Nasadiya

Nasadiya Sukta is the 129th hymn of the Rigveda, located in the 10th mandala. Its name derives from nasadīya, often translated as “not existing” or “the hymn of not-existence,” signaling its focus on the origins of creation. The hymn is widely regarded as one of the Rigveda’s most enigmatic and philosophically oriented passages, notable for its skeptical and contemplative approach to cosmology and the limits of knowledge.

Authorship and dating: Nasadiya is an anonymous composition within the Rigveda. Like many hymns of the collection, it is attributed collectively to whose authorship is not fixed in ancient tradition. Scholarly dating places its composition in the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age, roughly between 1400 and 900 BCE, with the final form likely consolidated during later Vedic periods.

Content: The verses present a meditation on how the universe began. They imagine a time when there was neither existence nor non-existence, and they raise questions about whether anything—gods, beings, or forces—truly knows how creation originated. The hymn suggests that the origin of the cosmos may lie beyond human and divine understanding, and it hints that even the gods may not have commenced creation in a way accessible to beings within the cosmos. In its concluding lines, the speaker ponders that perhaps the ultimate origin remains unknowable, inviting humility rather than definitive explanation.

Reception and influence: Nasadiya has been a focal point in discussions of Indian cosmology, theology, and epistemology. Its provocative stance on knowledge and origin has made it a subject of both classical and modern scholarship, as well as a point of reference in translations and interpretations of the Rigveda by scholars in the East and the West.