Hiranya Garbha suktam - The golden seed

 Hiranya Garbha suktam 

An abstract yet cosmic vision of the Supreme — the Hiraṇyagarbha Sūktam stands among the most ancient hymns of humanity, from the Ṛgveda itself. 

This profound hymn repeatedly invites us to pause and ask: “Kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema?” 
“Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations?” Each verse thus challenges our understanding of divinity — compelling us to look beyond names, forms, and idols, to recognize the vast, impersonal Consciousness pervading all things. It is, in essence, a proto-Advaitic meditation — a seed from which the later conceptualization of Brahman in Vedānta would blossom. 

हि॒र॒ण्य॒ग॒र्भ-स्सम॑वर्त॒ताग्रे॑ भू॒तस्य॑ जा॒तः पति॒रेक॑ आसीत् ।

स दा॑धार पृथि॒वी-न्द्यामु॒तेमा-ङ्कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 1

य आ॑त्म॒दा ब॑ल॒दा यस्य॒ विश्व॑ उ॒पास॑ते प्र॒शिषं॒-यँस्य॑ दे॒वाः ।

यस्य॑ छा॒यामृतं॒-यँस्य॑ मृ॒त्युः कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 2

यः प्रा॑ण॒तो नि॑मिष॒तो म॑हि॒त्वैक॒ इद्राजा॒ जग॑तो ब॒भूव॑ ।

य ईशे॑ अ॒स्य द्वि॒पद॒श्चतु॑ष्पदः॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 3

यस्ये॒मे हि॒मव॑न्तो महि॒त्वा यस्य॑ समु॒द्रं र॒सया॑ स॒हाहुः ।

यस्ये॒माः प्र॒दिशो॒ यस्य॑ बा॒हू कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 4

येन॒ द्यौरु॒ग्रा पृ॑थि॒वी च॑ दृ॒ल्​हा येन॒ स्वः॑ स्तभि॒तं-येँन॒ नाकः॑ ।

यो अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे॒ रज॑सो वि॒मानः॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 5

य-ङ्क्रन्द॑सी॒ अव॑सा तस्तभा॒ने अ॒भ्यैक्षे॑ता॒-म्मन॑सा॒ रेज॑माने ।

यत्राधि॒ सूर॒ उदि॑तो वि॒भाति॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 6

आपो॑ ह॒ यद्बृ॑ह॒तीर्विश्व॒माय॒-न्गर्भ॒-न्दधा॑ना ज॒नय॑न्तीर॒ग्निम् ।

ततो॑ दे॒वानां॒ सम॑वर्त॒तासु॒रेकः॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 7

यश्चि॒दापो॑ महि॒ना प॒र्यप॑श्य॒द्दक्ष॒-न्दधा॑ना ज॒नय॑न्तीर्य॒ज्ञम् ।

यो दे॒वेष्विधि॑ दे॒व एक॒ आसी॒त्कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 8

मा नो॑ हिंसीज्जनि॒ता यः पृ॑थि॒व्या यो वा॒ दिवं॑ स॒त्यध॑र्मा ज॒जान॑ ।

यश्चा॒पश्च॒न्द्रा बृ॑ह॒तीर्ज॒जान॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥ 9

प्रजा॑पते॒ न त्वदे॒तान्य॒न्यो विश्वा॑ जा॒तानि॒ परि॒ ता ब॑भूव ।

यत्का॑मास्ते जुहु॒मस्तन्नो॑ अस्तु व॒यं स्या॑म॒ पत॑यो रयी॒णाम् ॥ 10

1. The Golden Womb of Creation 

हिरण्यगर्भः समवर्तताग्रे... 
At the dawn of time arose the Golden Womb, the radiant cosmic embryo — the One who was before all creation, the sole sovereign of all beings. 
He upheld the heavens and the earth. Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

2. The Source of “I” and Energy 

य आत्मदा बलदा... 
That which grants the sense of self (aham), that which gives strength and vitality —  
whose greatness even the gods revere; 
whose shadow itself is both death and immortality. 

Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

3. The Cosmic Breath 

यः प्राणतो निमिषतो... 
By whose single breath or blink of an eye the entire universe moves —  
the One who rules all beings, two-footed and four-footed alike. Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

4. The Vast Form 

यस्येमे हिमवन्तो... 
From whom arise the snow-clad mountains and the ocean’s roaring waters, 
for whom the directions are but arms extended in infinity. Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

5. The Architect of the Cosmos 

येन द्यौरुग्रा पृथिवी च दृळ्हा... 
By whose power the heavens shine, the earth stands firm, 
and the skies are held in balance —  
that which glides through the very dust of space. 

Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

6. The Unity of Opposites 

यं क्रन्दसी अवसा तस्तभाने... 
Whose will brings the dualities — light and dark, life and death —  
into trembling harmony, 
within whose being the Sun itself rises and radiates. Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

7. The Primordial Waters 

आपो ह यद्बृहतीः... 
From the vast cosmic waters was conceived this flaming golden egg. 
From it emerged the divine essence —  
the spirit of all gods. Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

8. The Self-Reflective Consciousness 

यश्चिदापो महिना पर्यपश्यत्... 
That One who beheld its own greatness in the womb of the waters, 
who alone was the divinity among the gods. 

Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

9. The Mother of All 

मा नो हिंसीज्जनिता यः पृथिव्या... 
May the One who has brought forth the earth and the heavens, 
the cooling waters and the radiant moon, 
never harm us. 

Unto which god, then, shall we offer our oblations? 

10. The Prajāpati — The Source and End of All 

प्रजापते न त्वदेतान्यन्यो... 
O Lord of creatures! None other than You has created all that exists. 
Whatever desires we hold, we offer them as oblations into You, 
so that we may attain the wealth of Truth —  
the realization of the One from whom all emanates. 

The Hiraṇyagarbha Sūktam is not a hymn of praise to a particular deity — it is a hymn of wonder, of cosmic introspection. 

Each verse builds upon the previous, moving from material creation to spiritual realization —  
from the physical cosmos to the conscious principle behind it. 

And the refrain — “Kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema” — echoes eternally as a question to the seeker: 

When the Vast, the Infinite, the Nameless stands revealed, to whom shall we offer worship?