The Vedic Puruṣa and Vaiṣṇavism

Abstract

The article "The Vedic Puruṣa and Vaiṣṇavism" by Neal Delmonico examines how the ancient Vedic figure of the Puruṣa—central to the Puruṣa Sūkta of the Ṛg Veda—is appropriated and transformed within later Vaiṣṇava theological frameworks. Delmonico traces how this primal cosmic being, originally depicted as a sacrificial prototype embodying the universe, is gradually identified with Viṣṇu and then integrated into increasingly personalistic and devotional formulations of the divine. Through textual and conceptual analysis, the article highlights the progression from a cosmological to a theistic Puruṣa, especially in the context of Purāṇic narratives and Vaiṣṇava exegetical traditions. Delmonico also reflects on the implications of this transformation for understanding the evolution of Hindu cosmology and the role of sacrifice, suggesting that the Vaiṣṇava Puruṣa becomes a bridge between impersonal metaphysics and intimate devotion.