In the beginning, when the divine beings undertook the great act of creation, they divided the Cosmic Person—the Purusha. They wondered among themselves: into how many portions should this being be made? What form would his mouth take, what would become his arms, his thighs, and his feet? From this primal division, the Purusha’s mouth manifested as the Brahman, the priestly order. His arms became the Kshatriya, the warrior and ruler. His thighs formed the Vaishya, the merchant and cultivator, and from his feet arose the Shudra, the servant. Thus, from the very body of the Purusha, the four classes of society emerged. From his mind was born the moon, serene and radiant. The sun, blazing and life-giving, arose from his eyes. From his ears came forth the wind and the vital breath, and from his mouth, the sacred fire itself was born. The navel of this great being gave rise to the atmosphere, his head unfolded as the heavens, his feet became the earth, and from his ears sprang the directions. In this way, the worlds were ordered and arranged. In those ancient times, the gods performed a mighty sacrifice, using the Purusha himself as the offering. Spring became the clarified butter, summer the fuel, and autumn the oblation. The seven enclosing sticks were prepared, and thrice seven kindling sticks were set in place. The gods bound the Purusha as the sacrificial animal and began the sacred rite. With sacrifice, the gods offered sacrifice unto the sacrifice itself. These were the first duties, the primal acts of worship. Through this, they ascended to the highest heavens, to the realms where the earlier Sadhyas, the ancient gods, reside. From the primordial waters, the essence of earth was gathered, and from that essence arose the all-creator at the very beginning. Tvashtar, the divine artisan, shaped his form, and thus, he became the divinity present among mortals. I have come to know this great Purusha—radiant as the sun, who stands beyond all darkness. By knowing him alone, one transcends death, for there is no other path to liberation. Prajapati, the lord of creatures, moves within the womb—unborn, yet appearing in many forms. The wise perceive his source, for in him all the worlds are established. He who shines among the gods, who is their priest and who was born before them—homage to that radiant Brahman. At the beginning, the gods generated the radiance of Brahman and declared: "Whoever knows this as Brahman, the gods themselves are under his control." Sri and Lakshmi are your consorts; day and night stand by your sides. The stars are your form; the Ashvins are your mouth. May you grant us nourishment and mastery over all worlds. He is fire, he is the sun, he is the wind, he is the moon. He is the bright one, he is Brahman, he is the waters, he is Prajapati. All moments, all flashes of lightning, were born from the Purusha. None can grasp him above, across, or in the middle. He has no likeness—his name is supreme glory. He is called Hiranyagarbha, the golden embryo. "Do not harm me," is his command. He is the one from whom nothing is born. This god moves in all directions, was born before all, and dwells within the womb. He is born, he will be born, and he faces all directions with countless faces. From him, who existed before all, all the worlds came forth. Prajapati, striving with offspring, associates with the three lights and the sixteen. It is by him that the mighty heaven and the firm earth are supported, by whom the sky is held aloft, and by whom the vault of space is established. He moves as the sovereign in the atmosphere, lord of the shining dust. To which god shall we offer our oblation? Heaven and earth, crying and trembling, beheld him with their minds, upheld by his support. Where the sun rises and shines forth—there, too, is he present. The waters are vast, and he is the waters. The seer, with inner vision, beholds that which is hidden in the cave, where all things are united in a single nest. Within him, all moves together and apart; he is woven and interwoven throughout all beings. Let the wise Gandharva, knower of immortality, reveal that secret abode hidden in the cave. Three steps of his are set within that cave; whoever knows them becomes the ancestor of his father. He is our kinsman, the creator, the arranger. He knows all abodes and all worlds; to the third abode, the gods ascended, seeking immortality. Having encompassed all beings, all worlds, and all directions, he approached the primal birth of truth; by his own self, he entered into his own self. He enveloped heaven and earth, all the worlds, all directions, and the sky. He examined the stretched thread of truth; seeing it, he became it, and he was it. To that wondrous, beloved lord of the seat, dear to Indra and desired by all, I seek union with wisdom. Svāhā. That wisdom which the hosts of gods and ancestors revere—by that wisdom, O Agni, make me wise today. Svāhā. May Varuṇa grant me wisdom, may Agni and Prajāpati grant wisdom; may Indra and Vāyu grant wisdom, may Dhātṛ grant me wisdom. Svāhā. May this Brāhma and Kṣatra both attain prosperity for me; may the gods place the highest prosperity in me. To her, to you, svāhā. Of this one, ageless, tamed, and guided, the shining flames are Agnis—pure, white-tipped, roaring, consuming the wood, swift as winds, sweet as Somas. The tawny ones, banners of smoke, driven by the wind, strive upward to the sky; the Agnis move separately. O Mitra and Varuṇa, offer for us to the gods, to the great truth; O Agni, offer to your own house. Yoke, O Agni, the gods’ summoned horses, as charioteers; let the ancient Hotṛ sit in the seat. Two of diverse forms move toward the light; each brings forth a calf. The tawny one is in one, self-sustaining; the bright, radiant one is seen in the other. Here, he was first established by the creators—the Hotṛ most fit for sacrifice, worthy at the rituals; whom the Bhrigus and the Apnavānas made manifest in the forests, wondrous and shining in every clan. Three hundred and three thousand and thirty-nine gods served Agni; they anointed him with ghee, spread the sacred grass, and installed him as Hotṛ. On the summit of heaven and at the foundation of earth, the gods generated Agni, the universal fire, born from truth. The sage, sovereign, and guest of the people, they brought near as the vessel. Agni, destroyer of obstacles and bestower of wealth through insight, shines brightly when kindled and offered pure oblation. With all the gods, O Agni, drink the Soma-honey together with Indra and Vayu, by the powers of Mitra. When, for strength, the lord of men is summoned, the pure seed is poured out, and heaven is attentive; Agni brings forth a faultless, youthful host, self-born, and causes it to flourish. Thus, from the sacrifice of the Purusha, from the ordering of the worlds, from the wisdom of the gods, and from the kindling of Agni, the universe is woven together—one with the divine, radiant, and eternal.