Sūrya Stotras

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa has a long section in praise of Bhagavān Sūrya, called the Mārtāṇḍa Māhātmya (“the greatness of Mārtāṇḍa”, Mārtāṇḍa being a name of Sūrya). It runs from Chapter 99 to Chapter 107 and holds stotras (hymns of praise) sung to Sūrya by the devas and the ṛshis (seers). They praise how he arose from the light of the Vedas, how he holds up all creation, and how he is one with the supreme Paramātmā.

The setting

The Mārtāṇḍa Māhātmya comes after the account of the Vaivasvata Manvantara and the account of Saṃjñā and Chāyā. The Purāṇa then turns to a long praise of Bhagavān Sūrya over nine chapters. These chapters tell how Sūrya came to be, give the stotras sung to him, and tell of devotees who received his grace. They show Sūrya not only as a shining body in the sky but as the visible form of the supreme Paramātmā, who keeps all creation alive through light.

Sūrya’s origin (Chapters 99–100)

The Mārtāṇḍa Māhātmya begins by saying that Sūrya is the form of the Vedic teja (radiance). He arose from the first light that fills the Vedas, and his rays are the Ṛk, Yajus and Sāma mantras in their shining form. The devas say: “Without Sūrya’s kiraṇas (rays) no homa (fire offering) is effective, no dāna (gift) reaches its place, and no dharma is held up.”

First stotra: the devas’ stotra to Sūrya (Chapters 100–101)

The devas sang a stotra praising Bhagavān Sūrya as:

  • Ṛk-svarūpa, the form of the Ṛgveda
  • Yajus-svarūpa, the form of the Yajurveda
  • Sāma-svarūpa, the form of the Sāmaveda
  • the cause of day and night, of all the seasons and of all life
  • the one who purifies all creation with his rays
  • one with the twelve Ādityas and with all the devas in their solar form

Second stotra: the ṛshis’ stotra (Chapters 102–103)

Viśvakarma had cut Sūrya’s tejas down to one-sixteenth. The devas and ṛshis then saw Sūrya restored to his full glory, and they praised him: “O Sūrya! You are the eye of the world. You are the witness of all action. By your light all the worlds see. By your heat all life is held up.”

This stotra gives Sūrya twelve names, one for each of the twelve months:

  1. Dhātā
  2. Aryamā
  3. Mitra
  4. Varuṇa
  5. Indra
  6. Vivasvān
  7. Pūshan
  8. Parjanya
  9. Aṃśu
  10. Bhaga
  11. Tvashṭā
  12. Vishṇu

The devotees of Sūrya (Chapters 104–107)

The Mārtāṇḍa Māhātmya tells several accounts of devotees who received Sūrya’s grace through true worship. One of them is about the princes Vatsaprī and his brothers, who were lost in pātāla (the nether world). Sūrya’s grace was called on to bring them out. These accounts show sūrya-upāsanā (the worship of Sūrya) and what it gives. They show that Sūrya’s grace reaches even those in the places that are hardest to reach.

Sources

  • Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 99–107 (the Mārtāṇḍa Māhātmya)
  • Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 99–100 (Sūrya’s origin)
  • Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 100–101 (the devas’ stotra)
  • Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 102–103 (the ṛshis’ stotra)
  • Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 104–107 (the devotees of Sūrya)