Bhojakas: The Brāhmaṇas Born from Sūrya

The Bhojakas are a family line of brāhmaṇas who came forth directly from the body of Bhagavān Sūrya, the Sun. He created them to perform his pūjā for all time and regards them as his own sons. They are the foremost of Sūrya’s devotees, bound for ever to his service, and they receive his deepest love.

The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa tells of their origin and their set dharma (way of life). It also explains the difference between those who truly live up to this sacred line and those who carry only its name.

How the Bhojakas Came to Be

Long ago, the son of King Priyavrata, ruler of Śākadvīpa, built a magnificent mandira (temple) to Sūrya, as grand as a vimāna (flying palace) of the devas. He had a golden pratimā (sacred image) made that bore every auspicious lakṣaṇa (mark). Then he stood before Sūrya with a troubling question: who was fit to install this image and serve it? No one he could think of seemed worthy. So he took refuge in Sūrya himself.

Sūrya appeared before the king and said: “From my own tejas (radiance) I will create a group of brāhmaṇas, called Maga, for the purpose of the highest pūjā.” Even as he spoke, eight shining men, white as the moon, came forth from Sūrya’s body:

Two from his lalāṭa (forehead)
Two from his vakṣa (chest)
Two from his caraṇa (feet)
Two from his pāda (base)

These eight wore kaṣāya (saffron) cloth, held piṭārī and lotus flowers in their hands, and recited the Vedas and Upaniṣads with complete mastery. Knowing Sūrya as their father, they at once asked: “O Pitṛdeva (divine father), for what sacred duty have you created us? Command us.” Sūrya sent them with the king and charged them to perform his pūjā and look after his temple for ever.

Why They Are Called Bhojakas and Magas

Sūrya himself explains their names:

They are called Bhojaka because they eat only Sūrya’s prasāda (food first offered to him), and never anything forbidden. Also, because they offer bhojana (food) to Sūrya every day, they are Bhojakas.
They are called Magadha because they meditate at all times on Maga, the sons of Sūrya.

The Dharma of a Bhojaka

Sūrya teaches Aruṇa the right conduct of a Bhojaka. This dharma covers the whole of life: study, pūjā, food, speech and bearing.

Study before married life: A Bhojaka must first complete full Vedādhyayana (study of the Vedas) before entering gṛhastha (householder) life.

Trikāla snāna: He must bathe three times a day: at dawn, at noon and at dusk.

Pañcakṛtya: His daily pūjā is made up of five practices done together:

Pratimā pūjana: pūjā of the image of Sūrya
Sandhyā-tarpaṇa: offering water at the three junctions of the day
Havana-pūjana: offerings into the sacred fire
Dhyāna-japa: meditation and repetition of mantras
Sūrya-carita paṭhana: reciting the sacred story of Sūrya

No criticism: He must never speak against the Vedas, brāhmaṇas or devas, under any circumstances.

Śaṅkha: He must blow the śaṅkha (conch) before Sūrya every day. Sūrya declares that one blow of the conch in his pūjā gives him as much joy as six months of hearing the Purāṇas.

Gāyatrī: He must recite the Gāyatrī mantra before Sūrya at all three sandhyās (junctions of the day), every day.

Avyaṅga: He must always wear the avyaṅga (the sign of devotion to Sūrya) during pūjā. Sūrya declares that whoever offers pūjā without the avyaṅga will receive neither children nor his grace.

Śikhā: He must keep the sacred śikhā (tuft of hair). Loose, unbound hair is forbidden.

Fasts and vows: He must keep the nakta-vrata (eating only at night) on Sundays and on Ṣaṣṭhī (the sixth lunar day), fast completely on Saptamī (the seventh lunar day), and keep a vrata (vow) on Saṃkrānti (the day the Sun enters a new sign).

Silence in pūjā: Pūjā should be done with bhakti (devotion) and śraddhā (faith), in silence, and with anger held in check.

Food: He must eat only once a day, and only Sūrya’s prasāda. This prasāda is as pure as haviṣya (food fit for sacred offering). It purifies the Bhojaka just as the food of the yajña purifies the yajamāna (the one for whom the yajña is performed). He must never sell the perfumes, cloth or ornaments that were offered to Sūrya and then given to him.

Respect for sacred things: The water used to bathe the image, the flowers offered, the sacred fire and all other nirmālya (things already offered) must never be treated with contempt or carelessness.

Speech: Only auspicious words. Both inauspicious speech and inauspicious acts are forbidden.

Uttama and Adhama Bhojakas

The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa tells of a conversation between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Kṛtavarmā at Sāmbapura. It began when Nārada and Parvata accepted a meal from the Bhojakas there. Kṛtavarmā asked whether food from a Bhojaka could be accepted, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa gave this clear answer.

Adhama Bhojakas, fallen Bhojakas, are those who:

do not wear the avyaṅga or keep the set rules of bathing (snāna niyamas)
do Sūrya pūjā carelessly or only for show
eat śūdra anna (food from a śūdra)
till fields, which is not their svadharma (own duty)
do not perform the jātakarma (birth rite) and the other required saṃskāras (life-cycle rites)
do not keep or honour the conch
grow long, unbound hair without the śikhā

Every sacred act done through such a Bhojaka bears no fruit, whether devārcana (pūjā of the devas), havana (fire offering), snāna, tarpaṇa (water offering), dāna (giving) or brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding brāhmaṇas). Their impurity makes every sacred act useless. These are the ones rightly called abhojya: those from whom food should not be accepted.

Sūrya also declares plainly: Bhojakas who take another man’s wife, steal another’s wealth, or speak against the devas and the Vedas are not dear to him. He accepts no satkārya (good deed) from them. Those who do not perform the Mahāśveta yajana and do not know the Sūrya-mudrās (sacred hand gestures of Sūrya) have no right to perform his pūjā.

Most serious of all: any Bhojaka who eats without first offering bhoga (food) to Bhagavān Sūrya goes to naraka, whatever his birth.

Uttama Bhojakas, the best Bhojakas, who keep all the niyamas (rules), are supremely dear to Sūrya. They are his own sons, his ātmasvarūpa (his own self in form), and the truest of all who offer him pūjā.

What Their Origin Teaches

The origin of the Bhojakas carries a deep teaching. Sūrya did not appoint brāhmaṇas who already existed to serve his mandira. He created new ones from his own body for this very purpose. They are not only his servants but his sons, born of his tejas. The wealth of Sūrya’s temple, its land, grain, buildings, groves and villages, belongs to the Bhojakas as a father’s property belongs to his sons. What has been given to them cannot be taken back.

This family line began in Śākadvīpa and was carried across Jambūdvīpa wherever temples to Sūrya arose. It is the living extension of Sūrya’s own divine family into the world of dharma and upāsanā (devotional practice).

Sources

Bhaviṣya Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Parva
Bhaviṣya Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 117
Bhaviṣya Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 146–147