Creation Hymn of the Rig Veda
Then there was neither being nor non-being:
There was no air, nor firmament beyond it.
Was there a stirring? Where? Beneath what cover?
Was there a great abyss of unplumbed water?
There was no death nor anything immortal;
Nor any sign dividing day from night.
That One Thing, breathing no air, was yet self-breathing;
No second thing existed whatsoever.
Darkness was hidden in a deeper darkness;
This All was as a sea without dimensions;
The Void still held unformed what was potential,
Until the power of Warmth produced the sole One.
Then, in that One, Desire stirred into being,
Desire that was the earliest seed of Spirit.
(The sages probing in their hearts with wisdom
Discovered being’s kinship to non-being.
Stretching their line across the void, they pondered;
Was aught above it, or was aught below it?)
Bestowers of the seed were there; and powers;
Free energy below; above, swift action.
Who truly knows, and who can here declare it?
Whence It was born, and how this world was fashioned?
The gods came later than the earth’s creation;
Who knows then out of what the world has issued?
Whether the world was made or was self-made,
He knows with full assurance, he alone;
Who in the highest heaven guards and watches;
He knows indeed, but then, perhaps, he knows not!
Reference: Hymns of the Rig Veda, translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, E.J. Lazarus and Company, Benares, 1896.
There was no air, nor firmament beyond it.
Was there a stirring? Where? Beneath what cover?
Was there a great abyss of unplumbed water?
There was no death nor anything immortal;
Nor any sign dividing day from night.
That One Thing, breathing no air, was yet self-breathing;
No second thing existed whatsoever.
Darkness was hidden in a deeper darkness;
This All was as a sea without dimensions;
The Void still held unformed what was potential,
Until the power of Warmth produced the sole One.
Then, in that One, Desire stirred into being,
Desire that was the earliest seed of Spirit.
(The sages probing in their hearts with wisdom
Discovered being’s kinship to non-being.
Stretching their line across the void, they pondered;
Was aught above it, or was aught below it?)
Bestowers of the seed were there; and powers;
Free energy below; above, swift action.
Who truly knows, and who can here declare it?
Whence It was born, and how this world was fashioned?
The gods came later than the earth’s creation;
Who knows then out of what the world has issued?
Whether the world was made or was self-made,
He knows with full assurance, he alone;
Who in the highest heaven guards and watches;
He knows indeed, but then, perhaps, he knows not!
Reference: Hymns of the Rig Veda, translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, E.J. Lazarus and Company, Benares, 1896.
posted by persimmony at 11:28 AM
3 Comments:
the sentenses about are very good. It has done well. I think in Hinduism no one knows the beginning of it. there is god of trinity Bramha, Visnu and shiva. apart from it they created a female god named by Kali. she could formated in as many faces as need. some time she appear as Durga, saraswati, laxmi, parvati etc.
I my understanding all those characters were there.
No one knows the partens of the god of trinity.
It is very well done and it help to the people who want to learn about the hinduism and eastern society. Nepal is last Hindu kingdom in the world. so there is more practic of it then elsewhere in the world. India is second country of it. But most of the fenatic people are there.
Lots of religions have stories for creation, it seems that this hymn is more of pondering and realizing that it's a mystery and hard to really know what happened in the beginning. Very honest pondering.
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