निदिध्यासन Nididhyāsana · AbsorbStep 5 of 5
Nāsadīya Sūkta · Ṛgveda 10.129
Check your understanding
8 quick questions. Pick an answer to see why.
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Where is the Nāsadīya Sūkta found?
It is hymn 129 of the tenth maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda, the latest of the ten books.
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What does the hymn say existed at the very beginning?
Verse 1 opens: “Then there was neither non-being nor being.”
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What is the first positive thing said about ‘That One’?
Verse 2: ānīd avātaṃ svadhayā tad ekam, “That One breathed, windless, by its own power.”
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Through what is the One born in verse 3?
tapasas tan mahinājāyataikam: “through the power of heat, that One was born.”
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What does the hymn call “the first seed of mind”?
Verse 4: desire arose in the beginning, “which was the first seed of mind.”
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Where do the seers find the bond between being and non-being?
hṛdi pratīṣyā kavayo manīṣā: “searching in their hearts with wisdom, the poets found…”
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Why can't the gods say how creation happened?
Verse 6: arvāg devā asya visarjanena, “the gods came afterwards, with the creation of this world.”
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How does the hymn end?
Verse 7 closes: yadi vā na veda, “or perhaps he does not know.”