मनन Manana · ReflectStep 4 of 9
Nāsadīya Sūkta · Ṛgveda 10.129.3
Verse 3Darkness hidden in darkness
तम आसीत्तमसा गूळ्हमग्रेऽप्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वमा इदम् ।
तुच्छ्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत्तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम् ॥
tama āsīt tamasā gūḷham agre 'praketaṃ salilaṃ sarvam ā idam |
tucchyenābhv apihitaṃ yad āsīt tapasas tan mahinājāyataikam ||
Meaning
Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning. All this was water without distinguishing sign. The life force that was covered by emptiness, that One, was born through the power of heat.
Word by word
Words joined in recitation are shown split. Where sounds change at the joins, the dictionary form is given under the word.
Reflection
Darkness hidden in darkness, a darkness that cannot even see itself. The One does not yet know itself. And then, for the first time, something is born. The verbs change: until now the hymn has only described a state, and now there is an event. The One comes forth through tapas, heat. In later Indian thought tapas is the inner heat of the yogi's concentration. So the universe begins the way understanding begins in a person: with a turning inward, and a fire.
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