PuruSha sUkta, medha

Source: TW

puruShamedha

The puruSha-sUkta associated with puruShamedha was clearly first adopted by the shuklayajurvedin-s from the RV rather than AV tradition. This likely occurred in the context of the 5 night shrauta ritual, the pa~ncharAtra puruShamedha. The human sacrifice was already proscribed in the SYV itself. In the SYV the puruSha nArAyaNa sUkta was extended with the uttara-nArAyaNa for a distinct after-rite with which the yajamAna either retired to the forest giving up all his wealth or lived in a village performing rituals.

Adaption

From the SYVins it was adopted by the taittirIyaka KYVins & only later by some other KYV schools like the kaTha-s. It is not clear if the maitrAyaNIya-s did so.

macranthropic being

The original puruSha-sUkta of 16 R^ik-s preserved archaic IE motifs like the macranthropic being & the primordial cosmogonic being: c.f., Germanic Ymir & Iranian Gayomaretan.

Date

An astronomical hint for the date of composition is given by the statement “ashvinau vyAttam” which suggests that it was definitely after the “kR^ittikA” dominance when the core yajuSh was laid down.

uttara-nArAyaNa, viShNu

However, some of the metaphors used in it were closely related to those used for viShNu. Hence, one could imagine that it was easily interpreted as implying the god viShNu. This happened when it was combined with the uttaranArAyaNa by the incipient Indic vaiShNava tradition (the “vaiShNava” focality itself had deeper IE roots, The uttaranArAyaNa is common to both shukla- & kR^iShNa- yajurveda-s.). This also transferred a hitherto unused name to viShNu – nArAyaNa – from the author of the puruSha liturgy.+++(5)+++ Some memory of this was preserved in the vaiShNava tradition as the legend of nara and nArAyana.+++(5)+++

The uttara-nArAyaNa tries to bring together 3 distinct Vedic origin mythologies.+++(=??)+++

shruti quiz: In the late sections of the yajurveda the mantra adbhyaH sambhUtaH has been adapted for the uttaranArAyaNa, an early surviving expression of the vaiShNavam. From which shruti was it adapted & to which god(s) it was the original directed?