मनन Manana · ReflectStep 16 of /18
Puruṣa Sūkta · Ṛgveda 10.90.15
Verse 15Seven sticks, thrice seven fuels
सप्तास्यासन्परिधयस्त्रिः सप्त समिधः कृताः ।
देवा यद्यज्ञं तन्वाना अबध्नन्पुरुषं पशुम् ॥
saptāsyāsan paridhayas triḥ sapta samidhaḥ kṛtāḥ |
devā yad yajñaṃ tanvānā abadhnan puruṣam paśum ||
Meaning
Seven sticks were laid around the fire, and three times seven pieces of firewood were made ready, when the gods, preparing the sacrifice, bound Puruṣa as the offering.
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
The rishi takes us back to the fire, just before it all begins. Seven sticks are placed around it, like a fence. Twenty-one pieces of wood are stacked, ready to burn. Seven was a sacred number for the rishis: seven seers, seven rivers, seven sacred meters. Then the gods bind Puruṣa as the offering. It's like the moment before the climax of a story, told after we already know the ending. And for the priests who chanted this hymn, it was more than a story. Every time they built their own fire, with seven sticks and twenty-one pieces of wood, they were joining in that first creation, all over again.
Your reflection
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