Purusha Suktam of Rig Veda contains the word "Purusha". However, I would like to know if the word Purusha can be found in any other Sukta other than this Purusha Sukta in the Rig Veda.
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A tricky question, in my view:-) @Spark Sunshine– Srimannarayana K VCommented Jul 7, 2019 at 4:10
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@srimannarayanakv yes, indeed– Spark SunshineCommented Jul 7, 2019 at 4:36
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I have a doubt that you're going to prove the Purusha Suktam is an interpolation, as the word Purusha did not occur elsewhere in Rig Veda.:-) @ Spark Sunshine– Srimannarayana K VCommented Jul 7, 2019 at 7:54
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1@srimannarayanakv I am a believer of divine origin of Vedas. So I don't accept anything called interpolation in Vedas.– Spark SunshineCommented Jul 7, 2019 at 10:02
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1@KarmanyaNanda: I am not the first person to say that. Anyways, read my answer elsewhere. hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/35160/3869– Srimannarayana K VCommented Jul 8, 2019 at 3:46
2 Answers
W. Norman Brown in The Sources and Nature of puruṣa in the Puruṣasūkta says there are four other Rigvedic hymns that use the word puruṣa but in contexts very different from the Cosmic Being of the Puruṣasūkta.
The word puruṣa occurs in four other hymns of the RV. Once it is used in the plural meaning "men" as contrasted with cows (10.165.3); once it is used in the singular meaning "man" (7.104.15). In 10.51.8 puruṣām auṣadhīnām "the vital element of the plants", is one of the things demanded by Agni as his portion of the sacrificial offerings; the hymn concerns Agni's well-known flight from the sacrifice and his discovery by Yama in the waters and the plants; the puruṣa of the plants is Agni himself who had entered them (10.51.3), now paradoxically demanded by the god. The same interpretation of puruṣa is probably indicated in the fourth hymn where the word occurs, the hymn to the plants (10.97). The results here are not decisive, but the fact that puruṣa, where it has a specialized usage, appears in an Agni context is at least suggestive.
Yes, the word 'Purusha' is used in several places like:
प्रयाजान्मे अनुयाजाँश्च केवलानूर्जुस्वन्तं हविषो दत्त भागम्।
घृतं चापा पुरुषं चौषधीनामग्नेश्च दीर्घमायुरस्तु देवा।। (RigVeda 10.51.8)
prayājānme anuyājām̐śca kevalānūrjusvantaṃ haviṣo datta bhāgam।
ghṛtaṃ cāpā puruṣaṃ cauṣadhīnāmagneśca dīrghamāyurastu devā।।
हेति: पक्षिणी न दभात्यस्मानाष्ट्रयां पदं कृणुते अग्निधाने।
शं नो गोभ्यश्च पुरुषेभ्यश्चास्तु मा नो हिंसीदिह देवा: कपोतः।। (RigVeda 10.165.03)
heti: pakṣiṇī na dabhātyasmānāṣṭrayāṃ padaṃ kṛṇute agnidhāne।
śaṃ no gobhyaśca puruṣebhyaścāstu mā no hiṃsīdiha devā: kapotaḥ।।
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Good answer. You can provide translation in English also. Commented Jul 8, 2019 at 5:26