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{{Short description|Golden womb or egg in Hindu cosmogony}}
{{for|the ritual|Hiranyagarbha (donation)}}
{{for|the ritual|Hiranyagarbha (donation)}}
[[File:Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku.jpg|thumb|Pahari painting of Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku, c. 1740.]]
[[File:Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku.jpg|thumb|Pahari painting of golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku, c. 1740]]


'''Hiraṇyagarbha''' ([[Sanskrit]]: हिरण्यगर्भः ; literally the 'golden womb' or 'golden egg', poetically translated as 'universal womb') is the source of the creation of [[universe]] or the manifested [[cosmos]] in [[Vedic philosophy]], as well as an avatar of Vishnu in the [[Bhagavata Purana]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266775/Hiranyagarbha Hiranyagarbha] [[britannica.com]].</ref> It finds mention in one hymn of the [[Rigveda]] ([[Mandala 10|RV 10]].121), known as the '''Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta''', suggesting a single creator deity (verse 8: ''{{IAST|yo deveṣv ādhi devā eka āsīt}}'', Griffith: "He is the God of gods, and none beside him."), identified in the hymn as [[Prajapati|Prajāpati]]. The concept of the "golden womb" is first mentioned in the Vishvakarma Sūkta (RV 10.82.5,6) which picturized the "primeval womb" as being rested set upon the navel of [[Vishvakarman]] the Supreme cosmic creator, that One wherein abide all things existing. This imagery was later transferred to Vishnu.
'''Hiranyagarbha''' ({{langx|sa|हिरण्यगर्भ|lit=golden womb}}, {{IAST3|Hiraṇyagarbha}}, poetically translated as 'universal womb')<ref>Ved aur SwasamVed, Ch 14 Atharv Veda, Dr. Buddhi Prakash Bajpayi, Diamond Books, India</ref> is the source of the creation of the [[universe]] or the manifested [[cosmos]] in [[Vedic philosophy]]. It finds mention in one hymn of the [[Rigveda]] ([[Mandala 10|RV 10]].121), known as the '''[[Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta]]''', suggesting a single creator deity (verse 8: ''{{IAST|yo deveṣv ādhi devā eka āsīt}}'', [[Ralph T. H. Griffith|Griffith]]: "He is the God of gods, and none beside him."), identified in the hymn as [[Prajapati|Prajāpati]]. The concept of the "golden womb" is first mentioned in the Vishvakarma Sūkta (RV 10.82.5,6) which picturized the "primeval womb" as being rested set upon the navel of [[Vishvakarman]]. This imagery was later transferred to [[Vishnu]] and [[Surya]].{{cn|date=November 2022}}


The [[Upanishads|Upanishad]] calls it the Soul of the Universe or [[Brahman]],<ref>''The Philosophy of the Upanishads'', by Paul Deussen, Alfred Shenington Geden. Published by T. & T. Clark, 1906. ''Page 198''.</ref> and elaborates that Hiraṇyagarbha floated around in emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the ''[[Svarga]]'' and the ''[[Prithvi|Pṛthvi]]''.
The [[Upanishads|Upanishad]] calls it the Soul of the Universe or [[Brahman]],<ref>''The Philosophy of the Upanishads'', by Paul Deussen, Alfred Shenington Geden. Published by T. & T. Clark, 1906. ''Page 198''.</ref> and elaborates that Hiraṇyagarbha floated around in emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the ''[[Svarga]]'' and the ''[[Prithvi|Pṛthvi]]''.{{cn|date=September 2023}}


In classical [[Puranic|Purāṇic]] Hinduism, Hiraṇyagarbha is the term used in the Vedanta for the "creator". Hiraṇyagarbha is also [[Brahma|Brahmā]], so called because it is said he was born from a golden egg ([[Manusmrti|Manu Smṛti]] 1.9), while the [[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]] calls it the Manifest.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c002.htm The Mahābhārata, Book 12: Santi Parva. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, tr. ''Section CCCIII''] ''[[The Mahabharata]]''.</ref>
In classical [[Puranic|Purāṇic]] Hinduism, Hiraṇyagarbha is the term used in the Vedanta for the "creator". Hiraṇyagarbha is also [[Brahma|Brahmā]], so called because it is said he was born in a golden egg (''[[Manusmrti|Manu Smṛti]]'' 1.9),<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Bühler |author-first=G. |author-link=Georg Bühler |year=1886 |chapter=Ch. 1, The Creation |editor-last=Müller |editor-first=F. Max |editor-link=Max Müller |title=The Laws of Manu: translated with extracts from seven commentaries |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/lawsofman00manu/page/n148/mode/1up |series=[[Sacred Books of the East]] |volume=XXV |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=5 (1.9) |quote=9. That (seed) became a golden egg, in brillance equal to the sun; in that (egg) he himself was born as Brahman [(Brahma)], the progenitor of the whole world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Olivelle |author-first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Olivelle |year=2005 |title=Manu's Code of Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=87 (1.9) |isbn=0-19-517146-2 |quote=9. That became a golden egg, as bright as the sun; and in it he himself took birth as Brahma, the grandfather of all the worlds.}}</ref> while the ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'' calls it the Manifest.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c002.htm The Mahābhārata, Book 12: Santi Parva. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, tr. ''Section CCCIII''] ''[[The Mahabharata]]''.</ref>


Some classical yoga traditions consider Hiraṇyagarbha as the originator of [[yoga]], though this may also be a name for Rishi [[Kapila]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Feuerstein |first= Georg |title= The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice |year= 2001 |publisher=  Hohm Press|location= Arizona, USA |isbn= 978-1890772185 |page= Kindle Locations 7299–7300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Aranya |first= Swami Hariharananda |authorlink= Swami Hariharananda Aranya |title= Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati |year= 2000 |publisher= University of Calcutta |location= Calcutta, India |isbn= 81-87594-00-4|page=xxiii-xxiv | chapter = Introduction}}</ref>
Some classical yoga traditions consider a person named Hiraṇyagarbha as the originator of [[yoga]], though this may also be a name for Sage [[Kapila]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Feuerstein |first= Georg |title= The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice |year= 2001 |publisher=  Hohm Press|location= Arizona, USA |isbn= 978-1890772185 |page= Kindle Locations 7299–7300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Aranya |first= Swami Hariharananda |authorlink= Swami Hariharananda Aranya |title= Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati |year= 2000 |publisher= University of Calcutta |location= Calcutta, India |isbn= 81-87594-00-4|page=xxiii-xxiv | chapter = Introduction}}</ref>


==Creation==
==Creation==
{{Hindu philosophy}}
{{Hindu philosophy}}


[[Matsya Purana|Matsya Purāṇa]] (2.25-30) gives an account of initial creation. After [[Mahapralaya|Mahāprālaya]], the great dissolution of the Universe, there was darkness everywhere. Everything was in a state of sleep. There was nothing, either moving or static. Then [[Svayambhu]], self-manifested Being arose, which is a form beyond senses. It created the primordial waters first and established the seed of creation into it. The seed turned into a golden womb, Hiraṇyagarbha. Then [[Svayambhu]] entered in the egg.
The [[Matsya Purana|Matsya Purāṇa]] (2.25–30) gives an account of initial creation. After [[Mahapralaya|Mahāprālaya]], the great dissolution of the Universe, there was darkness everywhere. Everything was in a state of sleep. There was nothing, either moving or static. Then [[Svayambhu]], self-manifested being arose, which is a form beyond senses. It created the primordial waters first and established the seed of creation into it. The seed turned into a golden womb, Hiraṇyagarbha. Then Svayambhu entered into that egg.{{cn|date=November 2022}}


The [[Narayana sukta|Nārāyaṇa Sūkta]] exclaims that everything that is, visible or invisible, all this is pervaded by [[Narayana|Nārāyaṇa]] within and without.
The [[Narayana sukta|Nārāyaṇa Sūkta]] exclaims that everything that is, visible or invisible, all this is pervaded by [[Narayana|Nārāyaṇa]] within and without.
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The [[Vedanta Sutra|Vedānta Sūtra]] further states that Brahman is That from Whom this Universe proceeds, in Whom it subsists, and to Whom, in the end, it returns.
The [[Vedanta Sutra|Vedānta Sūtra]] further states that Brahman is That from Whom this Universe proceeds, in Whom it subsists, and to Whom, in the end, it returns.


The [[Samkhya|Saṃkhya]] school holds that there are only two primary principles, [[Purusha|Puruṣa]] and [[Prakriti|Prākṛti]], and creation is only a manifestation or evolution of the constituents of [[Prakriti|Prākṛti]] due to the action of [[Purusha|Puruṣa]]'s Consciousness.
The [[Samkhya|Saṃkhya]] school holds that there are only two primary principles, [[Purusha|Puruṣa]] and [[Prakriti|Prākṛti]], and creation is only a manifestation or evolution of the constituents of [[Prakriti|Prākṛti]] due to the action of Puruṣa's Consciousness.{{cn|date=November 2022}}


The [[Bhagavata]] states that [[Narayana|Nārāyaṇa]] alone was in the beginning, who was the pious of principles of creation, sustenance, and dissolution (also known as the Hindu Trinity of [[Brahma|Brahmā]], [[Vishnu|Viṣṇu]] and [[Shiva]]) - the Supreme [[Hari]], multi-headed, multi-eyed, multi-footed, multi-armed, multi-limbed. This was the Supreme Seed of all creation, subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest, larger than the largest, and more magnificent than even the best of all things, more powerful, than even the wind and all the gods, more resplendent than the Sun and the Moon, and more internal than even the mind and the intellect. He is the Creator, the Supreme. The term can also mean as He who, having become first the Creator, has come to be considered as the womb of all objects.
The [[Bhagavata]] states that [[Narayana|Nārāyaṇa]] alone was in the beginning, who was the pious of principles of creation, sustenance, and dissolution (also known as the Hindu Trinity of [[Brahma|Brahmā]], [[Vishnu|Viṣṇu]] and [[Shiva]]) - the Supreme god, multi-headed, multi-eyed, multi-footed, multi-armed, multi-limbed. This was the Supreme Seed of all creation, subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest, larger than the largest, and more magnificent than even the best of all things, more powerful, than even the wind and all the gods, more resplendent than the Sun and the Moon, and more internal than even the mind and the intellect. He is the Creator, the Supreme. The term can also mean as He who, having become first the Creator, has come to be considered as the womb of all objects.


==Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta==
The Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta of the [[Rigveda]] declares that God manifested Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all things, including everything within Himself, the collective totality, as it were, of the whole of creation, animating it as the Supreme Intelligence.<ref>{{cite book |first=Stephanie |last=Jamison |title=The Rigveda – Earliest Religious Poetry of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0190633394 |pages=121–122}}</ref> In the Rigveda (RV 10.121) it is also mentioned that at the creation of the world the cosmic egg was separated in to two halves, one part became the sky and the other the sun.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Constance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&dq=hiranyagarbha&pg=PA188 |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |last2=Ryan |first2=James D. |date=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |pages=188 |isbn=9780816075645 |language=en}}</ref>
{{move to Wikisource}}
The Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta of the [[Rigveda]] declares that God manifested Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all things, including everything within Himself, the collective totality, as it were, of the whole of creation, animating it as the Supreme Intelligence.
 
===Sanskrit Verse===
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
 
<poem>
'''हिरण्यगर्भः समवर्तताग्रे भूतस्य जातः पतिरेकासीत ।
स दाधार पृथ्वीं ध्यामुतेमां कस्मै देवायहविषा विधेम ॥''
hiraṇyagarbhaḥ samavartatāgre bhūtasya jātaḥ patirekāsīta |
sa dādhāra pṛthvīṃ dhyāmutemāṃ kasmai devāyahaviṣā vidhema ||
 
य आत्मदा बलदा यस्य विश्व उपासते प्रशिषं यस्यदेवाः ।
यस्य छायाऽमृतं यस्य मृत्युः कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम ॥
ya ātmadā baladā yasya viśva upāsate praśiṣaṃ yasyadevāḥ |
yasya chāyāmṛtaṃ yasya martyuḥ kasmai devāyahaviṣā vidhema ||
 
यः प्राणतो निमिषतो महित्वैक इद्राजा जगतो बभूव ।
य ईशे अस्य द्विपदश्चतुष्पदः कस्मै देवाय हविषाविधेम ॥
yaḥ prāṇato nimiṣato mahitvaika idrājā jagato babhūva |
ya īśe asya dvipadaścatuṣpadaḥ kasmai devāya haviṣāvidhema ||
 
यस्येमे हिमवन्तो महित्वा यस्य समुद्रं रसया सहाहुः ।
यस्येमाः परदिशो यस्य बाहू कस्मै देवाय हविषाविधेम ॥
yasyeme himavanto mahitvā yasya samudraṃ rasayā sahāhuḥ |
yasyemāḥ paradiśo yasya bāhū kasmai devāya haviṣāvidhema ||
 
येन द्यौरुग्रा पृथ्वी च दृढा येन स्वस्तभितं येननाकः ।
यो अन्तरिक्षे रजसो विमानः कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम ॥
yena dayaurugrā parthivī ca darḻhā yena sava satabhitaṃ yenanākaḥ |
yo antarikṣe rajaso vimānaḥ kasmai devāyahaviṣā vidhema ||
 
यं करन्दसी अवसा तस्तभाने अभ्यैक्षेतां मनसारेजमाने ।
यत्राधि सूर उदितो विभाति कस्मै देवायहविषा विधेम ॥
yaṃ karandasī avasā tastabhāne abhyaikṣetāṃ manasārejamāne |
yatrādhi sūra udito vibhāti kasmai devāyahaviṣā vidhema ||
 
आपो ह यद बर्हतीर्विश्वमायन गर्भं दधानाजनयन्तीरग्निम ।
ततो देवानां समवर्ततासुरेकःकस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम ॥
āpo ha yada barhatīrviśvamāyana garbhaṃ dadhānājanayantīragnima |
tato devānāṃ samavartatāsurekaḥkasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||
 
यश्चिदापो महिना पर्यपश्यद दक्षं दधानाजनयन्तीर्यज्ञम ।
यो देवेष्वधि देव एक आसीत कस्मैदेवाय हविषा विधेम ॥
yaścidāpo mahinā paryapaśyada dakṣaṃ dadhānājanayantīryajñama |
yo deveṣvadhi deva eka āsīta kasmaidevāya haviṣā vidhema ||
 
मा नो हिंसीज्जनिता यः पर्थिव्या यो वा दिवंसत्यधर्मा जजान ।
यश्चापश्चन्द्रा बर्हतीर्जजानकस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम ॥
mā no hiṃsījjanitā yaḥ parthivyā yo vā divaṃsatyadharmā jajāna |
yaścāpaścandrā barhatīrjajānakasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema ||
 
प्रजापते नत्वदेतान्यन्यो विश्वा जातानि परिताबभूव ।
यत्कामास्ते जुहुमस्तन्नो अस्तु वयं स्याम पतयोरयीणाम् ॥
parajāpate na tavadetānyanyo viśvā jātāni pari tābabhūva |
yatkāmāste juhumastana no astu vayaṃ sayāma patayorayīṇāma ||
{{wikisourcelang|oldwikisource|/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१२१|ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.१२१}}
</poem>
 
===Translation in English===
In the beginning was the Divinity in his [[:wikt:splendour|splendour]], manifested as the sole Lord of land, skies, water, space and that beneath and He upheld the earth and the heavens.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
It is that who bestows soul-force and vigor, whose guidance all men invoke, the Devas invoke whose shadow is immortal life and death.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
It is that who by His greatness became the One King of the breathing and the seeing, who is the Lord of man and bird and beast.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
It is that through whose glory the snow-clad mountains rose, and the ocean spread with the river, they say. His arms are the quarters of the sky.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings ?
 
It is that through whom the heaven is strong and the earth firm, who has steadied the light and the sky's vault, and measured out the sphere of clouds in the mid-region.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offering?
 
It is that to whom heaven and earth, placed in the light by his grace, look up, radiant with the mind while over them the sun, rising, brightly shines.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
When the mighty waters came, carrying the universal germ, producing the flame of life, then dwelt there in harmony the One Spirit of the Devas.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
It is that who in its might surveyed the waters, conferring skill and creating worship - That, the God of gods, the One and only One.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
Mother of the world - may that not destroy us who with Truth as his Law made the heavens and produced waters, vast and beautiful.
 
Who is the deity we shall worship with our offerings?
 
Lord of creation! No one other than thee pervades all these that have come into being.
 
May that be ours, for which our prayers rise, may we be masters of many treasures!
 
-- ([[Mandala 10|RV 10]]:121)   '''[[Ralph T. H. Griffith]]
'''
 
1. The golden embryo evolved in the beginning. Born the lord of what came to be, he alone existed.
 
He supports the earth and the heaven here— – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
2. Who is the giver of breath, the giver of strength; whose command all honor, whose command the gods honor;
 
whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death— – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
3. Who became king of the breathing, blinking, moving world—just he alone by his greatness;
 
who is lord of the two-footed and four-footed creatures here— – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
4. Whose are these snow-covered mountains [=the Himalayas] in their greatness; whose is the sea together with the world-stream, they say;
 
whose are these directions, whose (their) two arms [=the zenith and nadir?]— – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
5. By whom the mighty heaven and earth were made firm; by whom the sun was steadied, by whom the firmament;
 
who was the one measuring out the airy realm in the midspace— – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
6. Toward whom the two battle lines [=heaven and earth] looked, steadied with his help, though trembling in mind,
 
(those) upon which the risen sun radiates. – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
7. When the lofty waters came, receiving everything as an embryo and giving birth to the fire,
 
then the life of the gods evolved alone— – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
8. Who by his greatness surveyed the waters receiving (ritual) skill (as an embryo) and giving birth to the sacrifice;
 
who, the god over gods, alone existed. – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
9. Let him not do us harm—he who is the progenitor of earth or who, with foundations that are real, engendered heaven,
 
and who engendered the gleaming, lofty waters. – Who is the god to whom we should do homage with our oblation?
 
10. O Prajāpati! No one other than you has encompassed all these things that have been born.
 
Let what we desire as we make oblation to you be ours. We would be lords of riches.
:[Stephanie W. Jamison, Joel P. Brereton]<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephanie Jamison|title=The Rigveda –– Earliest Religious Poetry of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190633394|page=121-122}}</ref>}}


==See also==
==See also==
 
{{Portal|Hinduism|India}}
{{wikisource|The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 121}}
*{{anli|Amrita}}
{{col div|colwidth=30em}}
*{{anli|Cosmic egg}}
*[[Cosmic egg]] (world egg)
*{{anli|Elixir of life}}
*''[[Golden egg]]''
*[[Hindu views on monotheism]]
*[[List of suktas and stutis]]
*[[Purusha Sukta]] (RV, 10:90), [[Nasadiya Sukta]] (RV, 10:129), [[Narayana sukta]]
*[[Chinese alchemy]]
*[[Elixir of life]]
*[[Amrita]]
{{colend}}


==Citations==
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==References==
==Further reading==
* ''Hiranyagarbha'' by Rekha Dwivedi. Prabhat Prakashan. {{ISBN|8188140198}}.
{{refbegin}}
* ''The Philosophy of the Upanishads and Ancient Indian Metaphysics: As Exhibited in a Series of Articles Contributed to the Calcutta Review'' by Archibald Edward Gough. Published by Trübner & Co., 1882. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zADHuHhgeKIC&pg=PA164&dq=hiranyagarbha&as_brr=0#PPA152,M1 p. 164].
* {{cite book |title=Hiranyagarbha |first=Rekha |last=Dwivedi |publisher=Prabhat Prakashan |isbn=81-88140-19-8 |ref=none}}
* [http://www.vedanet.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=133 ''The Original Teachings of Yoga: From Patanjali Back to Hiranyagarbha''] by [[David Frawley]].
* {{cite book |title=The Philosophy of the Upanishads and Ancient Indian Metaphysics: As Exhibited in a Series of Articles Contributed to the Calcutta Review |first=Archibald Edward |last=Gough |publisher=Trübner & Co. |year=1882 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zADHuHhgeKIC&dq=hiranyagarbha&pg=PA152 164] |ref=none}}
* {{cite web |title=Is our Universe shaped like an egg? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c3675x9893zo |publisher=BBC |access-date=20 April 2025 |ref=none}}
{{refend}}
 
==External links==
{{wikisource inline|The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 121}}


{{Brahmanda}}
{{Brahmanda}}
{{HinduMythology}}
{{HinduMythology}}


[[Category:Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Rigveda]]
[[Category:Creation myths]]
[[Category:Creation myths]]
[[Category:Eggs in culture]]
[[Category:Hindu creation myths]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Hinduism and society]]
[[Category:Rigveda]]
[[Category:Vedic hymns]]
[[Category:Vedic hymns]]
[[Category:Yoga concepts]]
[[Category:Yoga concepts]]

Latest revision as of 05:29, 23 January 2026


For the ritual, see Hiranyagarbha (donation).
Pahari painting of golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku, c. 1740

Hiranyagarbha (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., IAST: Hiraṇyagarbha, poetically translated as 'universal womb')[1] is the source of the creation of the universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy. It finds mention in one hymn of the Rigveda (RV 10.121), known as the Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta, suggesting a single creator deity (verse 8: yo deveṣv ādhi devā eka āsīt, Griffith: "He is the God of gods, and none beside him."), identified in the hymn as Prajāpati. The concept of the "golden womb" is first mentioned in the Vishvakarma Sūkta (RV 10.82.5,6) which picturized the "primeval womb" as being rested set upon the navel of Vishvakarman. This imagery was later transferred to Vishnu and Surya.[citation needed]

The Upanishad calls it the Soul of the Universe or Brahman,[2] and elaborates that Hiraṇyagarbha floated around in emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the Svarga and the Pṛthvi.[citation needed]

In classical Purāṇic Hinduism, Hiraṇyagarbha is the term used in the Vedanta for the "creator". Hiraṇyagarbha is also Brahmā, so called because it is said he was born in a golden egg (Manu Smṛti 1.9),[3][4] while the Mahābhārata calls it the Manifest.[5]

Some classical yoga traditions consider a person named Hiraṇyagarbha as the originator of yoga, though this may also be a name for Sage Kapila.[6][7]

Creation[edit | edit source]

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The Matsya Purāṇa (2.25–30) gives an account of initial creation. After Mahāprālaya, the great dissolution of the Universe, there was darkness everywhere. Everything was in a state of sleep. There was nothing, either moving or static. Then Svayambhu, self-manifested being arose, which is a form beyond senses. It created the primordial waters first and established the seed of creation into it. The seed turned into a golden womb, Hiraṇyagarbha. Then Svayambhu entered into that egg.[citation needed]

The Nārāyaṇa Sūkta exclaims that everything that is, visible or invisible, all this is pervaded by Nārāyaṇa within and without.

The Īśvara Upaniṣad says that the universe is pervaded by Īśvara (God), who is both within and without it. He is the moving and the unmoving, He is far and near, He is within all these and without all these.

The Vedānta Sūtra further states that Brahman is That from Whom this Universe proceeds, in Whom it subsists, and to Whom, in the end, it returns.

The Saṃkhya school holds that there are only two primary principles, Puruṣa and Prākṛti, and creation is only a manifestation or evolution of the constituents of Prākṛti due to the action of Puruṣa's Consciousness.[citation needed]

The Bhagavata states that Nārāyaṇa alone was in the beginning, who was the pious of principles of creation, sustenance, and dissolution (also known as the Hindu Trinity of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Shiva) - the Supreme god, multi-headed, multi-eyed, multi-footed, multi-armed, multi-limbed. This was the Supreme Seed of all creation, subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest, larger than the largest, and more magnificent than even the best of all things, more powerful, than even the wind and all the gods, more resplendent than the Sun and the Moon, and more internal than even the mind and the intellect. He is the Creator, the Supreme. The term can also mean as He who, having become first the Creator, has come to be considered as the womb of all objects.

The Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta of the Rigveda declares that God manifested Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all things, including everything within Himself, the collective totality, as it were, of the whole of creation, animating it as the Supreme Intelligence.[8] In the Rigveda (RV 10.121) it is also mentioned that at the creation of the world the cosmic egg was separated in to two halves, one part became the sky and the other the sun.[9]

See also[edit | edit source]

Citations[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Ved aur SwasamVed, Ch 14 Atharv Veda, Dr. Buddhi Prakash Bajpayi, Diamond Books, India
  2. ↑ The Philosophy of the Upanishads, by Paul Deussen, Alfred Shenington Geden. Published by T. & T. Clark, 1906. Page 198.
  3. ↑ Bühler, G. (1886). "Ch. 1, The Creation". In Müller, F. Max (ed.). The Laws of Manu: translated with extracts from seven commentaries. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. XXV. Oxford University Press. p. 5 (1.9). 9. That (seed) became a golden egg, in brillance equal to the sun; in that (egg) he himself was born as Brahman [(Brahma)], the progenitor of the whole world.
  4. ↑ Olivelle, Patrick (2005). Manu's Code of Law. Oxford University Press. p. 87 (1.9). ISBN 0-19-517146-2. 9. That became a golden egg, as bright as the sun; and in it he himself took birth as Brahma, the grandfather of all the worlds.
  5. ↑ The Mahābhārata, Book 12: Santi Parva. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, tr. Section CCCIII The Mahabharata.
  6. ↑ Feuerstein, Georg (2001). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Arizona, USA: Hohm Press. p. Kindle Locations 7299–7300. ISBN 978-1890772185.
  7. ↑ Aranya, Swami Hariharananda (2000). "Introduction". Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta. p. xxiii-xxiv. ISBN 81-87594-00-4.
  8. ↑ Jamison, Stephanie (2015). The Rigveda – Earliest Religious Poetry of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-0190633394.
  9. ↑ Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 9780816075645.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

  • Dwivedi, Rekha. Hiranyagarbha. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 81-88140-19-8.
  • Gough, Archibald Edward (1882). The Philosophy of the Upanishads and Ancient Indian Metaphysics: As Exhibited in a Series of Articles Contributed to the Calcutta Review. Trübner & Co. p. 164.
  • "Is our Universe shaped like an egg?". BBC. Retrieved 20 April 2025.

External links[edit | edit source]

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