Abhishṭuta’s Stotra to Savitṛ (Brahma Purāṇa)
Abhishṭuta Kṛta Savitṛ Stotra · abhishṭuta kṛta savitṛ stotra, “the stotra to Savitṛ sung by Abhishṭuta”
Abhishṭuta’s Stotra to Savitṛ is the short prayer in which King Abhishṭuta asked Bhagavān Sūrya, as Savitṛ, to prepare the yajña ground for his aśvamedha. It is found in the Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 98, where Brahmā tells Nārada of Bhānutīrtha and five other tīrthas of the Gautamī. When the king had taken dīkshā, his ṛtvijas could not say who should make ready the vedi, and Vasishṭha taught him to ask Sūrya, the divine kshatriya. The king prayed, and Savitṛ answered, “I shall give.” The place where Sūrya came to grant the yajña ground is Bhānutīrtha, and a bath there grants every kind of wealth.
The setting
Brahmā names six tīrthas that destroy all pāpas: Bhānutīrtha, Tvāshṭra, Māheśvara, Aindra, Yāmya and Āgneya. A king of very pleasing form named Abhishṭuta began to honour the devas with an aśvamedha. Sixteen ṛtvijas served at it, led by Vasishṭha and Atri, and a doubt arose among them: when a brāhmaṇa takes dīkshā for a yajña, the king arranges the yajña ground; but when the king himself takes dīkshā, who is to make the vedi? If a brāhmaṇa did it, it would be a pāpa and could bring every kind of unhappiness.
Vasishṭha, the best of the knowers of dharma, answered that when the king has taken dīkshā, Sūrya should be asked to do the work, and he taught the king the prayer.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 98
The stotra
The prayer as Vasishṭha taught it:
“O Savitṛ, prepare on my behalf the yajña ground fit for the devas. You are the divine kshatriya, O master of living beings. Namaskāra to you.”
Vasishṭha said that Savitṛ, asked thus, would surely grant the splendid yajña ground of the devas. Saying “So be it,” Abhishṭuta prayed with faith to Sūrya, master of the devas, Ravi, who is one with Hari, Śiva and Brahmā:
“O Savitṛ, namaskāra to you. Grant us the yajña ground of the devas.”
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 98
Savitṛ’s answer
Because Sūrya is the divine kshatriya, the ground was given to the king. Savitṛ, master of the chiefs of the devas, said: “I shall give.” Brahmā teaches that one who performs a yajña in this way will never meet misfortune. When the brāhmaṇas, masters of the Vedas, began the holy satra, the aśvamedha, the king praised Sūrya again. The place where Sūrya came to grant the divine yajña ground is called Bhānutīrtha.
The yajña went on. Daityas and dānavas in the guise of Sāma singers entered it and mocked and scattered it; Viśvarūpa knew them, and his father Tvashṭṛ had the devas sprinkle water and kuśa all round, which burned them, and Yama slew the fallen with the Kāladaṇḍa, the Kālapāśa and the cakra. Agni was satisfied by the unbroken stream of offerings, Indra with the Maruts promised the king his lasting friendship, and the king worshipped Maheśvara and received bhukti and moksha. So arose Tvāshṭra Tīrtha, Yāmya, Agnitīrtha, Indratīrtha and Māheśvaratīrtha beside Bhānutīrtha.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 98
The phala
A holy bath in Bhānutīrtha grants all riches. One who remembers or reads of all these tīrthas is freed from every pāpa and goes to the cities of Śiva and Vishṇu. There are a hundred tīrthas in this holy place.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 98
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 98