Hinduism

Chapter10— Book 10, Hymn 129 — The Creation Hymn (Nasadiya Sukta)

◆ About this chapter

Hymn 129 of the Rigveda, known as the Nasadiya Sukta, stands as the most profound cosmogonic inquiry within the Vedic corpus, situated in the final book of the collection. This hymn transcends simple mythological narration to engage in a philosophical meditation on the origins of the universe, questioning the very possibility of human knowledge regarding the divine source of creation. By positing that the gods themselves emerged after the world was formed, the text invites a humble epistemological stance that remains central to Hindu thought.

Translation:

About this translation

King James Version (1611)

1611 · Public domain

The most influential English translation ever made. Sometimes archaic, but the standard PD English text.

Translators commissioned by King James I of England, 1604–1611

Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it. What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?Creation The Word, the Way, t… ²Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there, the day's and night's divider. That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever. ⁶Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation? The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then whence it first came into being? ⁷He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not.

This chapter appears in 2 cross-tradition parallels

Comparative studies that quote one or more verses from this chapter alongside passages from other traditions.

Verse Discussions…

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Chapter Discussion

Discussion

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What in this chapter surprised you, or stopped you?
Where does this passage cut against your expectation?
What questions does it raise that you don't have an answer to yet?

— 10 —sacredatlas.org