Swamiji Chants and Interprets the Nasadiya Sukta

by Swami Krishnananda

नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमा परो यत् ।
किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम् ॥ १॥
न मृत्युरासीदमृतं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न आसीत्प्रकेतः ।
आनीदवातं स्वधया तदेकं तस्माद्धान्यन्न परः किञ्चनास ॥२॥
तम आसीत्तमसा गूहळमग्रे प्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वाऽइदम् ।
तुच्छ्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत्तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम् ॥३॥
कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः प्रथमं यदासीत् ।
सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन्हृदि प्रतीष्या कवयो मनीषा ॥४॥
तिरश्चीनो विततो रश्मिरेषामधः स्विदासीदुपरि स्विदासीत् ।
रेतोधा आसन्महिमान आसन्त्स्वधा अवस्तात्प्रयतिः परस्तात् ॥५॥
को अद्धा वेद क इह प्र वोचत्कुत आजाता कुत इयं विसृष्टिः ।
अर्वाग्देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यत आबभूव ॥६॥
इयं विसृष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा न ।
यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन्त्सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा न वेद ॥७॥

nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt tadānīṁ nāsīd rajo no vyomā paro yat  |
kim āvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmann ambhaḥ kim āsīd gahanaṁ gabhīram  || 1 ||
na mṛtyur āsīd amṛtaṁ na tarhi na rātryā ahna āsīt praketaḥ  |
ānīd avātaṁ svadhayā tad ekaṁ tasmād dhānyan na paraḥ kiṁ canāsa || 2 ||
tama āsīt tamasā gūl̥ham agre 'praketaṁ salilaṁ sarvam ā idam  |
tucchyenābhv apihitaṁ yad āsīt tapasas tan mahinājāyataikam || 3 ||
kāmas tad agre sam avartatādhi manaso retaḥ prathamaṁ yad āsīt  |
sato bandhum asati nir avindan hṛdi pratīṣyā kavayo manīṣā || 4 ||
tiraścīno vitato raśmir eṣām adhaḥ svid āsīd upari svid āsīt  |
retodhā āsan mahimāna āsan svadhā avastāt prayatiḥ parastāt || 5 ||
ko addhā veda ka iha pra vocat kuta ājātā kuta iyaṁ visṛṣṭiḥ  |
arvāg devā asya visarjanenāthā ko veda yata ābab || 6 ||
iyaṁ visṛṣṭir yata ābabhūva yadi vā dadhe yadi vā na  |
yo asyādhyakṣaḥ parame vyoman so aṅga veda yadi vā na veda || 7 ||

Then there was no non-existence nor existence. There was no earth, there was no sky. What was there? It was a vast expanse of deep waters, profound and tremendous. There was no death, there was no immortality, there was no night and there was no day.

That alone was there was breathing within itself. Nothing there was outside it or external to it. It was all a kind of darkness, as it were, enveloping everything at that time, all waters of cosmic universality. There was intense tapas and high concentration of consciousness at that time.

In that arose the central desire of the Cosmic Being, the origin of what we call mind, the thinking principal. The great sages discovered in this condition existence which is commensurate with this condition of non-existence. It was the heart of all beings. It was radiating light from all sides. It was indeed darkness due to the excess of light because there was no one to behold that light.

No one can know how this creation came because even the gods came after creation. Who can know then the origin of creation? O, what a wonder! How did this world come at all, how this creation? Only the One who created this universe will know how it came. Perhaps He too does not know.