nāsadīya sūkta
ṛgveda [10:129]
Also known as the Hymn of Creation, nāsadiya sūkta is the 129th hymn of the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda. This sukta has been translated by many authors and you can find an
english transliteration at
sanskritdocuments.org. There are many articles on the web;
wikipedia,
quora.com
and a
nāsadīya sūkta sanskrit recitation
Then, neither nonbeing nor being was as yet;
neither was airy space nor heavens beyond.
Was it hid? Where? Sheltered by whose enveloping care?
Was there water, the fathomless abyss?
Then, death was not; immortal life was not;
nor was there any sign of night or day.
Without aid of breath, by inherent might, the One breathed;
of a certainty, beyond that nothing whatever was.
In the beginning, darkness was by darkness concealed;
undifferentiated surge was this whole creation.
While the boundless force of Being was by unformed Being enclosed,
That One, through conscious fervor, brought itself forth to be.
In the beginning, thereupon rose Self-delight, love and desire,
which together, was of consciousness, the primeval seed.
The wise, searching within their hearts,
perceived there the bond of Truth in illusion.
Stretched crosswise was their line, a ray of glory.
Was there below? Was there above?
Progenitors were there; Mighty powers to magnify were there -
Potency from beneath and from above the force to move, raise and fill.
Who truly knows, who here could proclaim:
whence this creation flows, where is its origin?
With this great surge the gods made their appearance.
Now, therefore, who knows whence it became?
Whence this detailed Self-radiance came,
whether ordered or not;
Only He in highest heaven, who is of this the witness -
He alone knows, unless...He knows it not.
compiled, edited & recited by Martin