Chapter 27 - Efficacy of Devotion to Sun-god

The sages said:

1-6. O most excellent one among Devas, what has been cited by you about the holy centre of the Sun-god that yields worldly pleasures and salvation, has been heard by us. Listening to the pleasing stories coming through your mouth—the holy stories of the sun-god that dispel sins—we have not reached the point of contentedness. O most excellent one among Devas, the foremost among the eloquent ones do enlighten us on the following points:—the benefit from the worship of the lord, the benefit of charitable gifts, the benefits of prostration, kneeling down, circumambulation, and the offerings of lights and incense, the rite of scrubbing and cleaning, the benefits of observance of fasts and the merits of taking food only at night. Of what form is water libation and where is it to be offered? How is devotion to be pursued? How is the lord pleased? O excellent one among Devas, we wish to hear.

Brahmā said:

7. O excellent brahmins, understand even as they are being recounted, the procedure of water libation of worship, devotion to the Sun-god, and the faith as well as concentration of mind.

8. Devotion is a pure mental feeling; faith is a favourite feeling. Meditation is a perfect concentration. Now listen to what I am going to say.

9. He who narrates the story of the lord with devotion, he who worships him, he who maintains the holy fires, is called the eternal devotee.

10. He is an eternal devotee whose mind dwells on the lord, who thinks about him, who is engaged in the worship of the lord and who renders service unto him.

11. He who praises or permits the holy rites that are performed for the furtherance of the Vedas, O brahmins, is the real devotee. He is really a great man.

12. The man who performs the holy rites of the Sun is a devotee of the higher type. But he should not censure other deities nor be jealous of the devotees of those deities.

13. The man who constantly remembers the Sun-god whether staying or moving about, whether sleeping or waking, while smelling or keeping the eyes closed or open is indeed the greatest devotee.

14-15. The devotion of this nature should be practised by one who knows. All holy observances are performed with devotion and concentration with the mind dwelling on reality. A charitable gift should be given to a brahmin (with devotion) and actually Devas or the Pitṛs accept it.

16. Devas accept whatever is offered with devotion whether it be a leaf or a flower, a fruit, or water. They avoid atheists.

17. Purity of mind, good conduct and due observances should be applied to everyone. Whatever is performed with purity of mind becomes fruitful.

18. One is liberated from sins by the prayer, repetition of holy names, offerings of presents and the worship of Sun-god together with observance of fast with devotion.

19. There is no doubt about this that he who keeps his head on the ground and performs obeisance is liberated from all sins instantaneously.

20. The devout man who circumambulates the Sun-god circumambulates in effect the whole of the earth consisting of seven continents.

21. If a man keeps Sun-god in his mind and circumambulates ether, know that Devas have been circumambulated by him.

22-25. O highly blessed ones, the devotee shall take food only for once on the sixth day of the lunar fortnight. Maintaining the holy regulations and restrictions and endowed with devotion, the man shall worship sun-god on the seventh day. He shall attain the benefit of performing horse-sacrifice.

He who worships sun-god after observing fast for day and a night goes to the world of sun-god by means of a vehicle of fiery lustre. One who performs this holy rite on the sixth or seventh day of the lunar fortnight attains the supreme goal.

The devotee who observes fast on the seventh day of the black fortnight and conquers his sense-organs and who worships the sun-god offering all precious stones, goes to the world of the sun-god on a vehicle that has the lustre of a lotus.

26-32. The devout man shall observe fast on the seventh day of the bright fortnight. He shall worship the sun-god with the offerings of all white substances. Freed from all sins he goes to the world of sun-god.

On the first day of the following holy rite the devotee shall drink a palmful of water held in a leaf cup of the Arka plant. He shall increase it by one every day for twenty-four days. Then he shall decrease the number by one every day. This process continues for two years and the holy rite is concluded then. This holy rite Arkasaptamī bestows all cherished desires. It is a praiseworthy holy rite.

If a Sunday coincides with the seventh day of the bright lunar fortnight it is called Vijaya Saptamī. Whatever is offered as a charitable gift on that day yields a great benefit. Ablution, charitable gift, penance, sacrifice or fast—everything observed on Vijayasaptamī is destructive of all great sins.

Those men who perform Śrāddha on Sundays and worship the deity Mahāśveta derive great benefits. Their holy rites directed to the Sun-god are fruitful. No impoverished or sick member is born in their families.

33-37. He who plasters the walls of the temple with white, yellow or red clay,

He who observes fast and worships the Sun-god with different fragrant flowers will obtain all cherished desires.

By lighting lamps for the Sun-god with ghee or gingelly oil the devotee will attain longevity and beautiful form. He will never have the deficiency of vision.

A person who is engaged in making charitable gifts of lamps, continuously, shall make the lamp of perfect knowledge blaze. With the intellect and the sense-organs clear, the man will be liberated sometimes. The gingelly seeds are extremely sacred. Charitable gift of gingelly seeds is very excellent. Gingelly seed used in holy rites in fire or in lamps is destructive of great sins.

38. He who makes perpetual offerings of lamps to temples, quadrangles and highways shall become blessed and handsome.

39. The first preference should be given to lamps with ghee. The second preference should be given to the juices of medicinal herbs. It should never be offered with the extracts from fat suet or bones.

40. The lamp shall always burn with the flame leaping upwards. It shall never be directed downwards. Thus the person who offers lamps becomes refulgent. He shall never attain the state of an animal.

41. The burning lamp should never be taken away nor should it be destroyed. The remover of a burning lamp may attain imprisonment, destruction, wrath or darkness.

42-45. The donor of lamps shines in the heavenly world like an array of lamps.

He who adorns lamps with saffron, agallochum and sandal paste shall become an excellent man with riches, fame and glorious splendour.

By offering perpetual libations of water at sunrise accompanied by red flowers mixed with red sandal paste, the clean man shall attain success in the course of a year.

The holy rite of the Sun-god should be observed as follows:—

The devotee shall stand facing the sun from sunrise to sunset turning when the sun changes direction. He shall continuously repeat some Mantra or hymn of prayers. This Ādityavrata is destructive of all sins.

46. He who offers everything along with its ancillaries together with the libation of water at the time of sunrise, endowed with faith, is liberated from all sins.

47. He who offers water-libation accompanied by gold, cow, bull, plot of land or cloths will derive benefits lasting for seven births.

48. The libation of water shall be assiduously offered into the fire, water, atmosphere, clean ground, idol or ball of rice.

49. The libation of water shall not be offered to the left or right. It shall be offered straight in front along with ghee and Guggula (Aromatic resin) by one who is endowed with devotion to Sun-god.

50-55. The devotee shall offer all worship in front of the Sun-god. He is instantaneously liberated from all sins undoubtedly.

By offering Śrīvāsa (turpentue) Devadāru (cidar oil), Sarjaka (exudation of the Śāla tree), camphor, agallochum and incense, devotees will go to heaven.

By worshipping Sun-god during his transit to the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer in particular, the devotee is liberated from all sins.

By worshipping Sun-god particularly during the Equinoctical Visuva transits, Saḍaśīti (i.e. transit to Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces or Gemini) transits and eclipses, one is liberated from sins.

By worshipping Sun-god with devotion whether it is the proper time or otherwise on the seashore or elsewhere, a man is honoured in the world of Sun-god.

By offering oblations to Sun-god with Kṛsaras (cooked gingelly seeds), milk puddings, sweet pies, fruits, roots or rice cooked in ghee he will obtain his cherished desires.

By performing libation of ghee, a man will become excellent of men.

56. By performing libation with milk the devotee is never afflicted by mental distress.

By performing libation with curds, the man attains fruition in his affairs.

57. He who is mentally and physically pure and fetches water for the ablution of sun-god from a sacred river or a holy pool attains the supreme goal.

58. By offering an umbrella, banner canopy, flagstaff and chowries to Sun-god with faith, one will attain his desired goal.

59. Whatever article a man dedicates to Sun-god with devotion will be returned to him by Sun-god a hundred thousand times more.

60. The devotee wipes off his sin, be it the physical, verbal or mental by offering obeisance to Sun-god.

61. Even by hundreds of sacrifices with adequate monetary gifts as laid down in scriptures one does not attain benefit which is obtained in a single day by the worship of Sun-god.