Nasadiya Sukta Sukta 129
Sukta 10.129
Prajāpati Parameṣṭhin (traditionally ascribed for RV 10.129, Nā́sadīya)
Triṣṭubh
The Nā́sadīya Sūkta contemplates the mystery of origins, refusing easy certainty about what existed “before” existence and non-existence. It traces a subtle movement from undifferentiated concealment toward the first stirrings of mind and desire, while repeatedly questioning the limits of knowledge. The hymn’s purpose is not to narrate cosmogony dogmatically, but to sanctify wonder, inquiry, and reverent agnosticism before the Absolute (tad ekam).
In this hymn
Addressed to
Mantras
Mantra 1
नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमा परो यत् । किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम् ॥
शुरू में कुछ भी नहीं था। ना कोई चीज़ बनी थी, ना बिना बनी थी। आसमान नहीं था, धरती नहीं थी। सब कुछ ढाका हुआ था। कहाँ था, किसके पास था? क्या वो पानी था, बहुत गहरा और अंधेरा?
Mantra 2
न मृत्युरासीदमृतं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न आसीत्प्रकेतः । आनीदवातं स्वधया तदेकं तस्माद्धान्यन्न परः किं चनास ॥
उस वक़्त ना मौत थी, ना अमर होने का कॉन्सेप्ट था। दिन रात का कोई पता नहीं था। एक शक्ति थी जो अपनी मर्ज़ी से साँस लेती थी, बिना हवा के। उसके अलावा कुछ भी नहीं था।
Mantra 3
तम आसीत्तमसा गूळ्हमग्रेऽप्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वमा इदम् । तुच्छ्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत्तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम् ॥
शुरू में अंधेरा था, और उस अंधेरे में और भी गहरा अंधेरा छुपा था। सब कुछ पानी जैसा था, कोई शेप नहीं थी। कुछ भी दिखाई नहीं देता था। फिर तपस की शक्ति से एक पैदा हुआ। वो एक अकेला था, सबसे बड़ा।
Mantra 4
कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः प्रथमं यदासीत् । सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन्हृदि प्रतीष्या कवयो मनीषा ॥
शुरू में इच्छा पैदा हुई। यह इच्छा मन की पहली बीज थी। रिशि लोग अपने दिल में ढूंढते थे। उन्होंने देखा कि जो बना है, वो जो नहीं बना है उसमें जुड़ा है।
Mantra 5
तिरश्चीनो विततो रश्मिरेषामधः स्विदासी३दुपरि स्विदासी३त् । रेतोधा आसन्महिमान आसन्त्स्वधा अवस्तात्प्रयतिः परस्तात् ॥
एक किरणा फैली हुई थी। क्या वो नीचे थी या ऊपर? कोई नहीं जानता। बीज रखने वाले थे, बड़ी ताकत वाले थे। नीचे अपना नियम था, और आगे बढ़ने की शक्ति ऊपर थी।
Mantra 6
को अद्धा वेद क इह प्र वोचत्कुत आजाता कुत इयं विसृष्टिः । अर्वाग्देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यत आबभूव ॥
कौन सच में जानता है? कौन यहाँ बता सकता है? यह सब कहाँ से आया? देवता भी इसके बाद आए। तो कौन जानता है कि यह पहले कहाँ से शुरू हुआ?
Mantra 7
इयं विसृष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा न । यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन्त्सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा न वेद ॥
यह सब कहाँ से शुरू हुआ, क्या यह सच में बना या नहीं। जो इस सब को देख रहा है, वो ऊपर आसमान में है। शायद वो जानता है। या शायद वो भी नहीं जानता।
Inside Sukta 129
How it unfolds
- Where it opens
Begins with radical negation: neither non-being nor being, no space, no sky—only the question of what covered what and where.
- Development
Moves through images of concealment and potentiality, then introduces the first differentiating impulse: Kāma as the seed of mind; seers discover a bond between sat and asat by inner search.
- Climax
The hymn reaches its peak in epistemic daring: it questions whether anyone can truly know the origin of creation, even the highest ‘overseer’ in the supreme heaven.
- Where it settles
Ends not with doctrine but with a sanctified uncertainty—affirming that ultimate origins may remain beyond definitive statement.
The deity: Bhāva/Abhāva and Tad Ekam
- In the VedaThe hymn also names Kāma (desire) as the first seed of mind arising upon That.
- Cosmic functionGround of manifestation: the unconditioned basis from which differentiation, order, and the knowable cosmos may emerge—if emergence can even be spoken of meaningfully.
- Inner significanceRepresents the pre-conceptual depth of awareness before thought divides experience into opposites; Kāma signifies the first intentional movement—attention, urge, or will—through which mind and meaning begin to form.
The seer
- Prajāpati ParameṣṭhinTraditionally credited as the seer of the Nā́sadīya Sūkta (RV 10.129), famed for its philosophical, probing approach to creation and the limits of knowing.
Famous verses
nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt
kāmas tad agre
so aṅga veda yadi vā na veda
Attributes of the deity
- Ineffable and non-anthropomorphic
- Beyond sat/asat duality
- Known through inquiry and negation
- Source of order and manifestation without being reducible to a ‘creator’ figure
- Kāma as first impulse/seed of mind
- Epistemic humility (even the ‘overseer’ may not know)
Also by this seer
- RV 10.121 (Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta) is often associated in later tradition with Prajāpati themes, though attribution varies by recension and scholastic lists.
- Cosmogonic and Prajāpati-centered speculation in late Ṛgvedic strata is linked to this rishi-name in traditional anukramaṇī-style attributions.
The rite, step by step
- Ācamana and mental saṅkalpa for svādhyāya (study/recitation) and brahma-jijñāsā (inquiry).
- Kindle or face the sacred fire (if in agnihotra/śrauta setting) or sit in a clean, quiet place for recitation.
- Recite the 7 mantras in Triṣṭubh cadence with measured pauses, preserving the hymn’s interrogative tone.
- Brief silent contemplation after each mantra, especially after 10.129.1, 10.129.4, and 10.129.7.
- Conclude with śānti-pāṭha or a short prayer for clarity (medhā) and discernment (viveka).
Offerings
- Ghee into fire (optional, if performed with agni)
- Water oblation (optional)
- Primary ‘offering’ is mental: attention, inquiry, and reverent silence
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a philosophical hymn on the mystery of creation. It questions what existed before the cosmos and points to “tad ekam,” the One beyond being and non-being.
The verse highlights humility about ultimate origins. It suggests that creation’s beginning may be beyond ordinary knowledge and even beyond any describable ‘overseer’.
Kāma is not merely desire in a worldly sense; it indicates the first impulse or intention—the earliest stir of mind that allows differentiation and manifestation to begin.
Ask anything about Sukta 129 of the Rig Veda
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