Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t3.38

v1.c7.s10.t3.38

The Purusha takes “Purusha” as the universal basis, and says, “This Puruṣa is all that yet hath been and all that is to be. The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced. The Moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the Sun had birth; Indra and Agni from his mouth were born, and Vāyu from his breath. Forth from his navel came mid-air the sky was fashioned from his head. Earth from his feet and from his ear the regions.” This hymn considers and combines humans and creatures and is the earliest to advocate the homogeneity of human nature and the nature of the world. In the *Upanishads*, this idea is further extended to dominate in Indian philosophy and to form the core of Indian Brahmanism or Hinduism.