The Rig Veda: An Anthology

“Whence this creation has arisen—perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not—the one who looks down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows—or perhaps he does not know.” 

This concluding verse of a creation hymn exemplifies the elusive, paradoxical nature of many Rig Veda’s poems. The poet obliquely suggests that a primordial encounter between above and below created existence and consciousness through a mingling of desire and fertilization. This cosmic insemination occurred before the gods and the universe were born, and thus it is impossible to know what really occurred. The hymn balances uncertainty about the metaphysical origin of reality with the human need to comprehend existence as created through cause and effect.

“When they divided the Man, into how many parts did they apportion him? What do they call his mouth, his two arms and thighs and feet? His mouth became the Brahmin, his arms were made into the Warrior, his thighs the People, and from his feet the servants were born.” 

This creation hymn, known as the Purusa-Sukta, describes the origin of the world as the gods dismembering of primordial giant Purusa in a sacrifice. The dismemberment of the primordial Man simultaneously establishes the physical universe, the structure of human society, and the verse forms used by the poet-priests. As the first sacrifice, the dividing of Purusa ordains the ritual laws governing the religious practices of Vedic society. In these verses, the poet refers to the four classes of ancient Indian society: priests, warriors, farmers and herdsmen, and servants. This four-fold division of society predates the more elaborate and structured caste system of classical Hinduism.