"As for Purusha Suktam it's definitely a hymn to Lord Rudra".
So Let’s Start Analysis on the basis of Various Upanishad.
Let’s begin this Mysterious Secret with the Following Verse.:
सर्वमन्त्र-
सर्वयन्त्रसर्वतन्त्रसर्वपल्लवस्वरूपायेति ॐ नमः
शिवायेत्युपनिषत् ॥
“Sarva Mantra Sarva Yantra Sarva Tantra Sarva Pallava Svaruupaya Iti Om Namah Shivaya
Om!” (Dattatreya Upanishad)
According to Vedas only Lord Shiva (Rudra) is standing alone rest are all his projections.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.2 & Atharvasiras Upanishad 5.2:
eko rudro na dvitIyAya tasmai ya imA.nllokAnIshata IshanIbhiH |
pratya~NjanAstiShThati sa.nchukochAntakAle sa.nsR^ijya vishvA bhuvanAni goptA |
“Rudra is one and only one. There is none second to him. He rules all worlds by his power. He pervades fully in all beings. He is the one who, at the time of deluge, absorbs all beings. He is the one who creates all beings and upkeeps them”.
Atharvasiras Upanishad:
He who is Rudra, he alone is god. He is Brahma and we salute him again and again.
He who is Rudra, he alone is god. He is Vishnu and we salute him again and again.
He who is Rudra, he alone is God. He is truth and we salute him again and again.
He who is Rudra, he alone is God. He is everything and we salute him again and again.
That one and only one is Rudra, it is also Eeshana (the form of Lord Shiva with tuft and riding on a bull), it is also the ultimate God and it is also the lord of all things.
He is called “Para Brahmam (the ultimate reality)”, because though he is inside every thing, he is in and out of everything, he is the refuge of every thing and bigger than the big, he is inside every thing.
Purusha Sukta appeared first in Rig Veda 10.90. Narayana Maharshi was the 'Mantra Drashta'(seer) of the hymn. This Narayana Maharshi was later incarnated as Devaki putra Sri Krishna during Dwaparayuga. His counterpart Nara Maharshi was born as 'Arjuna'. By the grace of Lord Shiva, Narayana Mahrshi got the divine vision of Purusha. He was the first Human Rishi to realise the universal oneness and oneness of Atman in all beings. This non-dual knowledge made Narayana Rishi merge with Lord Shiva. Those who know Purusha will become, verily, like Purusha, the self of all beings.
Sathapatha Brahmana of Shukla yajurveda describes how Narayana Rishi became one with Purusha.
"puruṣo ha nārāyaṇo'kāmayata atitiṣṭheyaṃ sarvāṇi bhūtānyahamevedaṃ sarvaṃ syāmiti sa etam puruṣamedham pañcarātram yajñakratumapaśyattamāharattenāyajata teneṣṭvātyatiṣṭhatsarvāṇi bhūtānīdaṃ sarvamabhavadatitiṣṭhati sarvāṇi bhūtānīdaṃ sarvam bhavati ya evam vidvānpuruṣamedhena yajate yo vaitadevam veda" ( Sathapatha Brahmana 13:6:1:1)
Meaning:
"Purusha Narayana desired, 'Would that I overpassed all beings ! would that I alone were everything- here (this universe) !' He beheld this 'five days' sacrificial performance, the Purushamedha and took it and performed offering therewith ; and having performed offering therewith, he overpassed all beings, and became everything here. And, verily, he who, knowing this, performs the Purushamedha, or who even knows this, overpasses all beings, and becomes everything here."
In Mahabharata, Anushasana parva Bishma pitamaha says to Yudhistira:
Rudra bhakthya thu krishnena jagat vyaptham mahathmana, Tham prasadhya thadha devam bhadaryam kila bharatha.
Arthath priya harathwam cha sarva lokeshu vai yadhaa, Prapthavaaneva rajendra suvarnaakshan maheswaraath.
"The Krishna, due to his devotion to Supreme Lord Rudra, Has spread all over the universe, Oh Bharatha, Oh king of kings, After making Lord Shiva pleased by his penance in Bhadrinath, He has attained the state of being more dear, Than all the worlds and all aspects of knowledge."
In Mahabaratha, Lord Shiva says :
satyaśaucārjava tyāgais tapasā niyamena ca kṣāntyā bhaktyā ca dhṛtyā ca buddhyā ca vacasā tathā ( Mh Bhar 10.7.60)
yathāvad aham ārāddhaḥ kṛṣṇenākliṣṭakarmaṇā tasmād iṣṭatamaḥ kṛṣṇād anyo mama na vidyate ( Mh Bhar 10.07.61)
Meaning:
"With truth, purity, sincerity, resignation, ascetic austerities, vows, forgiveness, devotion, patience, thought, and word, I have been duly adored by Krishna of pure deeds. For this there is none dearer to me than Krishna".
Purusha Sukta :
sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt | sabhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvātyatiṣṭhad daśāṅghulam || sahasra - Thousands; ( Thousand implies uncountable ) śīrṣā - of heads has; puruṣaḥ - the great being. sahasra -Thousands of aksha - eyes has he, sahasrapāt - and thousands of legs. sa - He vṛtvā - manifests bhūmiṃ - the world. ātyatiṣṭhat - e stands beyond daśāṅghulam - the count of ten fingers.
Meaning:
A thousand heads hath Puruṣa, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. On every side pervading earth he fills a space ten fingers wide.
The Taittirya Aranyaka(10:24:1) of Yajur Veda clearly says Lord Rudra is 'Veda Purusha' (purusho vai rudrah) Kaushitaki Brahmana (6:1:13) of Rig Veda calls Lord Rudra as "sahasrakha sahasrapat". ( tata.udatiṣṭhat.sahasra.akṣaḥ.sahasra.pāt). The same thing is confirmed in Svetasvatara Upanishad.
viśvataś cakṣur uta viśvato-mukho viśvato-bāhur uta viśvatas-pāt saṃ6 bāhubhyāṃ dhamati sampatatrair dyāv-ābhūmī janayan deva ekaḥ ( Sv Up III-3) "His eyes are everywhere, His faces everywhere, His arms everywhere, everywhere His feet. He it is who endows men with arms, birds with feet and wings and men likewise with feet. Having produced heaven and earth, this God (deva ekaḥ) remains as their non—dual manifestation.
According to purusha shuktam of yajurveda.:
"Hri and Lakshmi(Sri) are thy (Purusha Rudra's) wives: each side of thee are Day and Night."
According to Uma Samhita of Shiva Puran :
"Satī and Pārvatī are Umā's direct incarnations (Rudranī). The first primordial Śakti of Śiva the great Brahman, who is called Umā, is the great mother of the three worlds. Her two incarnations — Satī and Haimavatī, have been heard, O intelligent Sūta. Please mention Her other incarnations (Mahākālikā; Mahālakṣmī; Mahāsarasvatī) too. (Umā Saṁhitā: 45:3-4)"
"Mahākālikā; Mahālakṣmī; Mahāsarasvatī are Umā's incarnation as warrior goddess. According to Śiva Purāṇa, Bhavānī Umā is the source of these three forms Navārṇa Caṇḍikā of Devī Māhātmyam, hence both Mahālakṣmī (not to be confused with Viṣṇupatni Lakṣmī) as well as Bhavānī Umā are identified with one another by Śiva Purāṇa. (Umā Saṁhitā: Chapter 45-48)"
Mahalakshmi is another name of Goddess Parvati. Who is the wife of lord Shiva. Real name is Ambabai Mahalakshmi she is Goddess Parvati. Kollapur Ambabai Mahalakshmi its Shaktipeet of Goddess Sati / Parvati not a wife of vishnu. Even devi kamla (lakshmi) one of the 12 mahavidhyas is a form of devi uma whose husband is lord kamal mahadev (vishnu). .
Brahmanda Purana refers Acyuta as the brother of Sridevi . Sridevi here refers to Lalita i.e. Parvati.
- After bowing down to the lotus-eyed Acyuta, the brother of Śridevī, he earnestly pleaded for his prepctual residence at Kāñcī.
The Chamunda Mantra of Maa Kali/Durga which is a beejaaksharas (root/seed) mantra.:
"Om aim hrim srim klim chamundaye viche"
Om = lord shiva of creator, preserver and destroyer
Aim = goddess saraswati of knowledge and wisdom
Shreem = goddess lakshmi of wealth and luck
Hreem = goddess pravati of divine mother
Kleem = goddess maha kali of love and desire
Chamundaye = The slayer of demons chand and mund
Viche = shield us.
So here we can see all these names belongs to maa durga/kali she is also called as "sri" and maa parvati as "hri". ‘Hreem’ is Shakta Pranava and ‘Hree’ is an aspect of goddess Tripurasundari devi (Consort of Shiva). Lalita Sahasranama Stotram says, “Hreemkarini” is goddess Lalita Tripurasudnari. On similar lines ‘Mahalakshmi’ is another name of same Tripurasundari devi. Here this Shuktam is totally dedicated to (and discusses about) the supreme being. who is Lord Rudra himself and no one else.
So from above we can conclude that purusha Rudra's two wives are maa Parvati and maa Kali/Durga. One is day (Maa Parvati as she is calm and giving in nature) and other is night (Maa Kali who is angrier and fierce in nature).
Natsyashastra 3(86,87) .:
"let mothers such as Sarasvati, Dhriti, Medha, Hri, Sri, Lakshmi protect you and give you success."
As you can see here sometimes, sri is only refered to maa durga and not maa Lakshmi and hri always to maa parvati.
Just like lord vishnu is called shrivatsa (the one with shree/lakshmi in his chest), lord shiva is also called as shrikantha (the one with shree/durga in his throat).
Okay without wasting time, let's see the Pradhānika Rahasya of Durgā Saptaśati, which describes Her as follows.:
“That Trigunātmikā Mahālakśmi is the Supreme Goddess and the source of all creation. Only She pervades and holds the creation in visible or invisible form.” ( Pradhānika Rahasya Verse 4).
“ Wielding in Her four arms, Mātulinga (citron), Gadā (Mace),Kheta(shield) and Pānpātram (drinking vessel) while having the emblems of snake, Lingam and Yoni (ShivaLingam) on Her crown"
Furthermore, It is clearly mentioned in Saptaśati to worship her with wine and meat which is totally prohibited in VishnuPatni Lakshmi Puja...
"Worship Her with bloodful sacrifice, meat and wine."(Vaikritika Rahasya Verse 28)
So these explain that Kolhāpura Ambābāi is verily Mahālakśmi of Dēvi Māhatmyam only.
If some still say why it's not written MahaLakshmi then I will say it was also written that it was Aditya whose wifes are hei and shree. Because sometimes vedas have a mystic way of saying things. But still let me clear that doubt also.
According to Rudra Hridaya Upanishad.:
“All the mobile and immobile creation of this universe, is filled up with Uma and Rudra. The Vyakta is Sri Uma, and the Avyakta is Lord Siva."
"Do Kirtan of His name, ‘Rudra’, ‘Rudra’. By singing like this, the hallowed name of this great Lord, all your sins will be destroyed. Rudra is man. Uma is woman. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Brahma. Uma is Sarasvati. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Vishnu. Uma is Lakshmi. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Sun (Aditya). Uma is shadow. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is moon (Soma). Uma is star. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is day. Uma is night. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Yajna. Uma is Vedi. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Agni, Uma is Svaha. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Veda. Uma is Sastra. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is tree. Uma is creeper. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is scent. Uma is flower. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is meaning. Uma is word. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Linga. Uma is Pitha. Prostrations to Him and Her." ( Rudra hridaya upanishad ).
Now, According to Atharva Veda.:
sò 'rajyata táto rājanyò 'jāyata ( AV 15-8-1)
ie., Eka Vratya(shiva) was filled with passion: from him sprang the Rajanya.
The Hymn further says :
áto vái bráhma ca kṣatráṃ cód atiṣṭhatāṃ ...........( AV 15:10:3)
ie., From him(Eka Vratya), verily, sprang Priesthood(bráhma) and Royalty(kṣatráṃ).
So Atharvana Veda clearly says that the chatur-varnas spring from Lord Mahadeva who is Veda Purusha.
Even Shiva Purana confirms it as follows.: (Shiv Puran Section 2.5 - Rudra-saṃhitā (5): Yuddha-khaṇḍa, Chapter 56.)... Banasura's prayers to Lord Shiva. It goes as follows.:
O lord, your hairs are the herbs and plants, your tresses the clouds, your eyes the three attributes. You are the Puruṣa, the soul of all.
They call Brāhmaṇa your mouth, Kṣatriya your arms, Vaiśya your thighs and Śūdra your feet.[2]
O lord Śiva, you alone deserve to be adored by all living beings. A person worshipping you certainly derives liberation.
O lord, the man who forsakes you, the favourite Ātman, for the adverse objects of sense, swallows poison forsaking nectar.
Viṣṇu, Brahmā, the gods and the sages of pure mind, in every respect resort to you, the favourite lord.

Lord shiva is higher than virat and beyond hiranyagarbha.
According to Manusmriti 1.19 Purusha is made of seven Mahapurushas.
These are Indra, Shakti, Brahma, vishnu, shiva, shani and Yama.
We all know that shiva shakti are one only where as shani is Shiva's deciple n shiva is god of Yama in the form of mahakala. Indra also goes to lord shiva whenever he is in trouble.
“somaḥ pavate janitā matīnāṃ janitā divo janitā pṛthivyāḥ | janitāghnerjanitā sūryasya janitendrasya janitota viṣṇoḥ |” (Rig Veda IX.96.5) “Father of sacred chants, Soma( Sa+Uma=With Maa Uma=Lord Siva) flows onwards, the Father of the Earth, Father of the Celestial region: Father of Agni, the creator of Surya, the Father who gave birth to Indra and Vishnu
As for Brahma and Vishnu, As said by lord Krishna himself in Mahabharatam.:
"O the lord of lord! Myself (Krishna/Vishnu), brahma, kapila, ananta (sheSha), all the valiant sons of brahma who conquered over the internal enemies - all are created from you (Shiva). Hence you are the lord of all. Hence you, the lord of all, are worthy of praise."
“iishaanaH sarvavidyaanaamiishvaraH sarvabhuutaanaaM |
brahmaadhipatirbrahmaNo.adhipatirbrahmaa shivo me astu sadaashivom.h |” (Taittiriya Aranyaka 10.21.1)
“May the Supreme who is the ruler of all knowledge, controller of all created beings, the preserver of the Vedas and the one overlord of Hiranyagarbha, be benign to me. I am the Sadasiva described thus and denoted by Pranava”.
Well, let’s finally look at a verse from Upanishad which also speaks the same truth calling Mahadeva as the father of Vedas.
“prabhu.n vareNyaM pitaraM mahesha.n yo brahmaaNa.n vidadhaati tasmai |
vedaa.nshcha sarvaanprahiNoti chaagrya.n ta.n vai prabhuM pitara.n devataanaam.h |
mamaapi vishhNorjanaka.n devamiiDyaM yo.antakaale sarvalokaansa.njahaara |” (Sharabha Upanishad 2-3)
“I am saluting that primeval God who is the Lord, who is the best, who is the father of the world, who is the greatest among gods, who has created Brahma, who gave all Vedas to Brahma in the beginning, who is the father of Vishnu and other devas, who merits praise, and who at the time of deluge destroys the world. He is the only one who is greater than every body, who is the best and who rules over others”.
So it proves that lord shiva is the only purusha of purusha suktam rest all are his forms or subordinate.
He is the Origin of everything and everyone so called “pranava”.
Some can also say it is Lord Hari-Hara with maa Hri as Hara’s wife and sri as Hari's wife. So it's basically the Lord Rudra and his forms Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma who are also called as Purusha along with other dieties. Like Surya, Somah, Agni, Vayu, Indra, etc.
Tattiriya Aranyaka states clearly that Lord Shiva and Maa Shakti (Ardhanareeshwara) are the param-brahmans, purusha, truth, and righteousness.
“R^itam satyaM paraM brahma purushha.n kR^ishhNapi~Ngalam.h |
uurdhvareta.n viruupaaksha.n vishvaruupaaya vai namo namaH |” (Taittiriya Aranyaka 10.23.1)
“Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Righteousness (rita) and Truth (satyam), is the androgynous purusha the Umamaheshvara (or Ardhanareeshwara), dark blue and reddish brown in hue, absolutely chaste (having semen rised up) and possessing uneven eyes (three eyed) . Salutations to Him alone who is the Soul of the universe, or whose form is the universe”.
Lord Shiva is the supreme Purusha stated in Vedas. There is nothing beyond Purusha since Purusha (Rudra) is the Para-Brahman.
“ekaakshara.n tvakshare.atraasti some sushhumnaayaa.n cheha dR^iDhii sa ekaH |
tva.n vishvabhuurbhuutapatiH puraaNaH parjanya eko bhuvanasya goptaa |” (Ekakshara Upanishad 1)
“praaNaH prasuutirbhuvanasya yonirvyaapta.n tvayaa ekapadena vishvam.h |
tva.n vishvabhuuryonipaaraH svagarbhe kumaara eko vishikhaH sudhanvaa |” (Ekakshara Upanishad 3)
“Thou art the one Imperishable in the Imperishable, conjoint with Uma. As known by means of Susumna, here (on the empirical plane), the one firm (Principle art Thou). Thou art the ancient source of the world, the Lord of beings; Thou the Parjanya (the Principle of life-giving water), the Protector of the world. Thou art the Principle of life; Thou the manifestation (the manifested world); Thou the source of the world; by a quarter hast Thou pervaded this world. Thou art the world’s birth, the cause, the life supreme, and the child in the womb armed with the excellent bow and arrow.
Note the above verse from Ekakshara Upanishad which clearly states that from Lord Rudra’s one quarter only this entire creation emerged. This is the same thing stated in Purusha Suktam of Rig Veda about Bhagwan Rudra as follows.
“tripādūrdhva udait puruṣaḥ pādo.asyehābhavat punaḥ | tato viṣvaṃ vyakrāmat sāśanānaśane abhi |” (Rig Veda 10:90:4)
“Three quarters of his are beyond all this; all of this creation is but from one quarter of him. Again and again, all that eats, and that eats not appeared from this one quarter of His.”
Even the Skhambha Suktam which is a hymn on Lord Shiva’s Jwala-Linga states the same.
“yátra skambháḥ prajanáyan purāṇáṃ vyávartayat | ékaṃ tád áṅgaṃ skambhásya purāṇám anusáṃviduḥ |” (Atharva Veda 10:7:26)
“Where Skambha (Agni-Linga) generating gave the Ancient World its shape and form, They recognized that single part of Skambha (Linga) as the Ancient World.”
From above verses it should be clear by now that Purusha of Vedas is Rudra, hence Rudra is the Brahman above whom there is nothing superior. Therefore, thinking (of the Supreme Shiva) with a mind not running to other objects and endued with abstraction in the form of uninterrupted application, one goes, unto the Divine, resplendent and Supreme male Being – Purusha (Shiva).
Let’s just finish it with a bang.:
“purusho vai rudrah |” (Taittiriya Aranyaka 10:24:1)
“Lord Rudra is the Purusha of Vedas”.
Even in Ishwara Gita of Lord Shiva which is the real Bhagwat Git Lord Shiva himself said that among all the suktam, he is the purusha Shuktam.
.According to Ishwara Gita chapter 7.:
सावित्री सर्वजप्यानां गुह्यानां प्रणवोऽस्म्यहम् । सूक्तानां पौरुषं सूक्तं ज्येष्ठसाम च सामसु ॥ ७.१३॥ Meaning: - Among all the Japa (chantings) know me to be Savitri Mantra, among the confidential (elements) know me to be Pranava (Omkara). Among suktas (of Veda) know me to be Purush Sukta, among Sama (Veda) know me to ne Jyesth sAman.
Though it can be used for other Devtas also including lord vishnu and other male deities or ishta devtas. As All are one as Non-Dual (Advaitam) form.
sivo guruh sivo vedah siva devah sivah prabhuh
sivo'smyaham sivah sarvam sivadanyanna kimcana ( iv-32 Varaha upanishad)
Meaning:
Shiva alone is Guru; Shiva alone is Vedas;
Shiva alone is Lord; Shiva alone is I (Varaha Vishnu);
Shiva alone is All. There is none other than Shiva.
And, in this answer of mine, I discussed and proved with verses that how Lord Shiva alone is the twice born Purusha of Purusha Shuktam, period.
For more info visit here...
I think it's more than enough to prove my point and answer to this question.