Nāsadīya Sūktam & the Mystery of the Origin of the Universe
Introduction
The Nāsadīya Sūktam explores the profound mystery of the origin of the universe and goes beyond the modern Big Bang theory by addressing what existed before creation. It explains that the universe emerged from the attributeless Brahman, whose creative power operates through Maya, transforming the unmanifest into the manifest world. The hymn describes creation, sustenance, and dissolution as an eternal cosmic cycle driven by karma and desire (Kāma). The concept of Hiranyagarbha (the golden cosmic seed) closely parallels the Big Bang's initial singularity while extending the explanation into a deeper spiritual framework. Ultimately, the hymn concludes with humility, stating that only the Supreme Reality that witnessed creation truly knows its origin — and perhaps even that remains an unfathomable mystery.
My Humble Commentary on Nāsadīya Sūktam
The Nāsadīya Sūktam, 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, and contains seven ślokas dwelling on how the universe came to be.
The beauty of the hymn is that it explains the origin of the universe in a way that goes further than the Big Bang Theory propounded by Georges Lemaître, physicist and contemporary of Albert Einstein. He explained that the Big Bang started from a single point about 8 billion years ago, and the universe has been expanding from that point with respect to both space and time — all matter and energy were created at that moment. But ultimately it will collapse back to a single point, termed the Singularity. What he could not explain was:
- What was there, in time and space, before the Big Bang?
- Why did it happen at all?
The Nāsadīya Sūktam gives arguments similar to the Big Bang Theory but goes beyond it, to the concept of Brahman and Maya. Brahman is called Sat-Chit-Ānanda (Existence–Consciousness–Bliss), also known as Nirguna Brahman (God without attributes). Brahman, though itself without attributes, gives rise to everything in the physical universe. But Brahman is non-dual — it is only one, and beyond attributes. So naturally a question arises: how does it give rise to everything in the universe, which can be experienced by different names and forms, comprehensible by our five organs of perception (seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, touching) and subsequently by the human mind?
This puzzle can only be explained if the non-dual, attributeless Brahman is also associated with something else — something with the infinite power to project various names and forms in nature. Our sages explained this as Maya, which is Sat-Asat and Anirvachaniya (that which is existent and non-existent at the same time, and cannot be explained in ordinary language). Maya has two roles: Avaran (keeping the true nature of Brahman concealed in ignorance) and Prakshepan (projecting the infinite power of Brahman into the infinite names and forms existing in nature).
Vedanta explains this with familiar similes: gold and the various gold ornaments made of gold are nothing but gold. Ice, cloud and water are nothing but water. Various earthen pots are nothing but earth. Similarly, the various names and forms in nature are Brahman alone. Vedanta then becomes even bolder, and states — You are Brahman. You are That. Tat Tvam Asi — the Mahāvākya of the Chāndogya Upanishad.
Maya is ignorance, so it is compared with darkness, as against knowledge, which is illumination. The universe passes through three stages of existence and non-existence — Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution. Creation is the stage when Maya conceals Brahman and projects the physical universe from the unmanifest into the manifest. Sustenance is the stage in which we see the manifested world around us in daily life. Dissolution is the stage when this manifested world goes back to its unmanifest state. This cycle continues endlessly, driven by the Avaran and Prakshepan power of Maya. The goal of Vedanta is to step outside this cycle.
Starting from the First Śloka
The first śloka speaks of the stage when the unmanifest universe lay between Dissolution and Creation. At this stage neither existence nor non-existence was there. Neither sky nor earth was there. Neither space, nor anything beyond space, was there. Since the Sūktam's purpose is to explain the origin of the universe, it begins from the point where the universe did not yet exist — where neither the gods nor the fourteen lokas described in the Purāṇas were there; where space was not there, and the Pañca Mahābhūtas (Prithvi, Agni, Jal, Vāyu, Ākāśa) and the matter created from space were also not there. The hymn asks: where was the universe? Was water — so essential to life — even there? This is how it frames what existed in time and space before creation.
At that stage, Death was not there, nor was Immortality. Day and Night were not there. The cycle of Karma and its fruit (Phala) was also non-existent, or unmanifest — because the universe continues to exist only as long as the combined karmas of all beings (Jeevas) continue to fructify. So at that stage, all Jeevas and the manifested universe were non-existent. And since day and night were not there, time itself was not there either. It was at this stage that the attributeless Nirguna Brahman took its first breath without air — the process of life coming into existence began.
In the beginning, there was only darkness covered by darkness, like unfathomable water. Darkness covered by darkness means the unmanifest universe was covered by the Avaran Shakti of Maya — ignorance. It implies that just before Creation began, the unmanifest universe lay concealed in darkness. At this stage, the Advaita Brahman manifested itself into the manifest universe through the projecting power of Maya, using its tremendous divine power of Tapa to create the universe. But what was created at this stage was pure energy alone — no matter yet.
Next, Kāma (Desire) was created, implanted as a seed in the newly created universe. This Kāma is the combined, unfulfilled desire of all living beings from the previous universe, before its dissolution. Just as an individual life, from birth to death, is guided by the law of Karma and its fruit, the combined karmas of all beings similarly guide the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the universe. The remaining karmic fruits — Sanchit Karma — at the dissolution of one universe become the Prarabdha Karma of the beings of the next. So Kāma is the driver for the creation and sustenance of the universe.
The newly created universe took the form of a seed, which the sages called Hiranyagarbha — the desires implanted in its very heart. The sages realised that the source of both the unmanifest and the manifest universe is one, and only one — Brahman. The cycle of Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution is a divine play in perpetuity and will be played out endlessly. So there can be no Time Zero, unlike in the Big Bang Theory.
After the creation of Hiranyagarbha, the seed, the universe began expanding in all directions. This expanding energy gave birth to all the energy and matter needed for the universe to function — a concept that closely mirrors the Big Bang Theory, in which the universe began expanding from a single point, the Singularity, after an explosion released all the energy and matter needed for creation. After this stage came The Consumers (Energy) and The Consumed (Matter) — Consumers at a higher plane, Consumed at a lower plane. This gave rise to higher living beings (the consumers, experiencing the results of past karmas) and to the natural surroundings around them — grains, vegetation, and lower-order living beings — as a source of sustenance.
Here the sages themselves wonder: who created this universe? Is it even possible to know the exact reason for this creation? What is the true nature of Maya? What caused the first breath to begin? How did Maya cause the unmanifest universe to transform into the manifest? Who can truly understand and explain this whole process? Even the Gods and Goddesses came into existence only after the universe was created, so even they cannot answer these questions — it is said that Indra, Varuna, Agni, Rudra and others came into being only after the universe had manifested.
Only He who created this universe knows the answers to these questions. The unmanifest, non-dual Brahman, concealed behind the veil of Maya, alone can answer them — because no one else was present at the time of creation. These profound questions are known only to the omnipresent, all-knowing Brahman. And if even He does not know, then no one can answer these profound queries. The hymn ends on this note of humility.
And yet, in the Bhagavad Gītā, Chapter 9, verses 7 and 8, the Lord says to Arjuna:
सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम् । कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम् ॥ ७॥ प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुन: पुन: । भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् ॥ ८॥
At the end of one kalpa (one day in the life of Lord Brahma, the Creator), all living beings merge into Me. At the beginning of the next creation, O Kaunteya, I manifest them again. Presiding over My power of Maya, I generate these myriad names and forms again and again, in accordance with the force of their prarabdha.
There is, then, a real convergence between the Bhagavad Gītā and the Nāsadīya Sūktam: creation is a cyclical process, with no true beginning and no true end — a significant departure from the Big Bang Theory, which cannot explain what existed before Time Zero. It is quite likely that a day will come when refinements to the Big Bang Theory converge with our scriptures, as science and astrophysics continue to progress.