Purusha

The Thousand-Headed Person

The Purusha Sukta (Rigveda 10.90) describes a cosmic Person with a thousand heads, eyes, and feet who covers the earth and extends beyond it. All creatures are a quarter of him; three quarters are immortal in heaven.

Creation by Sacrifice

The gods perform a sacrifice with Purusha as the offering. From it come the sacred verses and chants, horses, cattle, goats, and sheep. When he is divided, the Brahmin comes from his mouth, the warrior (Rajanya) from his arms, the Vaishya from his thighs, and the Shudra from his feet. The moon is born from his mind, the sun from his eye, Indra and Agni from his mouth, and wind from his breath; the air, sky, earth, and directions are formed from his body.

Influence and Controversy

This late Rigvedic hymn is the earliest text to name the four varnas together, and it has been cited for millennia to ground social hierarchy in the cosmos, a use that modern reformers have sharply criticized. In the Upanishads and in Samkhya philosophy, Purusha becomes the principle of pure consciousness, and Vaishnava tradition identifies the cosmic Person with Vishnu.

A World Made from a Body

The idea of a world fashioned from a primordial being's body appears elsewhere, from the Norse giant Ymir to the Chinese Pangu, and is a classic subject of comparative mythology.