Worship of the Sun

Worship of the Sun [suryasyopasana] / By Dr. V. Raghavan; Madras. / 205-230

[ srasmin nibandhe vidusa lekhakena suryapujayah pracinatvam sarvabhaumatvam tasya vividhadesesu svarupa-prakaram tatha suryamandiranam svarupam sthanam ca samyak pramanapurassaram pradarsitam | nibandham dasabhagesu vibhajya vibhinnasirsakesu vividhavisayanam vivecanam krtam, yatha - (i) suryopasana khistiyavarsasya prak 1400 varse'pi pracalita asit pascatya- madhyapurvadesesu | 'hittaita ' iti prathitajananam suryo 'mitra ' iti namna upasyadeva srasit tesu varsesu - iti siddhameva 'hittaita - mitani ' jananam sandhipatrasyopalabdhya | tesu janesu suryah karmasaksi jagaccaksusca prasiddha srasit | tadanantaram 'avesta ' ityasya 'misra ' iti namna prathitah suryadevah yuropiyadesesu vistrtimavapa | atra vividhadesesu vividhapramanah suryopasanayah pracarah, pujaprakarah, murtiprakaraca pradarsitah - vaidika- suryopasanaya saha samyamapi nidarsitam | - (ii) tadanantaram vedesva - ranyakesupanisatsu ca suryopasanaprakarah, suryasambandhivarnanam ca pradarsitam | -- (iii) ramayane mahabharate copalabdhasya surya sambandhivarnanasya nirdeso vihito'tra | - (iv) bharatiya sasakairapi suryopasanayah prathamyam sthapitam | harsavardhanah suryopasakasasakesu pramukha srasit | guptavamsiyah sasakairapi 'aditya ' ityupadhih svebhyah svikrtah | - (v) puranesvapi suryapuja suryopasana ca varnita'sti | kesucicca puranesu suryavarnanasya pradhanyam vartate -- ete visayah sapramanam pradarsitah | - (vi) surya pujasam- bandhigranthanam hastalekhanam ca paricaya dattah | -- (vii) surya-suktanam stuti- granthanam ca nirdesah prastutah | - (viii) suryamandiragam paricayah prastutah | - (ix) adima janajatisu srapi suryapujayah pracarah prapyate | - (x) srante ca suryopasanayah vaisnava- saiva-saktesu upasanapaddhati vinirdisya suryopasanaya mahatvamupayogitvanca pradarsitam| esu sirsakesu tatta- dvisayanam pramanapurassaram pramanikam ca vivecanam krtam nibandhe'tra | ] | "surya atma jagatastasthusasca " "The Sun is the Soul of all that moves and is stationary" (Rg. Veda, I. 115. 1.)

206 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 When we speak of the worship of the Sun, we are really dealing with an international religion, a religion which in the 3rd Century A. D. was poised against Christianity in a bid to take over as the world religion. But the worship of the Sun, Mitra as He is known in His sway in the Middle East and the West, was as old as 1400 B. C. when in Anatolia, at the place called Bagozkoi, in a treaty between two ruling dynasties, the Hittites and the Mittanis, in a language almost Sanskrit, Mitra, along with the Vedic gods, Indra, Varuna and Nasatyau or Asvins, was invoked. The worship of the Sun was part of the State religion of the Hittites and the Sun was regarded as the King of Gods, the God of right and justice and the impartial surveyor from above of the deeds of men (Karmasaksin and Jagaccaksus as we would say). As the God of peace-contract, He always figured in the treaties that Kings concluded. Here is the prayer to Him by the Hittite King Muwatallis: "Sun-God of Heaven! My Lord! shepherd of mankind! .........daily thou sittest in judgment upon man, dog, etc." And in another prayer: "The inspired lord of justice art thou, and in the place of justice, thou art untiring." Another interesting fact is that like the language of the tablets, and the names of the Vedic deities, the conception of the eastern origin of the Sun, points to the Indian origin of the Sun-worship of Asia Minor of the middle of the second millennium B. C. The latter spread of Mithraism in Europe was from the Mithra of the Avesta, where Mithra was next only to Ahura Mazda. Avestan Mithra was the lord of the wide pastures, truthful, vigilant with a thousand eyes and ears; 'Mithram' meant 'compact', contract, plighted word and 'Mithradruj' was a promise-breaker His companions were Saraosa, Srosa or Susrusa = obedience and Rashnu justice. The following prayer is from the Avestan hymn to Mithra, the Mihir Yasht (X): = "I will worship Mithra, who is good, strong, supernatural foremost, merciful, incomparable, high-dwelling, a mighty strong warrior. Valient, he is equipped with a well-fashioned weapon, he who watches in darkness, the undeceivable. He is what (is) strongest among the very strong; he has by far the greatest insight among the gods. Fortune attends him, the valiant, who with his thousand ears and ten

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN thousand eyes is the strong, all-knowing, undeceivable master of ten thousand spies." (X. 170-1).1 207 Mithra did not disappear from the later or even modern Zoroastrianism. The Mihragan, a five-day festival of Mithra is still observed and Mithra-temples still exist in Iran. Mithra is still called 'Judge of Iran', 'Mihr-i-Iran-davar'. 2 With the growth of the Persian Empire, the Maga or Magi priests also became powerful all over Asia Minor and they, in a great measure, became responsible for the development and spread of the Mithra cult all over this area, paving the way for its further spread into the Hellenic world and the Roman Empire through warriors drawn from Asia, and merchants and other seafarers from the East. But before we come to this phase, let us see the Sun-God and His worship in other countries and ancient civilizations. In Egypt, the Sun-God was called Re or Ra-Atun and from the fifth dynasty onwards, all Kings considered themselves, like their Surya-vamsi counterparts of India, sons of Re and added Reto their own names. An Egyptian hymn of circa 1412 B. C. describes Re the Sun-God as Lord of truth, Lord of sweetness, great in love and waking when all men sleep. In the 14th Century B.C. Akhenaton established a religion round the Sun-God Aton. The Pyramids, which were astronomically oriented, were Sun-monuments. At On, called Heliopolis by the Greeks, the Sun-God was -believed to have revealed Himself in the form of a pyramid-shape stone within the temple. The Sun, as the traverser of the sky, was described as a winged bird, a falcon, a description which can be compared with the Vedic description of the Sun as Tarksya, Suparna, Garutman and Hamsa; also the Egyptians had a curious conception of the crawling Sun as a Beetle, which has its echo in one of our names for the Sun, the Patanga, figuring in some Vedic hymns E.g. Rv. X. 177. 1, 2; 189.3. The Pyramid was not only the magnification of the Solar-symbol stone mentioned above, but 1. See also p. 18, Prof. A. J. Carnoy, The Religion of Ancient Persia, London. 2. See A. V. Williams Jackson, Persia Past & Present, New York, 1909. For the latest examination of this subject, see Mary Boyce, 'On Mithra's Part in Zoroastrianism', Bulletin of the School of Ori. and African Studies, University of London, XXXII, i. 1969, pp. 10-34.

208 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 it is also by soaring with its height into the skies; the symbol of the entombed King ascending to and joining the Sun-God. The Calendar stone and the Sun-disc among the monuments of the Aztechs of Mexico show a conception of Universe with the Sun as the centre of all life. The Aztechs conceived of Time as of four ages, (cf. the four yugas), and called each age a Sun, as He was the presiding deity. The Incas of Peru called themselves sons of the Sun. Sacrifices and a number of rites including a Sun-dance were offered by American Indians to their Sun-God. The Sun, Shamash, was the tutelary deity of the local dynasty of the town of Sippara in Mesopotamia and a representation of this Sun-God in human form with rays issuing from his shoulders is seen in a Sumerian Seal of 2800 B. C. He was the upholder of truth and justice and the promulgator of the laws. He is represented in Assyria as a flying disc. (cf. our Cakra). The Japanese belief in their Kings being direct descendants from the Sun-God is well-known. The close association of the Sun and Royalty was a prominent feature in most ancient civilizations. The Parthian monarchs considered themselves as brothers of the Sun. The Chinese believed in ten Suns and had several Sun-myths Mithraism mixed with local beliefs and took over additional related ideas. Thus in Chaldea, Mithraism was influenced by astrology and the planets and the Zodiac and their influences on human affairs. It mingled in parts of Asia Minor with the Mother Goddess, Anahita, and in Greece with Hermes. Greece had its own Sun-God in Helios. Royalty took up Mithra as their talisman and symbol of glory. The concept of the 'Invincible Sun' 'Sol Invictus', as the protector of the Empire and the Emperors, was particularly developed in Syria and Chaldean-Syrian Solar pantheism later exerted strong influence on the whole of the Roman world. Nero, perhaps the first Roman Emperor to be initiated into the Mithraic mysteries, had an enormous statue of himself set up for being worshipped as the Sun-God. And as in the Hittite-Mittani treaty of thousand six hundred years before, in the treaties of the Roman Empire also, Mithra was invoked and altars dedicated to him by contending Kings. Of Mithra monuments in Europe, which have survived destructions by Muslims, there are about 500

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 209 sculptures and 400 inscriptions, extending from the Scottish borders to the borders of Hungary, as also in parts of Africa. They are particularly numerous along the German and Danubian borders. There are still some Mithra temples and frescoes that have escaped Christian iconoclasm of the 4th century A. D., in Rome. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries A. D., in Rome alone there were more than a hundred temples to Mithra in different parts of the city, both inside and outside the city walls. From the remains of the structures and the frescoes and from the inscriptions that survive, as also from the writing of some Christian Fathers, we can reconstruct the details of this Mithraism which had, according to a writer, spread like wild fire throughout the Empire in the first four centuries A. D. Mithra was worshipped in a natural mountain cave by the side of some running water and accordingly Mithra shrines were raised on such a natural background. The rising of the Sun and the bursting forth of light from amidst the rocks was symbolised in the cave, the image of the celestial vault. References to the rock, Parvata, and the waters, Samudra or Salila, are common in the Vedic descriptions of Mitra and Savita. E.g. Rv. X. 159. 3: caksurno devah savita, caksurna uta parvatah | His mysteries were celebrated within the dark of caves, where there was the sculpture of Mithra slaying the Bull, altars and other reliefs and drawings on the surrounding walls, including the scene of the sacred Meal. The iconography of Mithra shows his chief exploit as the slaying of the Bull, evidently the symbol of seasons and weather. Other details of His iconography comprise the presence of a crow as a heavenly messenger. messenger. In Chinese Sun-myths, a raven was believed to reside in the Sun. As in the case of the cave, Guha, the symbol of the heart, we have in the Veda also the symbolism of Vayasa, crow, and other birds, for the fleeting Sun. There is also a scorpion and a lion; also a representation of Mithra as an archer. All these, together with the idea that Zervan, the God of Time, re-appeared as Mithra and that Mithra held the 'globe as Kosmokrater (ruler of cosmos) and supported the Zodiac, show an 1. G. S. R. Mead, Mysteries of Mithra, TPH.

210 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 amalgamation of the old ethical Mithra with the warrior Mithra of the Kings and the Sun as the astronomical and astrological hub; the Bull, the Lion, the Scorpion, and the Archer point to the signs of the Zodiac, Vrsabha, Simha, Vrscika and Dhanus and the seasons they stand for. Mithra is also described as being carried in a chariot, driven by a solar deity, other than Mithra, namely Helios-Sol, the light-giving charioteer, who may be the counterpart of our Aruna. A dog that is depicted as a 'faithful companion of Mithra' may be compared to our Sarama, Deva-suni. When mingling with the Orphic doctrines, Mithra was identified with the god of the Rays, Phanes, born of an Egg. In a Hadrian Wall stone relief, Mithra's birth from an Egg is shown, in the midst of the signs of the Zodiac, which reminds us of our Sunname pointing to His Egg-birth, Hiranyagarbha and Martanda. The number 'seven' played a part in Mithraic mysteries, in which seven states of spiritual progress were formulated. Here also we may compare our conception of seven Suns and the seven horses for the Sun; as also the seven Bhumis of Yoga. Thus Mithra had developed into a 'universal and all-embracing divinity." Answering the question 'Why the Oriental Religions spread?' Franz Cumont says: 1 These religions represnted a more advanced type in the evolution of religious forms. They gave greater satisfaction to the senses, to the intelligence and lastly to the conscience. They taught man how to reach a blissful state in which the soul was freed from bodily tyranny and suffering, through contemplation and the artistic aids of music and dance; compared to the infantile nature of the prevailing religion, they were sacerdotal, prescribed rituals, penances, and purifications, asceticism; compared to the prevalent vague and un-enthusing notions, they offered a definite view of after-life, survival of the soul and the attainment of happiness. They thus offered "greater beauty of ritual, greater truth of doctrine and a far superior morality". And "Of all the Oriental cults none was so severe as Mithraism, none attained an equal moral elevation, none could have had so strong a hold on mind and heart." According to Frazer (The Golden Bough, I Vol. edn. p. 358) "There can be no doubt that the Mithraic religion proved a formidable rival to Christianity, com- 1. In his Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, Dover Publications, New York.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 211 bining as it did a solemn ritual with aspirations after moral purity and a hope of immortality." So much so that Renan observed that "If Christianity had been stopped in its growth by some deadly disease, the world would have become Mithraic." Julian was the last Emperor who was a declared Mithraist; he gave a 'Hymn to the Sun' and glorified Mithra as the One God of whose power, all other gods were but different aspects. But the victory of Constantine and his vision of Christ proved the turning point and with the banning of Mithra worship and the massacre of Mithra priests and followers and the destruction of Mithra monuments by Christian fanatics, who had now gained an upper hand, Mithraism began to fade out by about 400 A.D. But Mithraism did not recede without leaving its lasting marks on Christianity, which, to make itself popular with the people, adopted Mithraic architecture, rites and festivals. The 25th December was the popular festival of Mithra's birth, and it was taken over; the Meal of the Mithra cult, the idea of 'eating of My body and drinking of My blood' were also taken over as the Eucharist. The bull that was destroyed by Mithra was identical with Mithra who thus sacrificed Himself. Baptism, Communion, Resurrection, all these cardinal ideas, Christianity had to absorb, before it could supplant Mithraism.3 II We shall now swing back to another 1500 years before Bagazkoi where we first met Mitra and see him in his own Vedic world in India. Mitra appears in the Rgveda in a number of names and forms and if there had not been in the Vedas, such extensive references to the Sun and Solar and other celestial luminaries including the constellations, our knowledge of the age and antiquity of the Vedas would have been poor indeed. The Solar deities dominate verily the Vedic horizon. Yaska gives the threefold classification of the Vedic deities into the terrestrial, the 2 1. In his book on Marcus Aurelius. 2. Michael Angelo's 'The Last Supper' is said to be a copy of a fresco in a Mithra temple. See Poure-Davond, J. the Bihar and Orissa Res. Soc., Vol. 19 (1933), Mitra Cult, pp. 255-280. 3. See H. Stuart Jones on Mithraism in the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, VIII, pp. 752-9; M. J. Vermaseren, Mithras, The Secret God. Chatto & Windus, London 1963,

212 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 atmospheric and the celestial. In this way, we have three primary deities Agni, Vayu and Surya. tisra eva devata iti nairuktah | agnih prthivisthanah, vayurva indro va antariksasthanah, suryo ghusthanah | Nirukta VII. Under Surya is comprehended a world of deities; hence his prominence in the Vedic worship, including what we are enjoined to do every day at dawn, midday and evening. The Vedic sacrifice which was co-ordinated to the year and the seasons and the movements of the Sun proclaims again the dominance of the Sun as the Lord of the year, Samvatsara Says Sankara in his Chandogyabhasya: sarvayajnanam ca karyanirvrttirupah savita mahatya sriya dipyate | There are about 133 separate hymns in the Rgveda alone to the different Solar deities, apart from hymns in which some of them figure jointly; there are about 2000 and odd referto them, the references to Surya and Aditya being too numerous to count. The Solar deities thus praised are Mitra, Surya, Savita, Pusan, Visnu, Vivasvan, Adityas, Aryaman, Bhaga, Amsa, Daksa, Usas and Asvins. The two twilights and the Dawn or Dawns, including their long Arctic forms, claim the largest number of individual hymns. Mitra of whose form and sway outside India we have been speaking, has one full hymn for himself in the Rgveda but with Varuna, his close associate in the Avesta, he occurs far oftener in the Rgveda. Mitra-Varuna are the most powerful of Vedic conceptions and to them jointly we owe two of our greatest Vedic Rsis, the two Maitravarunis, Vasistha and Agastya. MitraVaruna form two aspects of the same deity, he who uncovers or spreads in the morning and he who covers and envelops in the evening. In the Atharvaveda, too, the two are praised together as the vigilant supervisors and moral mentors of mankind. "The worderful divine array, the Eye of Mitra¹ and Varuna, the Sun is indeed the soul of all that moves and stands still." 1. According to Zoroastrian priests Mihir (Mithra) and Khorsed are the two eyes with which Ohrmazd surveys the world.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN citram devanamudgadanikam caksurmitrasya varunasyagneh | a pra dyavaprthivi antariksam surya atma jagatastasthusasca || 213 I. 115.1. Here rises the beautiful, the one common Lord of all mankind, witness to everything, the eye of Mitra and Varuna¹, rolling up all darkness as if a sheet of leather.' " udveti subhago visvacaksah sadharanah suryo manusanam | caksurmitrasya varunasya devah carmeva yah samavivyak tamamsi || VII. 63.1. We saw how Mitra became the patron-god of royalty in his Western form. In the Rks, he is lauded as Raja and Suksatra. ayam mitro namasyah susevo raja suksatrah ajanista vedhah || III. 59.4. The first two Mantras of the hymn on Mitra may be quoted to bring out the several aspects of the deity: Mitra speaks to men and stirs them. He supports earth and heaven; he watches people with un-winking eye; to this Mitra we make our oblation, mitro janan yatayati bruvanah mitro dadhara prthivimuta dyam | mitrah krstih animisabhi caste mitraya havyam ghrtavajjuhota || III. 59. 1. Let the men who offer you oblations O Mitra! be pre-eminent, as also those, O Aditya ! who, according to your ordinances, pay obeisance to you; he who is aided by you is not slain nor vanquished; neither from near nor from afar does any trouble, come to him. pra sa mitra marto astu prayasvan yasta aditya siksati vratena | na hanyate na niyate khoto nainamamho asnotyantito na durat || III, 59.2. The moral aspect of the Solar deity, Mitra, Savita, etc., which we saw in Avestan and other Western Mithraism, is very prominently and often mentioned in the Vedas, when he is praised singly or with his double Varuna. He is the Spy of the Universe. 1. For a discussion on 'Yatayaj jana' as an epithiet of Mitra and Varuna, in Rgveda, see APOC. Procced. X. Tirupati (1940) p. 27.

214 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 Spasam visvasya ( Rv. IV. 13. 3) ; he is often called Nr-caksa and Visva-caksa, the supervisor of people. He is born of Rta and is the upholder of Rta, the moral ordor. 4.811 It X. 85. 1. rtena adityastisthanti | VII. 66. 12-13 yadohate varuno mitro aryama yuyamrtasya rathyah || rtavan rtanata rtavrdho ghoraso anrtadvisah | may be noted that the Adityas are here called also the formidable enemies of untruth. The Adityas see the good and bad inside the people, antah pasyanti vrjinota sadhu || II. 27. 3. He is not only the brilliant and vigilant Eye above but also the divine benevolent Eye that bestows on us long life and health and well-being. taccaksurdevahitam sukramuccarat | pasyema saradah satam | jivema saradah satam || VII. 66.16. The Adityas are so considerate that like birds they spread their protective wings over their supplicants and give them happiness. paksa vayo yathopari vyasme sarma yacchata | VIII. 47.2. He destroys all evils apavisva durita baghamanah ( Rv. I. 35. 3). With a golden arm and omniscient, Savita moves between Heaven and pervades the entire firmament with his glory. hiranyapanih savita vicarsanirubhe dyavaprthivi antariyate | apamivam badhate veti suryamabhikrsnena rajasa dyamrnoti || Rv. I. 35. 9. With a golden arm, the life-giving Lord who leads us best and gladdens us, who is endowed with riches comes before us and being lauded, protects us against evil spirits in the nights. hiranyahasto asurah sunithah sumrlikah svavam yatvarvan | apasedhan raksaso yatudhanah na sthad devah pratidosam grnanah || Rv. I.35.10.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 215 Adoring the Sun who is beyond darkness and sin, who is the supreme among the Gods, may we also attain to the supreme light. ud vayam tamasaspari jyotispasyanta uttaram | devam devatra suryamaganma jyotiruttamam || Rv. I.50.10. O Sun! possessing a light which is beneficent to the whole world! Rising and ascending the high Heaven, please destroy my inner afflictions, as also those of my external body. udyannadya mitramaha arohannuttaram divam | hrdrogam mama suryam harimanam ca nasaya || Rv. I.50.11. O Savitar! destroy all the evil and bestow on us all good. visvani deva savitarduritani parasuva | yad bhadram tanma asuva || Rv. V. 82.5. Invoking jointly the several Solar deities Savita, Bhaga, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, the devotee prays for welfare: tat su nah savita bhago varuno mitro aryama | sarma yacchantu sapratho yadimahe || Rv. VIII. 18.3. Another joint prayer to the several Solar deities-As they rise today, may Surya, the flawless Mitra, Aryaman, Savita and Bhaga extend to me their riches. yadadya sura udite'naga mitro aryama | suvati savita bhagah || || Rg. VI 1. 66.4. For a third joint prayer to several Solar deities for manifold welfare and several good things of life, the whole hymn Rv. II. 27 may be cited. Like an engineer Savita has centered the beam and the pillar of the vault of Heaven, and has set the world in happiness. He has made the Heaven yield waters and has shaken, as it were, the horse of the cloud tied above.

216 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No 2 savita yantrah prthivimaramnadaskambhane savita dyamahamhat | asvamivadhuksadhunimantariksamaturte baddham savita samudram || Rv. X.149.1. Savita who bears the Heavens is universally desirable. dharta divah savita visvavarah | Rv. X. 1494. By reason of all this, the Vedic poet calls the Sun the Gem of the sky. (Rv. VI.51.1 : VII.63.4.) One of the common prayers to the Sun is for his blessings for long life and for being able to look at the Sun all the time. ( Rv. X. 36.14) savita pascatat savita purastat savitottarattat savitadharattat | savita nah suvatu sarvatatim savita no rasatam dirghamayuh || udyantam tva mitramaho dive dive | jyognivah prati pasyema surya || Rv. X. 37. 7. Indeed as the Taittiriya Aranyaka ( I. 14.1) says : Aditya is effulgence, brilliance, strength, fame, all the faculties of seeing, hearing, etc., self, mind, indignation, thought, death, truth, friendliness, the various elements wind, ether, etc., life-breath, the protector of the world, the creator, anything and everything, happiness, Such food, life, immortality, the universe, the creator, the year is the great Spirit, the Sun, the Lord of the Beings. adityo vai tena ono balam yasascaksuh srotramatma mano manyumrtyuh satyo mitro vayurakasah prano lokapalah kah kim kam ; tatsatyamannamayura mrto jivo visvah katamah svayambhuh prajapatiriti | samvatsaro'savadityo ya esa purusa esa bhutanamadhipatih | proIt is with the same rays with which he produces heat that he duces rains, from rains vegetation, from vegetation food, from food ^ life and strength; and austerity, faith, intellect, thoughts, mind, a peace, ideas, memory, knowledge; from knowledge one attains bliss which is the Brahman and the source of everything.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 217 yabhiradityastapati rasmibhistabhih parjanyo varsati parjanyenausadhivanaspatayah prajayanta osadhivanaspatibhirannam bhavatyannena pranah pranairbalam balena tapastapasa sraddha sraddhaya medha medhaya manisa manisaya mano manasa santih santya cittam cittena smrti smrtya smaramsmarena vijnanam vijnanena''tmanam vedayati tasmadannam dadantsa- rvanyetani dadatyannatprana bhavanti bhutanam pranairmano manasasca vijnanam vijnanada- nando brahma yonih | Already in the Rgveda the Sun is prayed to for immortalityAmrtatva,. tat savita vo'mrtatvama sut | Rv. I. 110.3. Of the Sun and immortality we shall see more as we come to the Aranyakas and Upanisads. There are some characteristic descriptions of the Sun in terms of different kinds of birds traversing space, Tarksya, Suparna, Vayasa, etc. ( Rv. X. 177. 1,2 ; V. 47.3; I. 191.9 ; VII. 63.5; V. 47.3). (Rv. X. 37.7). The Bull which we saw in Western Mithraism is seen in the Rv. as an image of the Sun. (Rv. V. 47.3 and I. 189.1). He is described as the wheel, Cakra in I. 175.4%; IV. 28.2; V. 29.10. Solar deities referred to above Mitra whom we saw in Avesta Each of the names of the emphasises an aspect of the Sun. and Western Mithraism as the Lord of Peace and compact in war, friendliness, and guardian of promise and promoter of victory appears with the same ideas in the Taittiriya Samhita, II.1.8.4: samgrame samyatte samayakamo mitrameva svena bhagadheyenopadhavati sa evainam mitrena samnayati visalo bhavati vyavasayayatyaivenam | Aryaman is the same as Mitra or friend. Bhaga is a giver of bounty and fortune; according to Yaska he is the Sun of the forenoon. Aryaman is apportioner, an aspect of Bhaga. In several hymns Mitra, Varuna, Savita, etc. are referred to as Puta - Daksa, endowed with purified strength, but separately Daksa meaning 'the dexterous' is also mentioned as a form of the Sun. Savita is the inspirer and stimulator and he is the deity of the great Gayatri which we all adore. Pusan is the Lord and protector of the pathways and cattle, and vivifier, one of his epithets being Pustimbhara. Vivasvat is the Lord who shines forth. Of all the Solar deities

218 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 Visnu deserves special notice and several of the incarnations with which Visnu is associated in mythology could be traced in the descriptions of Solar deity Visnu in the Rg Veda. The Kaustubha on his chest is the Sun himself. Visnupada is the sky itself. Varaha is also a solar phenomenon, as also Trivikrama of three strides. The association of the Sun with Indra, led to the Upendra form of Visnu later. It is in the well known Mantras of Surya Namaskara in the Taittiriya Aranyaka that we have the full picture of the Sun as the Lord of the year and seasons. Here we have also descriptions of the phenomena relating to the Sun and light. The Mantras here refer also to the number of Suns which gradually developed into the concept of twelve Suns. (Dvadasa Adityas.). In one Mantra we have the following seven Suns-Aroga, Bhraja, Patara, Patanga, Svarnara, Jyotisiman, Vibhasa. Kasyapa is mentioned as the eighth form. In another we have the mention of Mitra, Varuna, Dhata, Aryaman, Amsa, Bhaga, Indra and Vivasvan. A passing reference should be made to Surya, the daughter of Surya the Sun, whose marriage with the Asvins forms the subject-matter of Rv. X. 85. For it is the Mantras uttered at her marriage that we use to this day for consecrating all marriages. We shall now come to the deeper esoteric worship of the Sun as it evolved from some of the Mantras of the Rv. Samhita already referred to and in the Aranyakas and Upanisads which specialised in esoteric worship. The Taitt. Aran. (II. ii. 2) says that a Brahmin attains all welfare by contemplating upon the rising and the setting Sun as the Supreme Brahman itself. By such meditation, he becomes Brahman itself: udyantamastam yantamadityamabhidhyayankurvanbrahmano vidvantsakalam bhadramasnute' savadityo brahmeti | brahmaiva sanbrahmapyeti ya evam veda || The Sun and Solar light and energy have a close relation to Vak or Sonant energy. The Mantra par excellence of the Vedas, Gayatri or Savitri, has had a great role in the whole field of esoteric worship, including the Upasana of the Supreme Being. Sonant energy and Solar energy are considered as two forms of the same Jyotis and the Sun is Himself the Rk, Yajus, and Sama Vedas: it is the three-fold Vedic knowledge that shines forth as the Sun.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 219 The eight-letter Mantra of Aditya, Saura Astaksara, 'Ghrnik Surya Aditya Om' is to be meditated upon and one realises Aditya as the Light, Bliss, Immortality, the Brahman and all the three world. adityo va esa etanmandalam tapati tatra ta rcastadrcam mandala sa rcam loko'tha ya esa etasminmandale'rcidapyate tani samani sa samnam loko'tha ya esa etasminmandale'rcisi purusastani yajumsi sa yajusam mandalaॅsa yajusam lokah saisa trayyeva vidya tapati ya eso'ntaraditye hiranmayah purusa iti || There are two kinds of Upasanas which we come across in the Upanisads, the Pratika Upasana and the Ahamgraha Upasana. In the former an object is itself meditated upon as a symbol and in the latter the indwelling spirit in the thing as identical with one's self is meditated upon. In both these forms the Sun occurs in Upasanas in the Upanisads particularly in the two big ones, the Chandogya and the Brhadarnyaka. The best known is the Madhu vidya in Chand. 3. om | asau va adityo devamadhu tasya dyaureva tirascina vamso 'ntariksamapupo tasya ye pranco rasmayasta evasya pracyo madhunadyah | etc. maricayah putrah | where the Sun is described as embodying in its rays in all the four directions, the four Vedas and in its upward rays, the Madhunadis. There is a further form in which the Sun does not move, rise or set but remains hanging in the middle, motionless as it were. The Gayatri is related to this Upasana of the Sun, as also the five centres in the heart in which the Sun is said to be present. In Brhadaranyaka I. 5.23, it is said, that it is in the life breath, Prana, that the Sun rises and sets: athaisa sloko bhavati yatascodeti suryo'stam yatra ca gacchati iti, pranadva esa udeti prane'stameti | etc. In Brhadaranyaka II.4.5, the Sun is described as the honey or the most enjoyable thing of all beings and he who is present in the Sun and the effulgent immortal being within the eye of menthese two are identified as the Self, the Immortal, the Brahman which is everything: 3

220 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 ayamadityah sarvesam bhutanam madhvasyadityasya sarvani bhutani madhu | etc. The same idea is taken up again in Brhadarnyaka V.4.2: tadyattatsatyamasau sa adityo ya esa etasminmandale puruso yascayam daksine'ksan purusah | etc. Already in the Taittiriya Aranyaka we noted the Mantra referring to the golden Purusa in the Aditya: ya esa antaraditye hiranmayah purusah | I. 10. 13, ya esa aditye purusah sa paramesthi brahma''tma I. 10.63. The Chandogya reverts to this golden Purusa who is of golden hair and is all gold up to his very finger tips: atha ya eso'ntaraditye hiranmayah puruso drsyate hiranyasmasrurhiranyakesa apanakhatsarva eva suvarnah || These are referred to as the Aditya, the Antaraditya and the Aksi Vidyas. Concluding the Aditya Upasana the Chandogya says at the end of Chapter III that even as when the Sun rises, beings and their actions and desires rise up, and the Sun is greeted all round with shouts of joy, even so he who adores the Sun as the Brahman and thereby attains the Brahman, is attended on all sides by people who raise shouts of joy in his honour: atha yattadanayata so'savadityastam jayamanam ghosa ullavo'nudatisthantsa- rvani ca bhutani ca sarve ca kamastasmattasyodayam prati pratyayanam prati ghosa ullavo'nuttisthanti sarvani ca bhutani sarve caiva kamah | sa ya etamevam vidvanadityam brahmetyupaste'bhyaso ha yadena sadhavo ghosa a ca gaccheyurupa ca nimrederannimrederan || Among the lesser Upanisads the Mandala Brahmanopanisad sets forth the teaching on Suryopasana which Yajnavalkya, who got his Veda (the Sukla yajus or Vajasaneya) from the Sun Himself, is taught by Aditya. The Suryopanisad contains several Sun Mantras the practice of which secures a number of material and spiritual gains. The Aksi Upanisad expatiates on the Upasana of Surya through the Caksusmati Vidya for the obtaining of

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 221 unimpaired eye-sight; the Savitri Upanisad is also important as it deals with the Upasana of Gayatri and, as many do not know, this is the only text which speaks about the Bala and Atibala Mantras which we know Visvamitra, the Seer of the Gayatri, taught Rama and Laksmana in the Ramayana. There is also a Suryatapini Upanisad published by the Adyar Library in their Volume 'Unpublished Upanisads in which the Sun as the Supreme Deity and his Upasana are described. The twelve Suryas, Mitra, Ravi, Surya, Bhaga, Khaga, Pusan, Hiranyagarbha, Marici, Aditya Savita, Arka, and Bhaskara¹ are mentioned. Several Surya Mantras including the Saura Astaksara are described, as also the method of contemplation of Surya, his Puja and his Yantra. In philosophy we know of the two paths of Devayana and Pitryana, the former referring to the path of light leading to liberation through the Sun. These two paths are also derived from the course of the Sun and the Sun as a medium of spiritual progress. III In the heroic annals of ancient India, in which the two epics were born, the Sun figures along with the Moon, as in other ancient civilizations of the world, as the progenitor of the line of kings-the Suryavamsa. He is the prime ancestor of the Kings of the Ramayana. Naturally his worship occurs in the Ramayana. Particularly when Rama feels somewhat fatigued on the battle field of Lanka, Sage Agastya, son of Mitra-Varuna, teaches Rama the hymn of Aditya-hrdaya which Rama recites thrice and feels reinforced ; the Sun looks at Rama in great joy and asks Rama to hurry up and kill Ravana: etat trigunitam japtva yuddhesu vijayisyasi | adityam preksya japtva tu param harsamavaptavan | | 1. The list of twelve Adityas differs from text to text. Another list is Dhatr, Mitra, Aryaman, Rudra, Varuna, Surya, Bhaga, Vivasvan, Pusan, Savitr, Tvasty and Visnu. The anonymous commentary on Sambapancasika (JSS. 104., on verse 4) quotes a verse which gives the twelve Adityas with a slight difference, adding Indra and Parjanya and dropping Surya and Savitar from the above list. The commentary adds that the twelve Adityas preside over the twelve months and that, according to the Mahabharata, Martanda is the composite form of all these twelve.

222 puranam - PURANA atha raviravadanniriksya ramam muditamanah paramam prahrsyamanah | nisicarapatisamksayam viditva suraganamadhyagato vacastvareti || [Vol. XII, No. 2 Yuddha, 107. 26, 29, 31. It is not so well known to many that earlier, in the context when Sita swoons on seeing the magic head of Rama brought before her by Vidyujjihva, her friend Trijata gives Sita the same advice that she might turn to the Sun and seek solace and strength from Him. girivaramabhito'nuvartamano haya iva mandalamasu yah karoti | tamiha saranamabhyupaihi devam divasakaram prabhavo hyayam prajanam || Yuddha. 33. 36. This relation of the Sun to battle and victory would remind us of the Sun as a God of war and victory in western Mithraism, dealt with earlier. In the Mahabharata, the best known episode is the exiled Yudhisthira worshipping the Sun in the beginning of the Vanaparvan and obtaining from the Sun the vessel of inexhaustible food, Aksayapatra. In this connection we have a hymn of 108 names Earlier, (Astottarasatanama-stotra) of the Sun by Yudhisthira.¹ in Adi parvan, in the story of the marriage of Surya's daughter Tapati, there is a stotra on Surya, by Sage Vasistha, another Maitravaruni. We cannot take leave of the Mahabharata without referring to the story of Yavakrita told in connection with the hermitage of Sage Lomasa in the Tirthayatra-parvan of the Vanaparvan. In this connection we have the related story of the brothers Paravasu and Arvavasu, the former having killed his father mistaking him for a sylvan animal, and the brother expiating for this sin. Arvavasu is here described (Chs. 138-140 according to different editions) as performing penance to propitiate the Sun God who appears before him. Arvavasu is mentioned as having 1. For a detailed study of this hymn, see V. M. Bedekar, B. K. Barua Com. Vol., Gauhati, 1966, pp. 57-67.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 223 composed or seen the Rahasya Veda of Surya for propitiating the Sun, (Verse 17 or 18) and the establishment of Saura Veda, with the blessings of Sun (Verse 22) rahasyavedam krtavan suryasya dvijasattamah || and pratistham capi vedasya saurasya dvijasattamah || This is an intriguing reference and cannot obviously be to the Sukla Yajurveda because none of the names mentioned here are known in connection with Sukla Yajus in any of its sakhas. Neither have we any text of this name that has come down to us. Although the critical edition relegates the lines referring to the Saura Veda, to the footnotes, from our acquaintance with works, manuscripts and the process of their authentication and incorporation in the main tradition, we can say that such a reference would never get into a work like the Mahabharata, unless there was a text answering to this name current among those in whose midst it was in vogue. IV We shall now take a quick survey of the state of Sun-worship as seen from historical evidences. Sun worship had a somewhat interesting development in historical times. As we it As we have seen, was the oldest Vedic worship of the country, and its continuity is borne out by archaeological evidence also. As shown by Jitendranath Banerjee¹ there are some very ancient coins with wheel and lotus representations and these are not Buddhistic but symbols of the Sun. But into this ancient and native Sun-worship flowed the one which successive waves of immigrants from Persia, the Magas of Sakadvipa, brought with them; their Mitra or Mihira cult, gave a fresh impetus to it. They probably started coming in during the first two or three centuries of the Christian era, when after a boom, the Mitra cult began to decline in the West and Middle Est. The Sakadvipi Maga priests who came in the earlier waves of immigration got absorbed into the Brahmin community, with the course a special appellation, Maga, Bhojaka or Sakadvipi. The story of the chiselling of the Sun by Tvasta which the Puranas say was done in the Sakadvipa is known to poet Kalidasa (Raghu. VI. 32). Many Gupta kings and chiefs 1. The Representation of the Sun in Brahmanical Art, Indian Antiquary, August 1925, pp. 161-3.

224 puranam -- PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 bore Sun names. More than one monument and epigraph bears witness to the new vogue that Sun-worship gained during the Gupta age; we have thus the Mandasor Sun temple and inscription (A.D. 473-4), the Indore Copper Plate grant of Skandagupta I (A.D. 465-6) and in the reign of Jivitagupta II of the later Guptas of Magadha, the Deo Baranark inscription mentioning Sunworship and the Sun-priest Bhojaka Suryamitra. It is highly probable that ancient Brahmin-names with Mitra-endings denote a Maga connection. In the sixth century, Varahamihira who was in all likelihood of Maga descent, describes the iconography of the Sun in Persian style (Brhatsamhita 57.46-48)¹ and refers to Magas as the priests proper for Sun-worship (ib. 60.19). HieunTsang describes a glorious Sun-temple attracting a thousand pilgrims a day at Multan around which a large community of Magas had settled, and another splendid Sun-temple at Kanauj³. The great Sun-temple Martanda in Kashmir belongs to 8th Century A.D. Inscriptions refers to the father and grandfather of King Harsavardhana of Kanauj, Prabhakaravardhana and Adityavardhana, both of these bearing Sunnames, as Paramadityabhaktas. The second day of Emperor Harsa's periodical congregations was dedicated to the Sun. Poet Mayura of the Court wrote the famous hymn Suryasataka and is believed to have been cured of leprosy by the grace of the Sun God. Bana, in his Harsacarita confirms this vogue of Sun-worship by describing Prabhakaravardhana's daily adoration of the Sun and the recital three times a day of the Mantra called Adityahrdaya. This Adityahrdaya may be the text now found in the Yuddhakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana (Agasty-Rama-Samvada) or the other longer text (Krsna-Arjuna-Samvada) assigned in many manuscripts to the Bhavisyottara Purana. Of this last-mentioned Purana, whose original text may go to the Gupta times, the opening book called the Brahmaparvan is, in most part, on the worship of the Sun and on the history of the Magas or Bhojaka Brahmanas from the Sakadvipa. Inscriptions continue to mention these Maga Brahmanas as such'; and for his part Medhatithi, on Manu (II. 6) 1. The Visnudharmottara also prescribes this 'Udicya-vesa' with coat, boots, the Persian Avyanga etc. for the Sun-image. 2. Watters, II. 294. 3. Ib. I. p. 352. 4. D.R. Bhandarkar, Ep. Ind., IX. p. 279, inscription dated 861 A.D.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 225 would keep Magas and their worship of the Sun distinct from that of the Sun according to the Veda and the Pancayatana-worship and classify the Bhojaka as being outside the Vedic pale. Besides the portions in the major Puranas devoted to Sun-worship, the Saura-literature of this period comprises the Samba-Upapurana, known to Alberuni, and the Saurasamhita, a text in 700 verses, a manuscript of which, dated 941 A. D. is known¹. At the close of the chapter on the consecration of images in his Brhatsamhita (Ch. 59.22), Varahamihira says that one should look up the Savitra for more details regarding Sun-worship, and Utpala explains that the reference is to a Saura Sastra of that name; under 59.19, Utpala speaks of the procedure set forth in the Saurasastra. V Some references have already been made to Puranas containing Saura materinl. Several of the well-known Puranas have incidental descriptions of the worship of the Sun, Brahma, Skanda, Varaha, Matsya, Agni. Garuda, Naradiya and Markandeya which has eleven chaps. on the Sun (102-110) and the stories of his birth etc. the section includes three hymns to the Sun. In the Linga (Uttara-bhaga, ch 22), a Saura-snana or Sun-bath is enjoined before the Bhasma-snana (smearing the body with holy ash) as a preliminary to the worship of Siva; a Bhaskara Navaksara Mantra is given; in Anga-nyasa, the Sun is described as being of the form of the Trimurtis, Brahma being the Hrdaya, Visnu Siras and Rudra Sikha; and the Dhyana prescribed is '-'I am Surya'. Special note however should be taken of the Bhavisya and Samba which are regular Saura Puranas. The Sun and his worship described in these two are of the type of Sun-image and forms of worship as practised by Maga Brahmanas who had come from Sakadvipa. Samba Purana in 84 Chaps. available in the Venkatesvara Edition, deals with Samba, Krsna's son, being cursed with leprosy, his worship of the Sun for becoming cured, his bringing of the Maga Brahmanas to Mitra Vana or the forest of the Sun near Multan, the story of the Sun being chiselled by Visvakarman in Sakadvipa, characteristics of Sun's image, his temple, methods of his worship, Sun as the supreme deity of wor- 1. Haraprasad Shastri, Report of Search for Sanskrit Mss., 1895-1900, P. 5.

226 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 ship for attaining all objects including Mukti, the consorts of the Sun-God Samjna, Rajni, Chaya, etc., the twelve names of the Sun and the twelve Adityas, the evolution of the Universe as born of the Sun, Sun's attendants, performance of Sun's festivals, Sunmantras, several Sun-hymns, centres of Sun-worship in India like Sutira which seems to be same as Konark, Kalapriya and Mitravana (Mulasthana). Kalapriya is near Kanauj and its Sun-temple is the one referred to by Hieun-Tsang. Here was the temple of the Sun called Kalapriyanatha before which, as V.V. Mirashi has shown, Bhavabhuti's three plays were staged: it is significant in this connection that Bhavabhuti prays to the Sun in the prologue to his Malatimadhava. There is a lot of common matter between the Samba and the Bhavisya Puranas. The latter part of Samba Purana seems to represent a Tantric text on Sun-worship called jnanottara. The Bhavisya Purana in its earlier part gives all the abovementioned episodes relating to Samba and the Maga Brahmanas and the worship of the Sun as the supreme God. Besides these there was a regular Aditya Purana but with this title there are Of the at least three Purinas glorifying Siva, Visnu and Sun.3 last, with which alone we are now concerned, only one extracts dealing with some aspects of Sun worship are available. No full manuscript of this Purana has come to light. This may be identical with old Saura Purana dealing with Sun, of which again we have no mss. yet, and which is different from the Saura Purana printed in the Anandasrama and dealing with Siva VI Among other texts on Surya worship, which are known from mss. or citations, the following may be mentioned: Suryarahasya tantra, by Vrajaraja; Suryagama or Sauragama quoted by the Dharma sastra writers Raghunandana and Kamalakara: Suryadipancayat na-pratisthapaddhati by the well-known Dharma sastra writer of Banaras, Divakara ; Suryavalokana-prayoga on how to gaze at the Sun; Sauradharma and Saura-dharmottara quoted by Hemadri, Raghunandana, Kamalakara and several other Nibandha writers ; 1. Other wives are Svarna, Suvarcasa, and Niksubha. 2. Such as Mathara, Pingala, Danda. 3. See New Catalogus Catalogorum, Vol. II. pp. 72-74.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 227 and Sauratantra quoted by Ksirasvamin on Amarakosa. There are also several amorphous texts called Saura etc. setting forth details of Suryopasana, texts giving Suryapuja, Surya-mantras etc. The Prapancasarasamgraha of Girvanendra Sarasvati deals at some length. in its fourteenth and fifteenth patalas with Saura Mantras, Yantras etc., following the treatment of the same in Sankara's Prapancasara, patala fourteen. Texts called Trca, Trcakalpa and so on deal with Suryopasana and the gteat Sakta authority Bhaskararaya wrote a Trcabhaskara. VII Reference was already made to Surya-hymns. The most popular one with us is the Adityahrdaya of the Ramayana. There are other texts, shorter and longer of this name assigned to other sources, like the Bhavisyottara.¹ There are several namastotras, Dvadasa, Astottarasata, and Sahasranama the last mentioned being assigned to the Bhavisyottara. There are hymns of the Sun from Puranas and Tantras. Of hymns in the line of the Suryasataka of Mayura, there are a few worthy of mention: The Samba-pancasika, fifty verses ascribed to Samba, Krsna's son, published in Kavyamala (No. 13) and in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series (No. 104). This hymn itself is mentioned in the Varahapurana and it has in its K. M. edition the learned commentary of the Kashmirian Saivite writer Ksemaraja and in the Trivandrum edition, another equally learned anonymous commentary. This is easily the most important of Suryastotras of the classical times; it integrates Yoga and the philosophy of Vak (speech) with the worship of the Sun who is conceived here on advaitic lines as the Supreme Being Next in importance is the Aditya-stotra-ratna by Sri Appayya Diksita, with his own commentary; this deals with the adoration of Aditya by himself, as Brahman and as being presided over by Siva. On the model of Mayura'r hymn, the well-known Panditaraja Jagannatha wrote the Sun-hymn called Sudhalahari. Gopala Sarman, Srisvara and Kodandarama are three other poets who produced each a Suryasataka probably on the same Mayura-model. VIII Some of the renowned and ancient Sun-temples of the North have been referred to. But the greatest gift of Sun-worship to the 1. See ibid. pp. 76-79. 4

228 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 2 art of Temple architecture and sculpture is the Sun-temple of Konark in Orissa, built by King Narasimhadeva of Orissa, 1230-64 A.D. One of the leading dollar-earning temples of India, Konark, fashioned like the the chariot of the Sun, is one of the most magnificently carved temples of the country. In South India, in Hanumakonda in Warangal, the Kakatiya capital, there is a temple with three shrines dedicated to Siva, Visnu and Surya. Andhra has another Sun temple at Arasavalli near Sri Kurmam and on the day of the Shan-mata conference, dedicated to Sun, our Acarya has arranged for special worship to the Sun at this temple. There is hardly a shrine in Tamilnad without Surya in the Navagraha group; some have additionally a separate standing figure of the Sun. The most important of such a separate representation of Surya is the exquisite carving of Surya's chariot with his horses in Gangikondacolapuram, which, at the bidding of our Acarya, is now receiving special attention and puja. I am told that a similar Suryaratha is to be seen in Darasuram. There are many shrines where according to the Ksetra mahatmya Surya was worshipped or Surya worshipped Siva. The lower rock-cut cave in Tiruchi has a series of shrines to the Pancayatana deities including the Sun. The Nagesvarasvamin temple in Kumbhakonam of the early Cola age has a separate shrine for Surya. In the Kacchapesvara temple in Kanchipuram, there is a shrine to the Sun, and verses from Mayura's Surya-sataka were inscribed here on the pillars, but only a bit of one of these pillars is now preserved in the Madras Museum. An exclusive Surya Ksetra in Tamilnad is Suryanarkoli of Kulottunga Cola's time. At Tiruvarur, the writer's birthplace and an old and famous ksetra, there was a Surya temple with a Surya tank, but the latter alone is now seen. T. Gopinatha Rao has noticed in his book on Hindu Iconography Sun-images, standing as well as seated in the chariot, from Chittorgarh in Marwar, Ajmere, Ellora from Haveri, Nuggehalli and Belur in Karnataka; from Gudimallam; from Melacheri near Kaverippakkam. He has also reproduced an interesting Surya-torana from the Sun temple of Junagarh in which eleven Adityas are sculptured on the torana with the twelfth in the inner shrine.

July, 1970] WORSHIP OF THE SUN 229 South Indian Sun-sculpture does not show any trace of the 'Udicya-vesa' brought by the Magas. IX An intense region-wise survey yield abundant data on the historical, archaeological and religious side: for an example of such a regional study, we may refer to the paper by P. N. Bhatt 'The Sun-cult in Gujarat and Saurastra' (AIOC. XVIIth, Ahmedabad, pp. 429-436). The festivals and other celebrations and customs still prevalent show the vogue of Sun-worship even among the common folk. It is not as if Sun-worship is prevalent only among the higher classes. Sun-worship is prevalent in different forms among the trival folk as well. For example, Tarak Chandra Das has described Sun-worships among the aboriginal tribes of Eastern India, in the J. of the Dept. of Letters University of Calcutta, Vol. XI. 1924, pp. 87-94. X In the Upanisads we saw the Upasana of Suryaas presided over by the Supreme Being Purusa. This Purusa in the Adityamandala has also been taken in Saguna form as Surya-Narayana or as Samba (Siva). According to the internal preferences of the Pancayatana worshipper, those who prefer Narayana as the indwelling Being contemplate so : dhyeyassada savitrmandalamadhyavarti narayanah sarasi nasanasannivistah | keyuravan makarakundalavan kiriti hari hiranmayavapurdhrtasankhacakrah || and those who prefer Siva contemplate accordingly. sauramandalamadhyastham sambam samsarabhesanam | nilagrivam virupaksam namami sivamavyayam || Of Visnu or Siva, the Sun, along with the Moon, has also been taken as the Eye. Cf. the Purusa Sukta: caksossuryo'jayata | The Sun was born of tho eye of the Purusa. There are some composite sculptures of Sun, which may be taken as representing the Trimurtis, Sun, Siva, Visnu and Brahma with three or four faces. The Martanda-Bhairava image is to represent the Trimurtis accord-

230 puranam - PURANA For a [Vol. XII, No. 2 ing to the Sarada Tilaka brahma-visnu-sivatmakaya sauraya yogapithaya namah | probable sculpture of this Martanda-Bhairava, see VIth All India Oriental Conference Proceedings, Patna, pp. 243-7. According to the Subhagodaya quoted by Lolla Laksmidhara in his commentary on the Saundaryalahari, verse 41, Devi also is to be contemplated in the Solar orb : suryamandalamadhyastham devim tripurasundarim | pasankusadhanurbanahastam dhyayetsusadhakah || Of Devi, the Sun, along with the Moon, is the brilliant ear-ring, Tatanka. tataka yugali bhutatapano dupamandala | Apart from these is the worship of the Sun Himself as the main object of adoration, such as the Hindus do in their daily Sandhya. Among Surya stotras, the Adityahrdaya, is to be recited thrice daily or as often as possible; among forms of worshipping the Sun with Vedic Mantras, the Surya-namaskara is to be performed on Sundays or at least on the birth-days and whenever there is illness in the house. Gayatri or Savitri (Rg. III. 62.10) is the famous Vedic mantra of God Savitr which is recited daily by Orthodox Hindus in their Sandhya. It is by the prolonged Japa of Gayatri in three Sandhyas that, Manu says, the Rsis became what they were: rsayo dirghasandhyatvaddirghamayuravapnuyuh | prajnam yasasca kirtim ca brahmavarcasameva ca || IV. 94. May Gayatri, the Mother of the Vedas, as Her promises, save Her reciters !