Meaning of Purusha Suktam: An alternative interpretation

Purusha Suktam is a central creation story embedded in several vedas, including the Rig Veda that is considered the only unaltered bronze age literature available.

You can hear it here or read it below (Click on the Figure below if it is unclear to read).

Rig Veda Book 10 Hymn 90 (Sanskrit)

सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात |

सभूमिं विश्वतो वर्त्वात्यतिष्ठद दशाङगुलम ||
पुरुष एवेदं सर्वं यद भूतं यच्च भव्यम |
उताम्र्तत्वस्येशानो यदन्नेनातिरोहति ||
एतावानस्य महिमातो जयायांश्च पूरुषः |
पादो.अस्यविश्वा भूतानि तरिपादस्याम्र्तं दिवि ||
तरिपादूर्ध्व उदैत पुरुषः पादो.अस्येहाभवत पुनः |
ततो विष्वं वयक्रामत साशनानशने अभि ||
तस्माद विराळ अजायत विराजो अधि पूरुषः |
स जातोत्यरिच्यत पश्चाद भूमिमथो पुरः ||
यत पुरुषेण हविषा देवा यज्ञमतन्वत |
वसन्तोस्यासीदाज्यं गरीष्म इध्मः शरद धविः ||
तं यज्ञं बर्हिषि परौक्षन पुरुषं जातमग्रतः |
तेन देवा अयजन्त साध्या रषयश्च ये ||
तस्माद यज्ञात सर्वहुतः सम्भ्र्तं पर्षदाज्यम |
पशून्तांश्चक्रे वायव्यानारण्यान गराम्याश्च ये ||
तस्माद यज्ञात सर्वहुत रचः सामानि जज्ञिरे |
छन्दांसिजज्ञिरे तस्माद यजुस्तस्मादजायत ||
तस्मादश्वा अजायन्त ये के चोभयादतः |
गावो हजज्ञिरे तस्मात तस्माज्जाता अजावयः ||
यत पुरुषं वयदधुः कतिधा वयकल्पयन |
मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते ||
बराह्मणो.अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः |
ऊरूतदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत ||
चन्द्रमा मनसो जातश्चक्षोः सूर्यो अजायत |
मुखादिन्द्रश्चाग्निश्च पराणाद वायुरजायत ||
नाभ्या आसीदन्तरिक्षं शीर्ष्णो दयौः समवर्तत |
पद्भ्यां भूमिर्दिशः शरोत्रात तथा लोकानकल्पयन ||
सप्तास्यासन परिधयस्त्रिः सप्त समिधः कर्ताः |
देवायद यज्ञं तन्वाना अबध्नन पुरुषं पशुम ||
यज्ञेन यज्ञमयजन्त देवास्तानि धर्माणि परथमान्यासन |
ते ह नाकं महिमानः सचन्त यत्र पूर्वे साध्याःसन्ति देवाः ||

It has been noted that this story of creation is very similar to the Norse creation story involving the killing of the giant Ymir.

The Norse version goes as follows:

"Odin and his brothers used Ymir's body to create Midgard, the earth at the center of Ginnungagap. His flesh became the earth. The blood of Ymir formed seas and lakes. From his bones mountains were erected. His teeth and bone fragments became stones. From his hair grew trees and maggots from his flesh became the race of dwarves. The gods set Ymir's skull above Ginnungagap and made the sky, supported by four dwarves. These dwarves were given the names East, West, North and South. Odin then created winds by placing one of Bergelmir's sons, in the form of an eagle, at the ends of the earth. He cast Ymir's brains into the wind to become the clouds."


In comparison the translation of Purusha Sukta yields a similar but much more detailed treatise of creation. Some redacted and suitably highlighted portions of this translation are indicated below.

Rig Veda Book 10 Hymn 90 (English)

1. A THOUSAND heads hath Puruṣa, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet.
On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.

[Rig Veda, tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], at sacred-texts.com]

Of particular interest to this discussion are the bolded portions in the previous translation that identifies two interesting aspects.

First from stanza five: From the Purusha, the Virat Purusha is born and from this Virat Purusha again Purusha was born? It is very unclear from here if Virat Purusha can be interpreted as Vishnu as is done commonly among Vaishnavaites from whom another Purusha (Brahma) is born who engenders creation as we know it.

This is because in the very next stanzas. the gods work towards sacrificing the Purusha and that is quite at odds with the accepted role of Brahma.

So without attempting to relate the confusing aspects of stanza five to Brahma or Vishnu at this stage let us first compare the interrelationships among the Purushas to that in stanza nineteen. Here it becomes clear that Virat Purusha who is composed of the essence of cosmos is born out of Paramapursha, in a manner that does not necessarily contradict stanza five. But the role of Tvashta becomes an issue because of his role in expanding the the figure of the Viratpurusha.

My interpretation - I believe the Purusha Suktam can be interpreted in a self-consistent manner as follows.

Purusha can be thought of as a cosmic entity who regenerated himself endlessly in different forms prior to the creation of our world in all its complexity. In the beginning there was the Purusha and the gods. The time of man and animals had not come about yet and the Purusha replicated himself into various forms including the Adi Purusha and Parama Purusha. Among such replications of the Purusha was the form of the Virat Purusha, his all encompassing form. The gods, including Tvashtar adorned this Virat Purusha, who embodied everything in cosmos as we know it, with celestial adornments including planets etc. Ultimately, the gods might have realized that the glory of this Virat Purusha is best demonstrated not in his condensed unitary form but when his glory is manifested into the complexity that is the world of man, animals, plants and the elements. To this end, he was sacrificed , leading to the creation of the myriad of lifeforms as we presently perceive.

This interpretation does not require any additional assumptions about the identity of the Purusha but that he was the original nucleus of all life as we know it and this ultimate entity encapsulates all of the cosmos, both the observable and the unobservable.