Preface

An inborn curiosity towards the most concrete and powerful phenomena of the nature has been breathed in the mind of an individual, right from the time of the growth of the human civilisation. The great impact of the Sun is observed by the masses of the people from very early period. Due to the importance of the Sun, the Vedic Āryans deified and personified the force of the nature, that consists of heat and light, and worshipped as deity praising different aspects.

In the Purāṇas, the tradition of Vedic Sun-worship was given a priority and it has been transformed into the sectarian worship of the deity with the inclusion of some advanced mode of worship; many of them are derived from the Vedic culture and some of them are borrowed from the Magian cult. The significant innovation of the Sunworship in the Purāṇas is the installation of the images of the Sun in the temples. A number of modes and methods of worshipping the Sun-god developed in the Purāṇic period.

The tradition of worshipping the Sun is prevalent in our present society also. Among the Hindus, the tradition of observing Agnihotra sacrifice and the Sandhyā, etc., is frequently observed. I was greatly influenced by the study of some Vedic hymns related to the Sun-god during my Post-graduate studies. Due to eagerness, I had turned over the pages of some of the prominent Purāṇas with a view to finding out materials about the worship of the Sun-god. A keen interest had developed in me to make a comprehensive study on the worship of the Sun, in both the Vedic and the Purāṇic period. Thus, a modest attempt has been made to prepare a thesis on the topic entitled ‘Vedic Influence on the Sun-Worship in the Purāṇas: A Study,’ for the degree of Ph.D. of the Gauhati University.

The earlier scholars have contributed a lot towards the Sun-worship in ancient India. But, a comprehensive study on the topic is still lacking. Here, in the thesis, a humble attempt has been made to find out the Vedic influence on the Sun-worship in the Purāṇas. The present study involves the Vedic scriptures as a whole, and some Mahāpuāṇas are brought under the purview of the study, along with one of the Upapurāṇas, called the Sāmbapurāṇa, which is considered as the milestone in the field of Purāṇic Sun-cult. The materials are elaborated and analyzed through a comparative study of the various relevant texts.

The present work comprises six chapters in it. The first chapter deals with the concept of Vedic God and Vedic religion with a note on the Vedic literature. The following chapter discusses, in detail, the salient traits of the Solar divinities along with the mode and method of worshipping the deities in the Vedic period. The third chapter of the work deals with the general characteristics of the Purāṇic religion, showing the influence of the Vedic tradition on it. The fourth chapter contains an extensive study of the Purāṇic Sun-worship, which is fully influenced by the Vedic tradition of worshipping the Sun. In the fifth chapter, the rituals relating to the Sun-worship, discussed in the Purāṇas, have been undertaken. The sixth chapter contains a concluding remark, based on the findings of the preceding chapters.

It is the result of my academic pursuit for the last six years under the guidance of my revered preceptor, Prof. Manjula Devi. I shall feel amply rewarded if the work could raise some interest to the readers.