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Nasadiya Sukta: The Origin of Creation

The document presents a philosophical exploration of the origins of existence, discussing the state of non-existence and existence before creation. It raises questions about the nature of reality, the role of desire, and the mystery surrounding the creation of the universe. Ultimately, it reflects on the limitations of human understanding regarding the origins of creation and the divine forces at play.

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fulgencio garcia
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94 views4 pages

Nasadiya Sukta: The Origin of Creation

The document presents a philosophical exploration of the origins of existence, discussing the state of non-existence and existence before creation. It raises questions about the nature of reality, the role of desire, and the mystery surrounding the creation of the universe. Ultimately, it reflects on the limitations of human understanding regarding the origins of creation and the divine forces at play.

Uploaded by

fulgencio garcia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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नासदासीन नो सदासीत तदानीं नासीद रजो नो वयोमापरो यत |

nāsadāsīn no sadāsīt tadānīṃ nāsīd rajo no vyomāparo yat |


1. THEN was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air,
no sky beyond it.

किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद गहनं गभीरम


||
kimāvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmannambhaḥ kimāsīd ghahanaṃ
ghabhīram ||
What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there,
unfathomed depth of water?

न मर्त्युरासीदम्र्तं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न


आसीत्प्रकेतः |
na mṛtyurāsīdamṛtaṃ na tarhi na rātryā ahna āsītpraketaḥ |
2 Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there,
the day's and night's divider.
आनीदवातं सवधया तदेकं तस्माद्धान्यन न परः किं चनास
||
ānīdavātaṃ svadhayā tadekaṃ tasmāddhānyan na paraḥ kiṃ canāsa ||
That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it
was nothing whatsoever.

तम आसीत तमसा गूळमग्रे.अप्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वमािदम |


tama āsīt tamasā ghūḷ[Link]ṃ salilaṃ sarvamāidam |
3 Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness this All was
indiscriminated chaos.

तुछ्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम ||


tuchyenābhvapihitaṃ yadāsīt tapasastanmahinājāyataikam ||
All that existed then was void and form less: by the great power of
Warmth was born that Unit.

कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः परथमं यदासीत |


kāmastadaghre samavartatādhi manaso retaḥ prathamaṃ yadāsīt |
4 Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and
germ of Spirit.
सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन हर्दि परतीष्याकवयो मनीषा ||
sato bandhumasati niravindan hṛdi pratīṣyākavayo manīṣā ||
Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's
kinship in the non-existent.

तिरश्चीनो विततो रश्मिरेषामधः सविदासी.अ.अ.अत |


tiraścīno vitato raśmireṣāmadhaḥ svidāsī.[Link] |
5 Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it
then, and what below it?

रेतोधाासन महिमान आसन सवधा अवस्तात परयतिः परस्तात ||


retodhāāsan mahimāna āsan svadhā avastāt prayatiḥ parastāt ||
There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and
energy up yonder

को अद्धा वेद क इह पर वोचत कुत आजाता कुत


इयंविस्र्ष्टिः |
ko addhā veda ka iha pra vocat kuta ājātā kuta iyaṃvisṛṣṭiḥ |
6 Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born
and whence comes this creation?

अर्वाग देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यताबभूव ||


arvāgh devā asya visarjanenāthā ko veda yataābabhūva ||
The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then
whence it first came into being?

इयं विस्र्ष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा न |


iyaṃ visṛṣṭiryata ābabhūva yadi vā dadhe yadi vā na |
7 He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not
form it,

यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे वयोमन सो अङग वेद यदि वा नवेद ||


yo asyādhyakṣaḥ parame vyoman so aṅgha veda yadi vā naveda ||
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or
perhaps he knows not. -

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The document describes a primordial state where neither existence (sat) nor non-existence (asat) were defined. There was no sky, realm of air, or anything beyond. Everything was covered in darkness, and initially, all was undifferentiated chaos .

The document implies that conventional markers of time, such as day and night, were absent in the initial stages of existence. Without these markers, time as a construct did not exist, indicating a primordial state where time only came into being with the differentiation and ordering of existence .

The document questions the possibility of truly knowing or declaring the origin of creation. It suggests that even divine entities are not wholly aware of this process, implying that knowledge of creation's inception may be beyond human understanding or even the awareness of heavenly beings .

The document conveys that the gods were subsequent to the creation itself, suggesting that divine beings did not exist at the moment of creation but appeared later. This highlights a certain chronological order where cosmic structures predate divine ones .

The transition from chaos to order is depicted through the emergence of desire, which acts as a dynamism moving from a void state to the birth of discernible elements. Initially, everything was concealed within darkness and an undifferentiated void. The emergence of 'tapas' (warmth or desire) eventually led to the formation of a 'Unit,' indicating the beginning of distinction within creation .

The assertion questions the limits of divine and human understanding, introducing philosophical reflection on epistemological boundaries. It suggests a universe where ultimate truths might be inherently unknowable, challenging the notion of absolute knowledge, even by the highest metaphysical entities, thereby invoking a form of cosmic agnosticism .

'Desire' (Kama) is depicted as arising in the beginning and is characterized as the primal seed of the Spirit. This concept underscores that desire was pivotal in initiating the process of creation and establishing the first seed of existence .

The text presents ambiguity about creation's origin, raising the question of whether creation was intentional or spontaneous. It mentions that the gods came after the world's creation, suggesting uncertainty about the process. The ultimate origin, whether formed or not, is only potentially known to the highest being, who may himself not know .

Darkness symbolizes the primordial chaos and the undifferentiated state before creation. It represents the unformed conditions in which potential exists but is not yet realized, compelling forces such as desire and warmth to initiate the process of differentiation and order .

The text presents a primordial state devoid of natural and metaphysical dichotomies such as existence vs. non-existence and day vs. night. This implies an absolute unity and indistinguishability, a complete absence of differentiation, before the creation of structures and concepts that define reality .

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