Canto CVIII - The Majesty of the Sun

From the glory pared off from the Sun, Viśvakarman made the gods weapons.—The Sun found his wife among the Northern Kurus and begat of her the Aśvins and Revanta.—The stations allotted to the Sun’s offspring are declared.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

While he was thus hymning the Sun Viśvakarman kept intact in spherical shape the sixteenth part of the glory of the lord of heaven; and when fifteen parts of his glory had been pared away, the Sun’s body was exceedingly beautiful and charming then. And with the splendour that was pared away from him was fashioned Viṣṇu’s discus; and Śiva’s trident, and Kuvera’s palki, the rod of the lord of the dead, and the spear of the gods’ general. And Viśvakarman made the brilliant weapons of the other gods with the Sun’s splendour for the quelling of their foes. He whose splendour had been thus pared down shone with no excessive splendour. Mārttaṇḍa retained a body resplendent in every limb.

Concentrating his thoughts he beheld his wife in the form of a mare, unassailable by all created beings by reason of her austerities and self-repression. And going to the Northern Kurus, the Sun became a horse and approached her. And she, beholding him approaching, because of her fear of a strange male, went face to face with him, being intent on guarding her rear. And thereupon they joined their noses, when they both met there, and his glory passed from the Sun’s two nostrils^[1] into the mare. Two gods were begotten there, the two Aśvins, who are the two best physicians, namely Nāsatya and Dasra, the sons who issued forth from the mare’s^[2] mouth; these two are indeed the sons of Mārttaṇḍa while he bore a horse’s form. And at the termination of the flow of his semen was born Revanta, holding a sword and bow, clad in armour, riding on horseback, and carrying arrows and a quiver.

Then the Sun revealed his own unsullied form. She perceiving his form was mild felt a joy; and the Sun, the robber of the waters, led to his own home this his wife Sañjñā, changed again into her own form and full of love.

After that he who was her first-born son became Mann Vaivasvata.

And the second was “Tama”^[3] because of the curse, and he was “The Righteous-eyed” because of his father’s favour. Now he was called Tama as having been greatly afflicted in mind by that curse; and since righteousness delights him, he is known therefore as the “King of righteousness.” ‘Worms taking flesh from thy foot shall fall to the earth’—so saying his father himself put^[4] an end to this curse. And because he is righteous-eyed, he is impartial to the good and the evil. Therefore the Dispeller of darkness appointed him to the southern region; his adorable father gave to him the duty of protecting the world, O brahman, and the lordship over the pitṛs.

And the Sun, being well-satisfied, made Yamunā the river which flows from the recesses of mount Kalinda.

The two Aśvins were made the gods’ physicians by their high-souled father.

And Revanta was appointed to the lordship over the Gruhyakas; and even thus spoke the adorable god then who is acknowledged by the world,—“Thou shalt indeed be worthy of worship by the entire world, my child; and mortals, who shall call thee to mind amid the terrors of forests and other lonely places, of great conflagrations, of enemies and robbers, shall be delivered out of great calamity. Comfort, intelligence, happiness, kingship, perfect health, fame, exalted position— these, when worshipped and well-satisfied, thou shalt bestow on men.”

And Chāyā-Sañjñā’s son Sāvarṇa was of very great fame; he will be the eighth Manu, by name Sāvarṇaka, in a future time. At present, indeed, this lord performs terrible austerities on Meru’s summit. His brother became the planet Saturn according to the Sun’s command^[5] Now the Sun’s daughter, who was younger than they, O brāhman, became that best of rivers, the Yamunā, which cleanses the world.^[6]

Now I will speak fully of Manu Vaivasvata, who was the illustrious eldest son, and to whom belongs this present creation. He, who may either hear or read of this, the origin of the gods who are the offspring of Vivas vat, and of the Sun’s majesty, may obtain deliverance when he falls into calamity and may gain great fame. This story of the majesty of the primeval god, the high-souled Mārttaṇḍa, when listened to, quells the sin that has been committed by day or night.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Nāsiliābhyām. Nāsikā here has its original meaning.

[2]:

The Calcutta edition reads aśva-vaktrād and the Bombay aśvi-vaktrād; read however āśvā-vaktrād?

[3]:

“Restraint, check.”

[4]:

For cakte read cakre.

[5]:

See Canto cvi, verse 15. In Canto lxxviii, verse 33 he and his elder brother are not distinguished clearly.

[6]:

This is a mistake, see verse 19 above. She was Tapatī, see Canto lxxviii, verse 34, and Canto cvi, verse 16.