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Who is the deity of the Purusha Suktam according to different schools?

According to Vaishnavism, it is Vishnu:

The Sukta gives an expression to immanence of radical unity in diversity and is therefore, seen as the foundation of the Vaishnava thought, Bhedabheda school of philosophy and Bhagavata theology.

Who do Shaivas, Shaktas, etc think this Purusha is?

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  • I'm confident that the answer is not gonna surprise anyone. – DirghaChintayanti Jan 9 '19 at 3:30
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    one Sakteya Upasaka-sri vidya-, told me, its not Vishnu , its actually praising Aditya for whom we chant Purusha Suktam – userAZLogicApps Jan 10 '19 at 14:30
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    @SaMolPP It cannot be Aditya because there is a verse in the Purusha Suktam that says that the Sun (Aditya) came from the Purusha himself, so the Purusha cannot be the Sun! – Ikshvaku Jan 10 '19 at 16:31
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Who is the deity of the Purusha Suktam according to different schools?

The deity of any Vedic Sukta/Mantra does not vary with schools ... The three limbs of any Vedic Mantra are fixed and no school can change the parameters according to their whims. The three limbs are - Rishi, Devata and Chandah. And, if some do that then that is equivalent to tampering with the Vedas.

For the Purusha Sukta, which is Rig Veda 10.90, the Devata is Purusha, Rishi is Narayana and metres are Anushtup and Trishtup.

See the screenshot:

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And for the Mantra, which describes the two consorts of Purusha, the deity is Aditya.

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    How can the deity be Aditya when the Purusha Sukta says that aditya came from the purusha? Plus it is well known that Lakshmi is the wife of Vishnu, not aditya. – Ikshvaku Jan 11 '19 at 12:41
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    How can the deity be? Lol ask that Veda itself... coz the deity is definitely Aditya.. also the sun that was created by/from Purusha is mentioned as Surya.. and not Aditya .. chk the relevant PS mantra.. @Ikshvaku – Rickross Jan 11 '19 at 12:44
  • If the deity were to be Vishnu it would have been mentioned as such coz Vishnu is also a Vedic deity with some Mantras attributed to him.. @Ikshvaku – Rickross Jan 11 '19 at 12:46
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    The deity is Vishnu because of the indication of the wives of the Purusha being Hri (Bhudevi) and Lakshmi, and because the first verse is "sahasra sirsha purusha", which is also the first line of Narayana Sukta: "sahasra sirsham" – Ikshvaku Jan 11 '19 at 14:53
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    I asked the question to see how different schools, like Shaivism etc, interpreted the who the Purusha is. And if it's Aditya, isn't Aditya the same as the Sun? – Ikshvaku Jan 11 '19 at 16:10
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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.

Purusha in Purusha Suktam refers to Cosmic Entity. If one is interested in looking for any deities in Purusha Suktam then it is Mahadev in his Sada-Shiva form.

Vedas recognize Lord Shiva as Purusha. Taittirya Aranyka 10: 24: 1 of Yajurved says "purusho vai rudra" Which means Rudra is Veda-Purusha.

http://hara-hara-mahadev.blogspot.com/2010/07/purusha-suktam-hymn-to-lord-rudra-also.html?m=1

The above link explains verse by verse how Purusha Suktam euologise Maheshwar.

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The Purusha Shuktam is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This is confirmed in the last Part of the Purusha Shuktam which says

hrīś-ca te lakṣmīś-ca patnyau, ahorātre pārśve, nakṣatraṇi rüpam |

aśvinau vyāttam, iṣtaṃ maniṣāṇa, amuṃ maniṣāṇa,sarvaṃ maniṣāṇa ||22||

Hri (Bhudevi) and Lakṣmī are Your consorts. Day and night are Your two sides. The Constellations in the sky are Your own form. The Asvins are Your mouth. Being such, grant me whatever I desire, spiritual illumination, happiness here, and other objects of desire (particularly longevity, cattle and horses).

It clearly Mentions that Bhudevi and Laxmi Devi are your Consorts. They both are Consorts of Lord Vishnu. Sripad Ramanujaacharya has proved with various Pramans that The Hri refers to Bhudevi. And Devi Laxmi is clearly Mentioned. Great Acharyas like Sripad Madhvacharya, Sripad Ramanujaacharya and many great Acharyas have confirmed that it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Infact the Srimad Bhagvat Puran also clearly Mentions that it's dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

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Interestingly, Most references are not mentioning this..

From Prtahsmarami sthothram by Adi Shankaracharya

This is The Physical Supreme Purusha

प्रातर्नमामि तमसः परमर्कवर्णं पूर्णं सनातनपदं पुरुषोत्तमाख्यम् ।
यस्मिन्निदं जगदशेषमशेषमूर्तौ रज्ज्वां भुजङ्गम इव प्रतिभासितं वै ॥३॥

Praatar-Namaami Tamasah Param-Arka-Varnnam
Puurnnam Sanaatana-Padam Purussottama-[A]akhyam |
Yasminn-Idam Jagad-Ashessam-Ashessa-Muurtau
Rajjvaam Bhujanggama Iva Pratibhaasitam Vai ||3||

Meaning:

3.1: In the Early Morning I Salute That Darkness (signifying without any Form) which is of the nature of Supreme Illumination,
3.2: Which is Purna (Full), Which is the Primordial Abode, and Which is called Purushottama (the Supreme Purusha),
3.3: In Whom this endless World is settled endlessly (i.e. from the beginning of creation),
3.4: ... and (this endless World) appear like a Snake over the Rope (of the Primordial Essence).

The other two references in that stothram are intangible Atman & the Parah Brahman as Neti Neti

Both stay 10 fingers away:-)

So who’s Shiva & Vishnu, Who is male & Female? The latter parts of Purusha Suktam & references to caste in Rig 10.90 were not original. There are variations in Sanskrit. Many fingers were in collusion :-)

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