Chapter 59 - The form of solar rays (sūryaraśmi-svarūpa)

Sūta said:

1. On hearing this, the sages became overwhelmed with doubts and again asked Romaharṣaṇa.

The sages said:

2. O Sūta, most excellent among the speakers, kindly tell us in detail the exact nature of the luminaries briefly.

3. On hearing their words, Sūta of great concentration and purity spoke these weighty words in order to clear their doubts.

4. In this matter I shall tell you what has already been stated by highly intelligent persons^[1] with tranquil wisdom. I shall recount the movement of the sun. and the moon.

5. I shall tell you how the sun, the moon and other planets are the abodes of Devas. Thereafter, I shall mention the three^[2] types of fires and their origin.

6-9. The three types of fire are: the divine fire, the elemental fire and the terrestrial fire.

When the night of Brahmā born of the unmanifest reached the stage of dawn, this visible universe was one that had not been analyzed. It was still enveloped in the nocturnal darkness. When the worlds were still in the state of destruction, when a fourth of the period still remained, the self-born, lord, he who achieves all the affairs of the worlds, moved about like a glowworm, with a desire to manifest. At the beginning of the world, he created. Agni (heat) in combination with earth and water. The Lord gathered these together to make it shine and then divided it into three.

10-11. The fire in the world of mankind is called Pārthiva. The fire that blazes in the sun is called Śuci. The fire born of lightning is known as Abja (i.e. originating from the water portion). I shall now mention their characteristics. There are three types of fires with water within, viz., Vaidyuta, Jāṭhara (gastric) and Saura (Solar).

12-13. Hence, imbibing water through his rays the sun blazes (further). The Abja (waterborn—lightning) fire even when immersed in water is not quenched by it. The fire that is within the stomach of men is not put out by water. The gastric fire emits flames (i.e. heat), but is devoid of lustre.^[3]

14-19. When the sun is setting, the solar lustre becomes a circular mass without heat and enters the fire at night through his rays. Hence the light of fire is seen even from a distance at night. The heat is transmitted to the sun from fire, when the sun rises. Only partially does the terrestrial fire enter the sun. Hence the fire continues to blaze. Thus the fire element in both terrestrial and solar fires contains heat and light. They penetrate mutually and develop each other. In the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth, the fire and the sun thus develop each other. The sun rises up from the waters and re-enters them. Therefore, due to this exit (from and into waters) by day and by night, the waters become copper-coloured. Again when the sun sets, the day (i.e. daylight) enters the waters. Hence at night, the waters are seen shining white.

20. By means of this activity he enters waters perpetually, during day and night at the time of rising and setting both in the southern and northern hemispheres.

21. The sun who blazes, imbibing the waters through his rays has the mixture of earthly and fiery particles within it. It is called divine fire.

22-23. This fire (i.e. sun) has a thousand feet (i.e. rays). It is like a circular pot. It takes up waters from various waterresorts through the thousand tubular rays. It takes waters from the rivers, seas, wells, clouds etc. It takes up both mobile and immobile waters i.e. those of the canals and tanks.

24-25. He has a thousand rays emitting snow, rain and heat. Of them four hundred tubular rays have forms of variegated colours. They shower rain. Their collective name is Amṛta and the several individual names are Bhajanas, Mālyas, Ketanas and Patanas.

26-27a. The tubular rays carrying and emitting snow are three hundred in number. The several names of these rays emitting snow are Reśas, Meghas, Vātsyas and Hlādinīs. Their collective name is Candrabhā and they are yellow in lustre.

27b-28a. Śukla [śuklaḥ], Kakubha [kakubhaḥ] and Viśvabhṛt are the individual names of the rays emitting heat; their collective name is also Śukla.

28b-29. The moon sustains human beings, Pitṛs and Devas through them (the above rays).^[4]

He propitiates human beings through the medicinal herbs; the Pitṛs with Svadhā and Devas through nectar.

30-31a. During spring and summer the sun blazes by his three hundred rays. During the rainy season and Autumn he showers rains through the four hundred tubular rays. During the early and the late winter he discharges snow through his three hundred rays.

31b-35a. The twelve suns are Indra, Dhātṛ, Bhaga, Pūṣan, Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Aṃśu, Vivasvān, Tvaṣṭṛ, Parjanya and Viṣṇu.

Varuṇa is the sun in Māgha; Pūṣan in the Phālguna. In the month of Caitra, Aṃśu is the sun. Dhātṛ is the sun in Vaiśākha. In Jyeṣṭha Indra is the sun. In Āṣāḍha, the sun is Aryaman. Vivasvan is the sun in Śrāvaṇa. In Bhādra the sun is Bhaga. Parjanya is the sun in Āśvina. Tvaṣṭṛ is the sun in Kārttika. In Mārgaśīrṣa Mitra is the sun and Viṣṇu is the sun in Pauṣa.

35b-38. While performing the duty of the sun, Varuṇa has five thousand rays; Pūṣan six thousand rays; Aṃśu seven thousand rays; Dhātṛ eight thousand rays; Indra nine thousand rays; Vivasvān ten thousand rays; Bhaga eleven thousand rays; Mitra seven thousand rays; Tvaṣṭṛ eight thousand rays; Aryaman ten thousand rays; Parjanya nine thousand rays; Viṣṇu scorches the earth with six thousand rays.

39-40. In the spring the sun is tawny coloured; in the summer he has the lustre of gold. During the rainy season the colour of the sun is white. In the autumn the sun is greycoloured. In the early winter the sun is copper-coloured and in the late winter he is red in colour.

41-45. The sun infuses strength into the medicinal herbs; he propitiates the Pitṛs by means of Svadhā rays; he instils nectar into the immortal beings. Thus, he imparts three things to the three groups.

The thousand rays of the sun serve the purpose of the world. Reaching the earth they assume different forms by emitting snow, rain and heat. Thus the sphere of the sun is white and is named after him. He is the support and source of origin of the stars, planets and the moon.

It should be known that the moon, stars and planets are all born of the sun. The moon is the lord of constellations and the left eye of the lord. The right eye of the lord is the sun himself. The word nayana (eye) is derived from √ni—“that which leads (nayati) the people to this world.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

mahāprājña [mahāprājñaiḥ]: by the most intelligent men, i.e. by Vyāsa and others.

[2]:

Threefold fire: (i) celestial, as represented by the sun, (ii) atmospheric, as symbolized by the lightning, (iii) terrestrial, which is used for the sacrificial and household purpose. Fire is called Pāvaka on earth, Śuci in heaven and Vaidyuta in firmament.

[3]:

Fire on earth is the symbol of heat and fire in heaven is the symbol of light and both are interdependent. Cf. Matsya. 128.12.—[prākāśyaṃ ca tathoṣṇaṃ ca sauryāgneye tu tejasī | parasparānupraveśādāpyāyete divāniśam ||]

[4]:

The numerous solar rays have their functional division. For instance, four hundred of them function for creating rain (V.24-26), three hundred for heat (V.28) and three hundred for cold (V.26). These rays are distributed over the seasons and bring about the changes of cold, heat and rain.