Context
The Vedantins take the Purusha sukta to allegorize the principles of (upasana), knowledge (jnana), devotion (bhakti), and rituals and duties (dharma and karma). The sukta gives an expression to immanence of radical unity in diversity and is therefore, seen as the foundation of the Vaishnava thought, Bhedabheda school of philosophy and Bhagavata theology.
The hymn finds place in Vedic texts such as the Atharvaveda (19.6), the Samaveda (6.4), the Yajurveda (VS 31.1-6), the Taittiriya Aranyaka (3.12,13) and it is commented upon in the Shatapatha Brahmana, the Taittiriya Brahmana, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Mudgala Upanishad. It is one of the few Rig Vedic hymns current in contemporary Hinduism like, the Gayatri Mantra. The Purusha sukta is also mentioned with explanations and interpretations in the Vajasaneyi Samhita (31.1-6), the Sama veda Samhita (6.4), and the Atharva Veda Samhita (19.6). Among Puranic texts, the sukta has been elaborated in the Bhagavata Purana (2.5.35 to 2.6.1-29) and in the Mahabharata (Mokshadharma Parva 351 and 352).
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