Nasadiya Sukta - wikipedia Nasadiya Sukta Nasadiya Sukta `` Who really knows ? Who will here proclaim it ? Whence was it produced ? Whence is this creation ? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen ? '' RV, 10 : 129 - 6 The Nasadiya Sukta ( after the incipit ná ásat, or `` not the non-existent '' ), also known as the Hymn of Creation, is the 129th hymn of the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda ( 10 : 129 ). It is concerned with cosmology and the origin of the universe. Contents 1 Interpretations 2 Metre 3 Nasadiya Sukta with English translation 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Further reading 8 External links Interpretations Part of a series on Hinduism Hindu History Concepts Worldview Hindu cosmology Puranic chronology Hindu mythology God / Highest Reality Brahman Ishvara God in Hinduism God and gender Life Ashrama ( stage ) Brahmacharya Grihastha Vanaprastha Sannyasa Purusharthas Dharma Artha Kama Moksha Liberation Atman Maya Karma Samsara Ethics Niti shastra Yamas Niyama Ahimsa Asteya Aparigraha Brahmacharya Satya Damah Dayā Akrodha Ārjava Santosha Tapas Svādhyāya Shaucha Mitahara Dāna Liberation Bhakti yoga Jnana yoga Karma yoga Schools Six Astika schools Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Vaisheshika Mimamsa Vedanta Advaita Dvaita Vishishtadvaita Other schools Pasupata Saiva Pratyabhijña Raseśvara Īśvara Pāṇini Darśana Charvaka Deities Trimurti Brahma Vishnu Shiva Other major Devas / Devis Vedic Indra Agni Prajapati Rudra Devi Saraswati Ushas Varuna Vayu Post-Vedic Durga Ganesha Hanuman Kali Kartikeya Krishna Lakshmi Parvati Radha Rama Shakti Sita Texts Scriptures Vedas Rigveda Yajurveda Samaveda Atharvaveda Divisions Samhita Brahmana Aranyaka Upanishad Upanishads Rigveda : Aitareya Kaushitaki Yajurveda : Brihadaranyaka Isha Taittiriya Katha Shvetashvatara Maitri Samaveda : Chandogya Kena Atharvaveda : Mundaka Mandukya Prashna Other scriptures Bhagavad Gita Agama ( Hinduism ) Other texts Vedangas Shiksha Chandas Vyakarana Nirukta Kalpa Jyotisha Puranas Vishnu Purana Bhagavata Purana Nāradeya Purana Vāmana Purana Matsya Purana Garuda Purana Brahma Purana Brahmānda Purana Brahma Vaivarta Purana Bhavishya Purana Padma Purana Agni Purana Shiva Purana Linga Purana Kūrma Purana Skanda Purana Varaha Purana Mārkandeya Purana Itihasas Ramayana Mahabharata Upavedas Ayurveda Dhanurveda Gandharvaveda Sthapatyaveda Shastras and Sutras Dharma Shastra Artha Śastra Kamasutra Brahma Sutras Samkhya Sutras Mimamsa Sutras Nyāya Sūtras Vaiśeṣika Sūtra Yoga Sutras Pramana Sutras Charaka Samhita Sushruta Samhita Natya Shastra Panchatantra Divya Prabandha Tirumurai Ramcharitmanas Yoga Vasistha Swara yoga Shiva Samhita Gheranda Samhita Panchadasi Stotra Sutras Text classification Śruti Smriti Timeline of Hindu texts Practices Worship Puja Temple Murti Bhakti Japa Bhajana Yajna Homa Vrata Prāyaścitta Tirtha Tirthadana Matha Nritta - Nritya Meditation and Charity Tapa Dhyana Dāna Yoga Sadhu Yogi Asana Hatha yoga Jnana yoga Bhakti yoga Karma yoga Raja yoga Kundalini Yoga Arts Bharatanatyam Kathak Kathakali Kuchipudi Manipuri Mohiniyattam Odissi Sattriya Bhagavata Mela Yakshagana Dandiya Raas Carnatic music Rites of passage Garbhadhana Pumsavana Simantonayana Jatakarma Namakarana Nishkramana Annaprashana Chudakarana Karnavedha Vidyarambha Upanayana Keshanta Ritushuddhi Samavartana Vivaha Antyeshti Ashrama Dharma Ashrama : Brahmacharya Grihastha Vanaprastha Sannyasa Festivals Diwali Holi Shivaratri Navaratri Durga Puja Ramlila Vijayadashami - Dussehra Raksha Bandhan Ganesh Chaturthi Vasant Panchami Rama Navami Janmashtami Onam Makar Sankranti Kumbha Mela Pongal Ugadi Vaisakhi Bihu Puthandu Vishu Ratha Yatra Gurus, saints, philosophers Ancient Agastya Angiras Aruni Ashtavakra Atri Bharadwaja Gotama Jamadagni Jaimini Kanada Kapila Kashyapa Pāṇini Patanjali Raikva Satyakama Jabala Valmiki Vashistha Vishvamitra Vyasa Yajnavalkya Medieval Nayanars Alvars Adi Shankara Basava Akka Mahadevi Allama Prabhu Siddheshwar Jñāneśvar Chaitanya Gangesha Upadhyaya Gaudapada Gorakshanath Jayanta Bhatta Kabir Kumarila Bhatta Matsyendranath Mahavatar Babaji Madhusudana Madhva Haridasa Thakur Namdeva Nimbarka Prabhakara Raghunatha Siromani Ramanuja Sankardev Purandara Dasa Kanaka Dasa Ramprasad Sen Jagannatha Dasa Vyasaraya Sripadaraya Raghavendra Swami Gopala Dasa Śyāma Śastri Vedanta Desika Tyagaraja Tukaram Tulsidas Vachaspati Mishra Vallabha Vidyaranya Modern Aurobindo Bhaktivinoda Thakur Chinmayananda Dayananda Saraswati Mahesh Yogi Jaggi Vasudev Krishnananda Saraswati Narayana Guru Prabhupada Ramakrishna Ramana Maharshi Radhakrishnan Sarasvati Sivananda U.G. Krishnamurti Sai Baba Vivekananda Nigamananda Yogananda Ramachandra Dattatrya Ranade Tibbetibaba Trailanga Society Varna Brahmin Kshatriya Vaishya Shudra Dalit Jati Denominations Persecution Nationalism Hindutva Other topics Hinduism by country Balinese Hinduism Criticism Calendar Iconography Mythology Pilgrimage sites Hinduism and Jainism / and Buddhism / and Sikhism / and Judaism / and Christianity / and Islam Glossary of Hinduism terms Hinduism portal The hymn has attracted a large body of literature of commentaries both in Indian darshan and in Western philology. The Creation Hymn begins by paradoxically stating `` not the non-existent existed, nor did the existent exist then '' ( ná ásat āsīt ná u sát āsīt tadânīm ), paralleled in verse 2 by `` then not death existed, nor the immortal '' ( ná mṛtyúḥ āsīt amŕtam ná tárhi ). But already in verse 2 mention is made that there was `` breathing without breath, of its own nature, that one '' ânīt avātám svadháyā tát ékam ). In verse 3, being unfolds, `` from heat ( tapas ) was born that one '' ( tápasaḥ tát mahinâ ajāyata ékam ). Verse 4 mentions desire ( kāma ) as the primal seed, and the first poet - seers ( kavayas ) who `` found the bond of being within non-being with their heart 's thought ''. Karel Werner describes the author 's source for the material as one not derived from reasoning, but a `` visionary, mystical or Yogic experience put into words. '' Werner writes that prior to creation, the Creation Hymn does not describe a state of `` nothingness '' but rather `` That One ( tad ekam ) '' which is, `` Spaceless, timeless, yet in its own way dynamic and the Sole Force, this Absolute... '' Brereton ( 1999 ) argues that the reference to the sages searching for being in their spirit is central, and that the hymn 's gradual procession from non-being to being in fact re-enacts creation within the listener ( see sphoṭa ), equating poetic utterance and creation ( see śabda ). According to one source, the hymn is undoubtedly late within the Rigveda, and expresses thought more typical of later Indian philosophy. An atheist interpretation sees the Creation Hymn as one of the earliest accounts of skeptical inquiry and agnosticism. Astronomer Carl Sagan quoted it in discussing India 's `` tradition of skeptical questioning and unselfconscious humility before the great cosmic mysteries. '' Metre Nasadiya Sukta consists of seven trishtubhs, although pada 7b is defective, being two syllables short, yádi vā dadhé yádi vā ná `` if he has created it ; or if not (... ) '' Brereton ( 1999 ) argues that the defect is a conscious device employed by the rishi to express puzzlement at the possibility that the world may not be created, parallel to the syntactic defect of pada 7d, which ends in a subordinate clause without a governing clause : só aṅgá veda yádi vā ná véda `` he verily knows ; or if he does not know (... ) '' Nasadiya Sukta with English translation नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमा परो यत् किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम् ॥ १ ॥ न मृत्युरासीदमृतं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न आसीत्प्रकेतः आनीदवातं स्वधया तदेकं तस्माद्धान्यन्न परः किञ्चनास ॥ २ ॥ तम आसीत्तमसा गूहळमग्रे प्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वाऽइदम् तुच्छ्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत्तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम् ॥ ३ ॥ कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः प्रथमं यदासीत् सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन्हृदि प्रतीष्या कवयो मनीषा ॥ ४ ॥ तिरश्चीनो विततो रश्मिरेषामधः स्विदासीदुपरि स्विदासीत् रेतोधा आसन्महिमान आसन्त्स्वधा अवस्तात्प्रयतिः परस्तात् ॥ ५ ॥ को अद्धा वेद क इह प्र वोचत्कुत आजाता कुत इयं विसृष्टिः अर्वाग्देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यत आबभूव ॥ ६ ॥ इयं विसृष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा न यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन्त्सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा न वेद ॥ ७ ॥ Then even nothingness was not, nor existence, There was no air then, nor the heavens beyond it. What covered it ? Where was it ? In whose keeping ? Was there then cosmic water, in depths unfathomed ? Then there was neither death nor immortality nor was there then the torch of night and day. The One breathed windlessly and self - sustaining. There was that One then, and there was no other. At first there was only darkness wrapped in darkness. All this was only unillumined cosmic water. That One which came to be, enclosed in nothing, arose at last, born of the power of heat. In the beginning desire descended on it - that was the primal seed, born of the mind. The sages who have searched their hearts with wisdom know that which is kin to that which is not. And they have stretched their cord across the void, and know what was above, and what below. Seminal powers made fertile mighty forces. Below was strength, and over it was impulse. But, after all, who knows, and who can say Whence it all came, and how creation happened ? the Devas ( gods ) themselves are later than creation, so who knows truly whence it has arisen ? Whence all creation had its origin, he, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not, he, who surveys it all from highest heaven, he knows - or maybe even he does not know. -- Translated by A.L. Basham In popular culture The title track of the popular Indian documentary series Bharat Ek Khoj features a rendering of part the Nasadiya Sukta, both in the original Sanskrit, and in Hindi translation. Verse 1 is quoted verbatim in Ace Combat Zero : The Belkan War during the loading screen prior to the missions in the game 's second act. In Cosmos : A Personal Voyage, Carl Sagan quotes the poem in episode 10, ' The Edge of Forever ' See also Creation myth Ex nihilo God in Hinduism Hindu cosmology Indian logic List of suktas and stutis Neti neti Purusha Sukta ( RV, 10 : 90 ), Hiranyagarbha sukta ( RV, 10 : 121 ), Narayana sukta Notes Jump up ^ Kenneth Kramer ( January 1986 ). World Scriptures : An Introduction to Comparative Religions. Paulist Press. pp. 34 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8091 - 2781 - 8. Jump up ^ David Christian ( 1 September 2011 ). Maps of Time : An Introduction to Big History. University of California Press. pp. 18 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 95067 - 2. Jump up ^ Upinder Singh ( 2008 ). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India : From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. pp. 206 --. ISBN 978 - 81 - 317 - 1120 - 0. Jump up ^ Swami Ranganathananda ( 1991 ). Human Being in Depth : A Scientific Approach to Religion. SUNY Press. p. 21. ISBN 0 - 7914 - 0679 - 2. Jump up ^ Wendy Doniger says of this hymn ( 10.129 ) `` This short hymn, though linguistically simple... is conceptually extremely provocative and has, indeed, provoked hundreds of complex commentaries among Indian theologians and Western scholars. In many ways, it is meant to puzzle and challenge, to raise unanswerable questions, to pile up paradoxes. '' The Rig Veda. ( Penguin Books : 1981 ) p. 25. ISBN 0 - 14 - 044989 - 2. Jump up ^ Werner, Karel ( 1977 ). `` Symbolism in the Vedas and Its Conceptualisation ''. Numen. 24 ( 3 ) : 223 -- 240. doi : 10.2307 / 3269600. Jump up ^ `` Although, no doubt, of high antiquity, the hymn appears to be less of a primary than of a secondary origin, being in fact a controversial composition levelled especially against the Sāṃkhya theory. '' Ravi Prakash Arya and K.L. Joshi. Ṛgveda Saṃhitā : Sanskrit Text, English Translation, Notes & Index of Verses. ( Parimal Publications : Delhi, 2001 ) ISBN 81 - 7110 - 138 - 7 ( Set of four volumes ). Parimal Sanskrit Series No. 45 ; 2003 reprint : 81 - 7020 - 070 - 9, Volume 4, p. 519. Jump up ^ Patri, Umesh and Prativa Devi. `` Progress of Atheism in India : A Historical Perspective Archived 2014 - 06 - 29 at WebCite ''. Atheist Centre 1940 - 1990 Golden Jubilee. Vijayawada, February 1990. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 02. Jump up ^ Carl Sagan, Carl Sagan 's : Cosmos Part 10 - The Edge of Forever 44 : 08 Jump up ^ Brereton, Joel ( 1999 ). `` Edifying Puzzlement : Ṛgveda and the Uses of Enigma ''. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 10 ( 129 ). access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Avinash Sathaye, Translation of Nasadiya Sukta Jump up ^ `` Bharat Ek Khoj - Starting Track ''. Retrieved 16 May 2012. Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160402152055/http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=cosmos-carl-sagan&episode=s01e10 Further reading Joel P. Brereton, Edifying Puzzlement : Ṛgveda 10. 129 and the Uses of Enigma, Journal of the American Oriental Society ( 1999 ) P.T. Raju, The Development of Indian Thought, Journal of the History of Ideas ( 1952 ) Karel Werner, Symbolism in the Vedas and Its Conceptualisation, Numen ( 1977 ) External links Carl Sagan 's ' COSMOS ' mentioning Nasadiya Sukta. YouTube link ( 1 ) Wikisource has original text related to this article : Nasadiya Sukta translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith hide Rigveda Mandalas 5 6 7 8 9 10 Deities Devas Agni Indra Soma Ushas Visvedevas Maruts Ashvins Tvastar Rbhus Pushan Rudra Asuras Mitra Varuna Aryaman Apam Napat Demons Vritra Dasas Danu Danavas Rivers Sapta Sindhu Nadistuti Sarasvati Sindhu Sarayu Rasā Rishis Saptarishi Gritsamada Vishvamitra Vamadeva Atri Angiras Bharadvaja Vasishta Dirghatamas Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nasadiya_Sukta&oldid=825310777 '' Categories : Agnosticism Rigveda Vedic hymns Creation myths Hidden categories : Articles containing Sanskrit - language text Pages with listed invalid ISBNs Webarchive template webcite links Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Español فارسی हिन्दी Italiano ಕನ್ನಡ Lietuvių മലയാളം ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Žemaitėška 3 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 February 2018, at 18 : 00. 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Question: which part of rigveda gives an account of the origin of the universe
Answer: The Nasadiya Sukta (after the incipit ná ásat, or "not the non-existent"), also known as the Hymn of Creation