His being, Purusha rose high above, while one-fourth remained down here to be manifested again and again. From this single fourth, He spread out in all directions and permeated everything—both the animate and the inanimate.
Verse 5: From Him was born the cosmic egg (Viraj, the radiant primal matrix), and from Viraj, the original Purusha was born anew. As soon as He appeared, He grew and extended beyond the earth, both behind and before it.
Part 2: The Cosmic Sacrifice and Creation
The Vedic seers used the sacred sacrifice (yajna) as a metaphor for how the formless Divine entered into physical reality.
Verse 6: When the gods performed the cosmic sacrifice with Purusha as the offering, spring was the clarified butter (ghee), summer was the wood, and autumn was the sacred oblation.
Verse 7: They consecrated Purusha, born in the beginning of time, as an offering on the sacred grass. With Him, the gods, sadhyas (celestial beings), and rishis (seers) performed the ritual of creation.
Verse 8: From this all-inclusive, complete cosmic sacrifice, the sacred mixture of curds and ghee was gathered. From it arose the creatures of the air, the wild beasts of the forest, and the domestic animals.
Verse 9: From this supreme cosmic sacrifice were born the rhythmic hymns of the Rigveda and the songs of the Samaveda. From it were born the poetic meters of speech, and from it arose the prose formulas of the Yajurveda.
Verse 10: From the sacrifice were born horses, as well as all animals with two rows of teeth. From it were born cows, as well as goats and sheep.
Part 3: The Anatomy of the Cosmos
Here, the hymn explicitly shows how the different parts of society, nature, and the psyche form limbs of a single, interdependent body.
Verse 11: When they mentally divided Purusha, into how many parts did they arrange Him? What became His mouth? What became His arms? What are His thighs and feet called?
Verse 12: His mouth became the brahmana (the thinkers/priests), His arms became the rajanya (the rulers/warriors). His thighs became the vaishya (the merchants/farmers), and from His feet was born the shudra (the workers/artisans).
Verse 13: The moon was born from His mind and the sun from His eyes. Indra (the lord of power) and Agni (the god of fire) emerged from His mouth, and Vayu (the wind) was born from His life-breath.
Verse 14: From His navel arose the intermediate space (the atmosphere), and from His head the heavens developed. From His feet came the earth, and from His ears the directions of space. Thus the worlds were fashioned, step by step.
Part 4: The Transcendent Goal
The hymn concludes by revealing that the realization of this universal unity is the ultimate path to liberation.
Verse 15: The boundaries of the cosmic altar consisted of seven layers of logs, and three times seven (21) logs were prepared as fuel, when the cosmic powers in the sacrifice bound Purusha as the offering.
Verse 16: The gods worshipped the Supreme Being through this great cosmic sacrifice; these became the first fundamental laws of reality (dharma). These great, realized souls finally reach the highest spiritual heavens, where the ancient gods and celestial beings dwell in eternal light.
A note on verse 12: In modern sociological contexts, verse 12 is often read solely through the lens of the caste system. In its original Vedic context, however, the verse is a purely organic metaphor: just as a human body cannot function without a head (intellect), arms (protection), thighs (sustenance/trade), and feet (support/labor), the hymn asserts that human society is a single living organism where every role is divine in itself and dependent on the others.