Atharvaveda Commentary [Hymn 6, Verse 1]

The Vājasaneyaka Brāhmaṇa, which mandates the Puruṣamedha, explains it as follows: "The Puruṣa Person, indeed the Nārāyaṇa, desired: 'May I surpass all beings; may I be this entire world.' He saw this five-night sacrificial rite called Puruṣamedha. He performed it. By performing it, he surpassed all beings and became this entire world."

The Puruṣa has a thousand arms, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet. He, having encompassed the earth on all sides, stood beyond it by ten fingers' breadth. || 1 ||

A specific bodily form is represented here, serving as the covering/medium for the Nārāyaṇa who performs the sacrifice. Just as the unseen Agni Fire is praised through the visible Ṛcs verses, the thousand-armed, multi-eyed, and multi-footed form of the primordial Puruṣa is described in worldly terms.

"Thousand-armed" implies infinite arms. "Thousand-eyed" means equipped with many eyes. He is "thousand-footed," meaning he has many feet. The Puruṣa, the Nārāyaṇa who performs the sacrifice, having encompassed the earth—the seven islands and seven seas—with his glory, stood beyond it by "ten fingers' breadth." This term "ten fingers' breadth" refers to the space within the heart. Before, he was limited, but by the power of his performed sacrifice, he transcended the limited form and became the supreme being.

From the spiritual perspective, he is the Sūtrātman the Thread-Soul/Collective Soul, the sum of all living beings. The arms of all individual living beings are actually his, hence the "thousand-armed" description. This logic applies to the eyes and feet as well. Or, because all thousands of activities originate from him, the term "thousand" is used. For this reason, it is said elsewhere: "He has eyes on every side, faces on every side, arms on every side, and feet on every side."

Puruṣa is so called because he resides in the city—the body. He is the complete one who exists in the bodies of all beings. He encompasses the entire manifested universe, which is the result of all elements, just as one permeates an earthen pot.