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Purusha (Sanskrit  पुरुषः) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic man or Self, Consciousness, and Universal principle.[1][2][3]
 
Purusha (Sanskrit  पुरुषः) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic man or Self, Consciousness, and Universal principle.[1][2][3]
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'''In early Vedas, Purusa meant a cosmic man whose sacrifice by the gods created all life.[4] This was one of many creation theories discussed in the Vedas. The idea parallels Norse Ymir,[5] with the myth's origin in''' <!-- I am not sure about this part have to verify -->
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'''In early Vedas, Purusa meant a cosmic man whose sacrifice by the gods created all life.[4] This was one of many creation theories discussed in the Vedas. The idea parallels Norse Ymir,[5] with the myth's origin in'''  
    
In the Upanishads, the Purusa concept no longer meant a being or cosmic man. The meaning evolved to an abstract essence of Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form and all pervasive.[4] The Purusa concept is explained with the concept of [[प्रकृति|Prakrti]] in the Upanishads. The universe is envisioned, in these ancient Sanskrit texts, as a combination of perceivable material reality and non-perceivable, non-material laws and principles of nature.[3][7] Material reality, or Prakrti, is everything that has changed, can change and is subject to cause and effect. Purusa is the Universal principle that is unchanging, uncaused but is present everywhere and the reason why Prakrti changes, evolves all the time and why there is cause and effect.[7] Purusa is what connects everything and everyone, according to various schools of Hinduism.
 
In the Upanishads, the Purusa concept no longer meant a being or cosmic man. The meaning evolved to an abstract essence of Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form and all pervasive.[4] The Purusa concept is explained with the concept of [[प्रकृति|Prakrti]] in the Upanishads. The universe is envisioned, in these ancient Sanskrit texts, as a combination of perceivable material reality and non-perceivable, non-material laws and principles of nature.[3][7] Material reality, or Prakrti, is everything that has changed, can change and is subject to cause and effect. Purusa is the Universal principle that is unchanging, uncaused but is present everywhere and the reason why Prakrti changes, evolves all the time and why there is cause and effect.[7] Purusa is what connects everything and everyone, according to various schools of Hinduism.
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the Paramatman which is all-pervading, unthinkable, indescribable, is without action and has no Samskaras.[12]
 
the Paramatman which is all-pervading, unthinkable, indescribable, is without action and has no Samskaras.[12]
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The Vedanta Sutras state <!-- Need to check this --> meaning that 'The Absolute Truth is that from which everything else emanates' Bhagavata Purana [S.1.1.1].[citation needed]
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'''The Vedanta Sutras state meaning that 'The Absolute Truth is that from which everything else emanates' Bhagavata Purana [S.1.1.1].[citation needed]'''
    
'''Theistic schools of Hinduism'''
 
'''Theistic schools of Hinduism'''
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'''Varna system'''
 
'''Varna system'''
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Main article: Purusha sukta
      
In one verse of Rigveda, Varna is portrayed as a result of human beings created from different parts of the body of the divinity Purusha. This Purusha Sukta verse is controversial and is believed by many scholars, such as Max Müller, to be a corruption and medieval or modern era insertion into Veda,[14][15] because unlike all other major concepts in the Vedas including those of Purusha,[16] 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.
 
In one verse of Rigveda, Varna is portrayed as a result of human beings created from different parts of the body of the divinity Purusha. This Purusha Sukta verse is controversial and is believed by many scholars, such as Max Müller, to be a corruption and medieval or modern era insertion into Veda,[14][15] because unlike all other major concepts in the Vedas including those of Purusha,[16] 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.
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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.
 
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.
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— Henry Thomas Colebrooke, [17]
 
— Henry Thomas Colebrooke, [17]
    
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.
 
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.
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— Max Müller, [18]
 
— Max Müller, [18]
    
<nowiki>''''''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.'''</nowiki>
 
<nowiki>''''''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.'''</nowiki>
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— Babasaheb Ambedkar, [19]
 
— Babasaheb Ambedkar, [19]
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An example of alternate theory is Nasadiya Sukta, the last book of the Vedas, which suggests a great heat created universe from void.
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<nowiki>----</nowiki> Klaus K. Klostermair (2007), A survey of Hinduism, 3rd Edition, State University of New York Press, <nowiki>ISBN 978-0-7914-7081-7</nowiki>, pp 88
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An example of alternate theory is Nasadiya Sukta, the last book of the Vedas, which suggests a great heat created universe from void. See: Klaus K. Klostermair (2007), A survey of Hinduism, 3rd Edition, State University of New York Press, <nowiki>ISBN 978-0-7914-7081-7</nowiki>, pp 88
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== References ==
 
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A school of Hinduism that considers reason, as against Nyaya school's logic or Mīmāṃsā school's tradition, as the proper source of knowledge
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References[edit]
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Purusha Encyclopedia Britannica (2013)
 
Purusha Encyclopedia Britannica (2013)
  

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