Vedas: Rigveda Madnala – 10/10
📖 Rigveda Mandala 10 – The Cosmic Vision
Hymns of Creation, Unity & Eternal Order
🔆 Introduction
Mandala 10 of the Rigveda is the most philosophically profound and diverse of all the ten Mandalas. With 191 hymns, it acts as the culmination of Rigvedic thought — a collection that explores themes ranging from cosmology, death, social structure, yajña (sacrifice), immortality, and the nature of the Self.
It is later in composition compared to the “Family Books” (Mandala 2–7), and shows signs of systematic metaphysics, ethical exploration, and even proto-Upanishadic insights.
📚 Overview of Mandala 10
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| 🔢 Total Sūktas | 191 |
| 📜 Central Themes | Creation, Cosmic Being, Unity, Yajña, Social Order, Death, Rebirth |
| 🕉️ Key Hymns | Puruṣa Sūkta, Nāsadīya Sūkta, Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta, Yama Sūkta, etc. |
| 🗣️ Metrical Style (Chandas) | Mostly Trishtubh and Anuṣṭubh, with Gayatri and Jagati also present |
| ✍️ Primary Ṛṣis | Various — often philosophical or anonymous seers |
🌟 10 Most Significant Hymns from Rigveda Mandala 10
Below are 10 powerful hymns from this Mandala, with Sanskrit, transliteration, and English translation, reflecting the cosmic and spiritual richness of Mandala 10.
1. 🌌 Nāsadīya Sūkta – Hymn of Creation (10.129.1–7)
Sanskrit:
नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं
नासीद्रजो नो व्योमापरो यत्।
किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः
किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम्॥
Transliteration:
nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt tadānīṃ
nāsīd rajo no vyomāparo yat |
kim āvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarman
ambhaḥ kim āsīd gahanaṃ gabhīram ||
Translation:
“Then there was neither non-existence nor existence; there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it. What covered it? Where was it? In whose protection? Was there water, deep and unfathomable?”
✨ Insight: This hymn questions the origin of existence itself, inviting deep introspection on being, nothingness, and mystery.
2. 🙏 Puruṣa Sūkta – Cosmic Person & Society (10.90.1–16)
Sanskrit:
सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः
सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात्।
स भूमिं विश्वतो वृत्वा
अत्यतिष्ठद्दशाङुलम्॥
Transliteration:
sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ
sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt |
sa bhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvā
atyatiṣṭhad daśāṅgulam ||
Translation:
“Thousand-headed is the Cosmic Being, thousand-eyed and thousand-footed. He enveloped the earth on all sides and stood beyond it by ten fingers’ breadth.”
🌀 Insight: This hymn maps the macrocosm (Brahmāṇḍa) and microcosm (society) as emanations of one Puruṣa, revealing the divine unity behind all creation.
3. ☀️ Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta – The Golden Womb (10.121.1)
Sanskrit:
हिरण्यगर्भः समवर्तताग्रे
भूतस्य जातः पतिरेक आसीत्।
स दाधार पृथिवीं द्यामुतेमां
कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम॥
Transliteration:
hiraṇyagarbhaḥ samavartatāgre
bhūtasya jātaḥ patir eka āsīt |
sa dādhāra pṛthivīṃ dyām utemāṃ
kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||
Translation:
“In the beginning rose Hiraṇyagarbha, born as the sole lord of all creation. He upheld heaven and earth—unto which god should we offer oblation?”
🌟 Insight: Hiraṇyagarbha represents the unmanifest seed of the universe — the cosmic potential behind all form.
4. 🔥 Yajña as Cosmic Sacrifice (10.90.6–7)
Sanskrit:
यत्पुरुषं व्यदधुः
कतिधा व्यकल्पयन्।
मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू
कावूरू पादा उच्येते॥
Transliteration:
yat puruṣaṃ vyadadhuḥ
katidhā vyakalpayan |
mukhaṃ kimasya kau bāhū
kāvūrū pādā ucyete ||
Translation:
“When they divided the Cosmic Man, into how many parts did they divide him? What became his mouth, what his arms, his thighs, his feet?”
🕯️ Insight: Society is formed through cosmic sacrifice — revealing the interconnection between dharma, creation, and social order (varṇa).
5. 💀 Yama and the Journey Beyond (10.14.1)
Sanskrit:
यमं पूर्वे ऋषयो गत्वाय
एनं प्रपथं कृतं
तेन त्वं एहि यत्र नः पितरो गतेः॥
Transliteration:
yamaṃ pūrve ṛṣayo gatvāya
enaṃ prapathaṃ kṛtaṃ |
tena tvaṃ ehi yatra naḥ
pitaro gatāḥ ||
Translation:
“To Yama, whom the ancient sages have gone to, the path made clear—may you go where our ancestors have gone.”
🕊️ Insight: Death is not the end but a return to ancestral consciousness, where the soul finds its higher home.
6. 🧘 Inner Light and Liberation (10.58.1)
Sanskrit:
अहम्मनुरभवं
सूर्यश्च
Aham kākṣīवसमीळे अन्यम्।
Transliteration:
aham manur abhavaṃ sūryaś ca
aham kākṣī vasam īḷe anyam ||
Translation:
“I was Manu and the Sun—I am the seer who pervades the beings. I honor the Supreme in every other.”
🧠 Insight: The seer recognizes their divinity beyond form, echoing early non-dualistic (advaita) ideas.
7. 🌺 A Hymn to the Earth (10.18.10)
Sanskrit:
उत्तिष्ठस्व पृथि॒वीं त्वं
दृष्ट्वा॒ समाविश
मात॒रं भू॒मिमह॑म्।
Transliteration:
uttiṣṭhasva pṛthivīṃ tvaṃ
dṛṣṭvā samāviśa |
mātaraṃ bhūmim aham ||
Translation:
“Rise again, look upon the earth; enter the lap of Mother Earth.”
🌏 Insight: Death is not separation — it’s a return to the Mother, an act of deep reconnection with nature.
8. 🌱 Fertility and the Feminine (10.85.1)
Sanskrit:
इमा नारीरविधवाः सुपत्नीराञ्जनेन
स्नापयन्तु श्रियै।
आञ्जनं त्वा मनुर्हित्वा
यमं त्वं प्रेहि॥
Transliteration:
imā nārīr avidhavāḥ supatnīr āñjanena
snāpayantu śriyai |
āñjanaṃ tvā manur hitvā
yamaṃ tvaṃ prehi ||
Translation:
“Let these women, now without husbands, anoint themselves with eye-liner and enter into beauty. Leave sorrow, and go to Yama.”
🌼 Insight: The hymn shows the dignity of death, honoring both grief and renewal — a rare sensitivity in ancient literature.
9. 🔄 Rebirth and Continuity (10.16.5)
Sanskrit:
यत्रा नः पूर्वे पितरो
परेहि सोमेन यजमानः।
Transliteration:
yatrā naḥ pūrve pitaro
parehi somena yajamānaḥ ||
Translation:
“Go to where our ancestors have gone before — go with Soma, the sacred drinker.”
🔁 Insight: The Vedic faith in rebirth and continuity is clear — the journey goes on, guided by sacred energies.
10. 🔮 Mystic Unity of All (10.191.2)
Sanskrit:
समानी व आकूति:
समाना हृदयानि व:।
समानमस्तु वो मनो
यथा व: सुसहासति॥
Transliteration:
samānī va ākūtiḥ
samānā hṛdayāni vaḥ |
samānam astu vo mano
yathā vaḥ susahāsati ||
Translation:
“Let your intentions be one, your hearts united. Let your minds be as one, so you may live together in harmony.”
🕊️ Insight: This is the Rigvedic call for unity and global peace—as relevant today as it was 3,000 years ago.
🧘♀️ Daily Reflection Inspired by Mandala 10
“Unity Meditation” (7 minutes):
- Close your eyes and chant “ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः” three times
- Visualize golden light expanding from your heart
- Recite Nāsadīya verse slowly, letting the mystery expand within
- Sit in silence, welcoming unity, surrender, and truth
🛕 Conclusion
Rigveda Mandala 10 is a cosmic upaniṣad in poetic form — it holds questions that awaken the soul, and answers that dissolve the ego. From the mystery of creation to the law of sacrifice, from death and rebirth to social harmony, it is a manual for divine life.
This Mandala is not the end — it is a portal to the next spiritual frontier: Vedānta, Yoga, and the Upanishads.