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Purusha
 
 
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In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, Purusha (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 , ????? "man, Cosmic Man
Cosmic Man

In Carl Jung theory, the Cosmic Man is an archetypical figure that appears in creation myths of a wide variety of mythology. Generally he is described as helpful or positive, and is also frequently the physical basis of the world, such that after death parts of his body became physical parts of the universe....
", in Sutra literature also called "man") is the "self
Atman (Hinduism)

The Atman is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one's true self beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence....
" which pervades the universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
. The Vedic
Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in History of India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu scripture of Hinduism....
 divinities
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 are considered to be the human mind
Mind

Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
's interpretation of the many facets of Purusha. According to the Rigvedic Purusha sukta
Purusha sukta

Purusha sukta/sookta is hymn RV 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the transcendental "cosmic man". As per one version, the Suktam has 16 verses, 15 in the meter, and the final one in the meter....
, Purusha was dismembered by the devas
Deva (Hinduism)

Deva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a god, spirit, demi-god, Celestial, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence....
 -- his mind is the Moon, his eyes are the Sun, and his breath is the wind.

In the Rigveda
Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, Purusha is described as a primeval giant, not unlike the Norse Ymir
Ymir

In Norse mythology, Ymir, also named Aurgelmir among the giants themselves, was the founder of the race of J?tunn and an important figure in Norse cosmology....
, that is sacrificed by the gods (see Purushamedha
Purushamedha

Purushamedha is a Historical Vedic religion yajna described in the Yajurveda . The verse describes people from all classes and of all descriptions tied to the stake and offered to Prajapati....
) and from whose body the world and the varnas (castes) are built.






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In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, Purusha (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 , ????? "man, Cosmic Man
Cosmic Man

In Carl Jung theory, the Cosmic Man is an archetypical figure that appears in creation myths of a wide variety of mythology. Generally he is described as helpful or positive, and is also frequently the physical basis of the world, such that after death parts of his body became physical parts of the universe....
", in Sutra literature also called "man") is the "self
Atman (Hinduism)

The Atman is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one's true self beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence....
" which pervades the universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
. The Vedic
Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in History of India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu scripture of Hinduism....
 divinities
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 are considered to be the human mind
Mind

Mind refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, free will and imagination, including all of the brain's conscious and unconscious cognitive processes....
's interpretation of the many facets of Purusha. According to the Rigvedic Purusha sukta
Purusha sukta

Purusha sukta/sookta is hymn RV 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the transcendental "cosmic man". As per one version, the Suktam has 16 verses, 15 in the meter, and the final one in the meter....
, Purusha was dismembered by the devas
Deva (Hinduism)

Deva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a god, spirit, demi-god, Celestial, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence....
 -- his mind is the Moon, his eyes are the Sun, and his breath is the wind.

In the Rigveda
Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, Purusha is described as a primeval giant, not unlike the Norse Ymir
Ymir

In Norse mythology, Ymir, also named Aurgelmir among the giants themselves, was the founder of the race of J?tunn and an important figure in Norse cosmology....
, that is sacrificed by the gods (see Purushamedha
Purushamedha

Purushamedha is a Historical Vedic religion yajna described in the Yajurveda . The verse describes people from all classes and of all descriptions tied to the stake and offered to Prajapati....
) and from whose body the world and the varnas (castes) are built. He is described as having a thousand heads and a thousand feet. He emanated Viraj, the female creative principle, from which he is reborn in turn before the world was made out of his parts.

In the sacrifice of Purusha, the Vedic chants were first created. The horses and cows were born, the Brahmins were made from Purusha's mouth, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his thighs, and the Shudras from his feet.[2] The Moon was born from his spirit, the Sun from his eyes, the heavens from his skull. Indra and Agni emerged from his mouth.

The parallel to Norse Ymir is often considered to reflect the myth's origin in Proto-Indo-European religion
Proto-Indo-European religion

The existence of similarities among the Deity and religious practices of the Indo-Europeans peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-Europeans religion and mythology....
.

In Samkhya
Samkhya

Sankhya, also Samkhya, is one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally considered to be the founder of the Sankhya school, although no historical verification is possible....
, a school of Hindu philosophy, Purusha is pure consciousness
Consciousness

Consciousness is a difficult term to define, because the word is used and understood in a wide variety of ways, so that it frequently happens that what one person sees as a definition of consciousness is seen by others as about something else altogether....
. It is thought to be our true identity, to be contrasted with Prakrti
Prakrti

Prakrti or Prakriti is, according to Vedanta philosophy, the basic matter of which the Universe consists. It is composed of the three gunas or modes, known as tamas , rajas and sattva ....
, or the material
Material

Materials are substances or components with certain physical properties which are used as inputs to Production, costs, and pricing or manufacturing....
 world, which contains all of our organ
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
s, senses, and intellectual
Intellectual

An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intelligence and Critical thinking, either in their profession or for the benefit of personal pursuits....
 faculties
Ability

Ability may be:* aptitude* ability to pay* Intelligence* physical ability* skill* ExpertAbility may also refer to:* Ability score, in role-playing games...
.

Caste System

Varna
Varnashrama dharma

Varna is a Sanskrit term derived from the root meaning "to enclose". In historical Indic traditions the varna and Caste system in India are not the same system, although they are related....
 refers to the Hindu belief that most humans were created from different parts of the body of the divinity Purusha and according to which part they were created from it defines their social standing for issues such as whom they can marry and what jobs they can do..

See also

  • Adam Kadmon
    Adam Kadmon

    In the religious writings of Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon is a phrase meaning "Primordial Man," or "Primal Man," comparable to the Anthropos of Gnosticism and Manichaeism....
  • Anthropos
    Anthropos

    Anthropos may refer to:* Anthropos, in Gnosticism, the first Human Being, also referred to as Adamas or Geradamas* Anthropos, a journal published since 1916 by the Anthropos Institute...
  • Brahman
    Brahman

    Brahman is a concept of Hinduism. Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, Immanence, and transcendence reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe....
  • Cipactli
    Cipactli

    In Aztec mythology, Cipactli was a vicious primeval sea monster, part crocodile and part fish. Always hungry, every joint on her body was adorned with an extra mouth....
  • Hindu deities
    Hindu deities

    Within Hinduism a large number of personalities, or 'forms', are worshiped as murtis. These beings are either aspects of the supreme Brahman, avatars of the Bhagavan, or significantly powerful entities known as Deva ....
  • Hindu idealism
    Hindu idealism

    There are currents of idealism in classical Hindu philosophy.Idealism and materialism are the principal monism ontology.A related branch is the Buddhist concept of consciousness-only....
  • Hindu mythology
    Hindu mythology

    Hindu mythology is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas....
  • Indian caste system
  • Narayana
    Narayana

    Narayana or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha....