Purusha (Sanskrit:पुरुष,[pʊɾʊʂᵊ],IAST:Puruṣa) is a complex concept[1] whose meaning evolved inVedic andUpanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means thecosmic being orself,awareness, and universal principle.[2][1][3]
In early Vedas,Purusha was a cosmic being whose sacrifice by the gods created all life.[4] This was one of manycreation myths discussed in the Vedas. In the Upanishads, thePurusha concept refers to the abstract essence of the Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form, and all-pervasive.[4]
InSamkhya philosophy,Purusha is the plural immobile cosmic principle, pure consciousness, unattached and unrelated to anything, which is "nonactive, unchanging, eternal, and pure".[5]Purusha uniting withPrakṛti (matter) gives rise to life.
InKashmir Shaivism,Purusha is enveloped infive sheaths of time (kāla), desire (raga), restriction (niyati), knowledge (vidyā) and separatedness (kalā); it is the universal Self (paramātman) under limitations as many individual Selfs (jīvātman).[6]
There is no consensus among schools of Hinduism on the definition ofPurusha, and it is left to each school and individual to reach their own conclusions. For example, one of many theistic traditions script such as Kapilasurisamvada, credited to another ancient Hindu philosopher named Kapila, first describesPurusha in a manner similar to Samkhya-Yoga schools, but then proceeds to describe buddhi (intellect) as secondPurusha, andahamkara (egoism) as thirdPurusha. Such pluralism and diversity of thought within Hinduism[7] implies that the termPurusha is a complex term with diverse meanings.
The animating causes, fields, and principles of nature arePurusha in Hindu philosophy. Hinduism refers toPurusha as the soul of theuniverse, the universal spirit present everywhere, in everything and everyone, all the time.Purusha is the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form, and all-pervasive. It isPurusha in the form of nature’s laws and principles that operate in the background to regulate, guide, and direct change, evolution, cause, and effect.[3] It isPurusha, in the Hindu concept of existence, that breathes life into matter, is the source of all consciousness,[1] one that creates oneness in all life forms, in all of humanity, and the essence of Self. According to Hinduism, it isPurusha why the universe operates, is dynamic and evolves, as against being static.[8]
During theVedic period, thePurusha concept was one of several mythemes offered for the creation of the universe.[a]Purusa, in theRigveda, was described as a being who becomes a sacrificial victim of the gods, and whose sacrifice creates all life forms including human beings.[4]
In theRigveda, "Puruṣa is all that yet hath been and all that is to be" (पुरुष एवेदगं सर्वं यद्भूतं यच्च भव्यम्।).[9]
In thePurusha Sukta, the 90th hymn of the 10th book of theRigveda,varna is portrayed as a result of human beings created from different parts of the body of the divinityPurusha. This Purusha Sukta verse is controversial and is believed by many scholars, such asMax Müller, to be a corruption and medieval or modern era insertion into Veda,[10][11] because unlike all other major concepts in the Vedas including those ofPurusha,[12] the four varnas are never mentioned anywhere else in any of the Vedas, and because this verse is missing in some manuscript prints found in different parts of India.
That remarkable hymn (the Purusha Sukta) is in language, metre, and style, very different from the rest of the prayers with which it is associated. It has a decidedly more modern tone, and must have been composed after the Sanskrit language had been refined.
There can be little doubt, for instance, that the 90th hymn of the 10th book (Purusha Sukta) is modern both in its character and in its diction. (...) It mentions the three seasons in the order of the Vasanta, spring; Grishma, summer; and Sarad, autumn; it contains the only passage in the Rigveda where the four castes are enumerated. The evidence of language for the modern date of this composition is equally strong. Grishma, for instance, the name for the hot season, does not occur in any other hymn of the Rigveda; and Vasanta also does not belong to the earliest vocabulary of the Vedic poets.
The Purusha Sukta is a later interpolation in the Rig Veda. (...) Verses in the form of questions about the division of Purusha and the origins of the Varnas are a fraudulent emendation of the original.
The abstract idea ofPurusha is extensively discussed in various Upanishads, and referred interchangeably asParamatman andBrahman (not to be confused with Brahmin).[1] In the Upanishads and later texts ofHindu philosophy, thePurusha concept moved away from the Vedic definition ofPurusha and was no longer a person, cosmic man or entity. Instead, the concept flowered into a more complex abstraction:[16]
Splendid and without a bodily form is thisPurusha, without and within, unborn, without life breath and without mind, higher than the supreme element. From him are born life breath and mind. He is the soul of all beings.
— Munduka Upanishad, (Translated by Klaus Klostermair)[17]
In the Upanishads, thePurusha concept refers to the abstract essence of the Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form and is all pervasive.[4] ThePurusha concept is explained with the concept ofPrakrti in the Upanishads. The Universe is envisioned in these ancient Sanskrit texts as a combination of the perceivable material reality and non-perceivable, non-material laws and principles of nature.[3][8] Material reality (orPrakrti) is everything that has changed, can change and is subject to cause and effect.Purusha is the universal principle that is unchanging, uncaused but is present everywhere and the reason whyPrakrti changes, transforms and transcends all of the time and which is why there is cause and effect.[8]
RishiAngiras of theAtma Upanishad belonging to theAtharvaveda explains thatPurusha, the dweller in the body, is three-fold: the Bahyatman (the Outer-Atman) which is born and dies; the Antaratman (the Inner-Atman) which comprehends the whole range of material phenomena, gross and subtle, with which theJiva concerns himself, and the Paramatman which is all-pervading, unthinkable, indescribable, is without action and has noSamskaras.[18]
Both Samkhya, a school of Hindu philosophy that considers reason, as againstNyaya school's logic orMīmāṃsā school's tradition, as the proper source of knowledge, andYoga philosophy state that there are two ultimate realities whose interaction accounts for all experiences and universe, namely Purusha (spirit) andPrakrti (matter).[3][19] The universe is envisioned as a combination of perceivable material reality and non-perceivable, non-material laws and principles of nature. Material reality, orPrakrti, is everything that has changed, can change and is subject to cause and effect. Universal principle, orPurusha, is that which is unchanging (aksara)[1] and is uncaused.
Puruṣa is the transcendental self or pure consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible, unknowable through other agencies, above any experience by mind or senses and beyond any words or explanations. It remains pure, "nonattributive consciousness". Puruṣa is neither produced nor does it produce. It is held that unlikeAdvaita Vedanta and likePurva-Mīmāṃsā, Samkhya believes in a plurality of the puruṣas.[20]
Yoga philosophy holds that, in addition to the purusha of each individual, there is a special purusha calledIshvara, which is free of all kleshas and karmas.[21]
Both Samkhya and Yoga school holds that the path to moksha (release, Self-realization) includes the realization ofPurusha.[22]
In the Puranas, "TheBhagavata Purana and theMahabharata boldly proclaimVishnu as ultimate Purusha described inPurusha Sukta prayer", whereasShiva is described as ultimate Purusha (cosmic male) inShiva Purana.[23] According toIndologistW. Norman Brown, "The verses of Purusha Sukta are definitely a reference toVishnu, who, through his three steps, is all-pervading (i.e. he spreads in all directions)".[23]
The Bhagavata Purana explains the origin of the four varnas from the body of Purusha, identified as Vishnu:[24]
Oh leader of Kurus! From the mouth of the Puruṣa came forth Brahman (the Veda) and the Brāhmaṇa class like syllables coming out from the mouth (head). Hence the Brāhmaṇa Varṇa became the foremost among the Varṇas.
From his arms emanated the power of protection and the Kṣatriya class who follows that vow, viz. the duty of protecting the world. This class born from Puruṣa (Lord Viṣṇu) protects the classes of people from wounds (i.e. injuries or troubles) caused by thorns (in the form of miscreants).
From the thighs of that All-pervading Lord were born the vocations like agriculture which maintain the livelihood of the public. The Vaiśya class, born from the same part of the body, carries out trades and agriculture for the maintenance of people.
From the feet of the Lord was born to service for the achievement of religion. Formerly the Śūdra class was born for the sake of service, whereby Hari is pleased.
— Bhagavata Purana, Book 3, Chapter 6
In theBhagavad Gita,purusha is used to refer to Supreme Being in several instances:
That Supreme Being (purusha), Partha, is attained by undivided devotion. The living beings are situated within him and he pervades this entire world.
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8, verse 22[25]
Arjuna refers toKrishna aspurusha in several verses, such as Chapter 10 verse 12, Chapter 11 verse 18, Chapter 11 verse 38.[26]
You are the Supreme Brahman, the supreme abode and the supreme purifier. You are the eternal divinepurusha, the primordial Deity, unborn and all-pervading.
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 10, verse 12[27]
In Chapter 15 verse 16 Krishna refers to two types ofpurushas:kshara (perishable),akshara (imperishable). In verse 17, he identifies himself as "highestpurusha" (paramatman), superior to bothkshara andakshara.[28]
TheBrahma Sutra 1.2.13 references Chandogya Upanishad 4.15.1, which describes the purusha that is seen in the eye:
The teacher said: "The person seen in the eyes is the Self. It is immortal and fearless. It is Brahman. This is why, if anyone puts clarified butter or water in the eyes, it goes to the corners of the eyes".[29]
— Chandogya Upanishad 4.15.1
The Brahma Sutra 1.2.13 clarifies that this person is the highest self, Brahman:
(The Person) within the eye (is the highest Self) on account of suitability.[30]
— Brahma Sutra 1.2.13
