Brahma Suktam: Hymn of Creation and the Supreme Cosmic Knowledge

Is initiation necessary to listen to this mantra?

No. Initiation is required only if you want to do mantra sadhana, not for listening. You just have to listen to the mantras we provide to get benefited.

ब्रह्म॑जज्ञा॒नं प्र॑थ॒मं पु॒रस्ता᳚त् । विसीम॒तस्सु॒रुचो॑ वे॒न आ॑वः ।

स बु॒ध्निया॑ उप॒मा अ॑स्य वि॒ष्ठाः । स॒तश्च॒ योनि॒मस॑तश्च॒ विवः॑ ।

पि॒ता वि॒राजा॑मृष॒भो र॑यी॒णाम् । अन्तरि॑क्षं वि॒श्वरूप॒ आवि॑वेश ।

तम॒र्कैर॒भ्य॑र्चन्ति व॒त्सम् । ब्रह्म॒ सन्तं॒ ब्रह्म॑णा व॒र्धय॑न्तः ।

ब्रह्म॑ दे॒वान॑जनयत् । ब्रह्म॒ विश्व॑मि॒दं जग॑त् ।

ब्रह्म॑णः क्ष॒त्रन्निर्मि॑तम् । ब्रह्म॑ ब्राह्म॒ण आ॒त्मना᳚ ।

अ॒न्तर॑स्मिन्ने॒मे लो॒काः । अ॒न्तर्विश्व॑मि॒दं जग॑त् ।

ब्रह्मै॒व भू॒तानां॒ ज्येष्ठम्᳚ । तेन॒ को॑ऽर्हति॒ स्पर्धि॑तुम् ।

ब्रह्म॑न्दे॒वास्त्रय॑स्त्रिꣳशत् । ब्रह्म॑न्निन्द्रप्रजाप॒ती ।

ब्रह्म॑न् ह॒ विश्वा॑ भू॒तानि॑ । ना॒वीवा॒न्तः स॒माहि॑ता ।

चत॑स्र॒ आशाः॒ प्रच॑रन्त्व॒ग्नयः॑ । इ॒मं नो॑ य॒ज्ञं न॑यतु प्रजा॒नन् ।

घृ॒तं पिन्व॑न्न॒जरꣳ॑ सु॒वीरम्᳚ । ब्रह्म॑स॒मिद्भ॑व॒त्याहु॑तीनाम् ।

brahmajajnyaanam' prathamam' purastaat . viseematassurucho vena aavah' .
sa budhniyaa upamaa asya visht'haah' . satashcha yonimasatashcha vivah' .
pitaa viraajaamri'shabho rayeenaam . antariksham' vishvaroopa aavivesha .
tamarkairabhyarchanti vatsam . brahma santam' brahmanaa vardhayantah' .
brahma devaanajanayat . brahma vishvamidam' jagat .
brahmanah' kshatrannirmitam . brahma braahmana aatmanaa .
antarasminneme lokaah' . antarvishvamidam' jagat .
brahmaiva bhootaanaam' jyesht'ham . tena ko​'rhati spardhitum .
brahmandevaastrayastrigumshat . brahmannindraprajaapatee .
brahman ha vishvaa bhootaani . naaveevaantah' samaahitaa .
chatasra aashaah' pracharantvagnayah' . imam' no yajnyam' nayatu prajaanan .
ghri'tam' pinvannajaragum suveeram . brahmasamidbhavatyaahuteenaam .

Verse 1 :

ब्रह्म॑ जज्ञा॒नं प्र॑थ॒मं पु॒रस्ता᳚त्। विसीम॒तस्सु॒रुचो॑ वे॒न आ॑वः।

 Brahman (the Supreme Knowledge) was born first, before everything else. From the limitless realm, it pervades with its radiant brilliance.

 This verse says that the concept of Brahman (the ultimate reality or cosmic knowledge) existed before anything else in the universe. It’s beyond boundaries and spreads its light everywhere.

Verse 2 :

स बु॒ध्निया॑ उप॒मा अ॑स्य वि॒ष्ठाः। स॒तश्च॒ योनि॒मस॑तश्च॒ विवः॑।

 The foundation of Brahman is vast, extending both in the realms of existence (Sat) and non-existence (Asat). It is the source of both.

 Brahman forms the base of everything—whether it is something that exists physically or something that we cannot perceive. It is the origin of both existence and non-existence, showing its all-encompassing nature.

Verse 3 :

पि॒ता वि॒राजा॑मृष॒भो र॑यी॒णाम्। अन्तरि॑क्षं वि॒श्वरूप॒ आवि॑वेश।

 The Father of creation, the Lord of all beings, entered into the cosmic forms of space, assuming the manifold forms of the universe.

 Brahman is described as the father or creator of all beings. It entered the space or the universe, taking many forms, and became the various parts of creation.

Verse 4 :

तम॒र्कैर॒भ्य॑र्चन्ति व॒त्सम्। ब्रह्म॒ सन्तं॒ ब्रह्म॑णा व॒र्धय॑न्तः।

 Him, the sacred one, they worship with hymns like a young calf; they honor Brahman by increasing it through the power of Brahman.

 Brahman is revered and praised through sacred chants, just as one would care for a young calf. Those who understand Brahman (spiritual leaders) help increase its power by continuously worshiping and honoring it.

Verse 5 :

ब्रह्म॑ दे॒वान॑जनयत्। ब्रह्म॒ विश्व॑मि॒दं जग॑त्।

 Brahman gave birth to the gods. Brahman is the entirety of this world and all that exists.

 Brahman is the source of the gods and the whole world. Everything we see or experience in the universe is part of Brahman, showing that it is the origin of all creation.

Verse 6 :

ब्रह्म॑णः क्ष॒त्रन्निर्मि॑तम्। ब्रह्म॑ ब्राह्म॒ण आ॒त्मना᳚।

 From Brahman arose the warrior class (Kshatriya). Brahman also created the Brahmin from its own self.

 Brahman is responsible for creating different parts of society. It created the Kshatriya class (warriors or rulers) to protect and rule, and it also created the Brahmins (priests or scholars) from its essence to preserve knowledge and wisdom.

Verse 7 :

अ॒न्तर॑स्मिन्ने॒मे लो॒काः। अ॒न्तर्विश्व॑मि॒दं जग॑त्।

 Within Brahman reside these worlds, and within it exists the entire universe.

 All the worlds and everything in the universe are contained within Brahman. This means that Brahman is not just the creator but also the sustainer of the universe. Everything exists within it.

Verse 8 :

ब्रह्मै॒व भू॒तानां॒ ज्येष्ठम्᳚। तेन॒ को॑ऽर्हति॒ स्पर्धि॑तुम्।

 Brahman is the greatest of all beings. Who could possibly compete with it?

 Brahman is the highest and most powerful entity. Nothing or no one can match Brahman’s greatness, emphasizing that it is beyond comparison.

Verse 9 :

ब्रह्म॑न्दे॒वास्त्रय॑स्त्रिꣳशत्। ब्रह्म॑न्निन्द्रप्रजाप॒ती।

 Brahman is the origin of the thirty-three gods, including Indra and Prajapati.

 Brahman created all the important gods, including Indra (king of gods) and Prajapati (the lord of creatures). This verse reinforces that Brahman is the supreme source of all divine beings.

Verse 10 :

ब्रह्म॑न् ह॒ विश्वा॑ भू॒तानि॑। ना॒वीवा॒न्तः स॒माहि॑ता।

 Brahman holds all living beings, like a central hub into which everything is gathered.

 Just like a hub connects the spokes of a wheel, Brahman holds together all beings and the entire universe. Everything is connected through Brahman and depends on it for existence.

Verse 11 :

चत॑स्र॒ आशाः॒ प्रच॑रन्त्व॒ग्नयः॑। इ॒मं नो॑ य॒ज्ञं न॑यतु प्रजा॒नन्।

 Let the four directions and the fires pervade. May they lead this sacrifice, knowing what is proper for us.

 The verse calls upon the elements, like fire and the four directions, to take part in the sacred rituals (Yajna) and guide them properly. It’s a request to nature and the divine forces to ensure that the sacrifices are fruitful and correct.

Verse 12 :

घृ॒तं पिन्व॑न्न॒जरꣳ॑ सु॒वीरम्᳚। ब्रह्म॑स॒मिद्भ॑व॒त्याहु॑तीनाम्।

 Offering ghee (clarified butter), timeless and full of vigor, the sacrifices thrive, becoming united with Brahman.

 When offerings like ghee are made during sacred rituals, they are considered timeless and powerful. These offerings help connect the individual and the universe with Brahman, making the rituals successful and spiritual.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi