Nasadiya Sukta

E103234

Nasadiya Sukta is a famous creation hymn from the Rigveda that poetically explores the origins of the universe and the limits of human knowledge about creation.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Mandala 10 of the Rigveda 1
Nasadiya Sukta canonical 1
Rigvedic cosmology 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Rigvedic hymn
Vedic hymn
creation hymn
asksQuestion how and why creation occurred
whether even the creator knows the origin of the universe
whether the universe existed in non-being or being before creation
associatedConcept Brahman (in later interpretations)
linked to: Brahman

sat and asat
ṛta
associatedWith early Vedic religion
category Hindu cosmology
Rigvedic cosmology
linked to: Nasadiya Sukta
contrastsWith more dogmatic creation accounts
genre cosmological hymn
hasEnglishName Creation Hymn
linked to: Hymn of Creation

Hymn of Creation
hasRigvedicNumber Rigveda 10.129
linked to: Rigveda
influenced later Hindu cosmological thought
modern interpretations of Vedic philosophy
knownFor open-ended questions about creation
philosophical skepticism
poetic ambiguity
language Vedic Sanskrit
linked to: Sanskrit
laterWrittenIn Devanagari script (among others)
meter triṣṭubh
numberOfVerses 7
openingWords “nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt tadānīm”
partOf Mandala 10 of the Rigveda
linked to: Nasadiya Sukta

Rigveda
portrays creation as uncertain and mysterious
referencedBy numerous modern scholars of Vedic religion
regionOfOrigin Indian subcontinent
religiousTradition Hinduism
script transmitted orally in Vedic recitation tradition
scripturalStatus canonical Vedic text
scriptureType śruti
studiedIn Indology
comparative religion
history of philosophy
textualSource Rigveda Samhita
linked to: Rigveda
theme cosmogony
creation
epistemological doubt
limits of human knowledge
metaphysical speculation
origin of the universe
timePeriod early 1st millennium BCE (approximate, scholarly estimate)

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Rigveda importantHymn Nasadiya Sukta
Nasadiya Sukta partOf Mandala 10 of the Rigveda
linked to: Nasadiya Sukta
Nasadiya Sukta category Rigvedic cosmology
linked to: Nasadiya Sukta