Bhaṭṭāditya Sūrya Pūjā

Bhaṭṭāditya Sūrya Pūjā, simply known as Bhattaditya Surya Puja, Sanskrit: भट्टादित्य सूर्य पूजा, Telugu: భట్టాదిత్య సూర్య పూజ, Hindi: भट्टादित्य सूर्य पूजा.

Bhaṭṭāditya is the form of Bhagavān Sūrya worshipped at the central Sūrya shrine of Guptakshetra, at the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama (where the river meets the sea). The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa (Chapter 43) tells of a brāhmaṇa devotee of Sūrya who set up this worship. The chapter gives the 108 names of Sūrya (Sūrya-ashṭottaraśatanāma), which were given to this devotee, and it lays down the pūjā of Sūrya at Guptakshetra.

The Bhaṭṭāditya form

Bhaṭṭa means a learned brāhmaṇa. So Bhaṭṭāditya is Sūrya worshipped by, and in the form of, the devoted learned brāhmaṇa. The Bhaṭṭāditya at Guptakshetra is the form called upon with the 108 names of Chapter 43. He is one of the Ādityas worshipped at the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama, with Jayāditya and Bālāditya. (Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43.)

The 108 names of Sūrya

The 108 names of Sūrya in this chapter cover these groups:

  • His work in the world. Names that call Sūrya the source of light and heat, the keeper of all life, the measurer of time, and the maker of the seasons and the years.
  • His identities in the Purāṇa. Names taken from the account of Sūrya: his birth from Kaśyapa and Aditi; his twelve forms as the twelve Ādityas (Dhātā, Mitra, Aryaman, Indra, Varuṇa, Aṃśu, Bhaga, Vivasvān, Pūshan, Parjanya, Tvashṭā, Vishṇu); his chariot drawn by seven horses; and his charioteer Aruṇa.
  • His oneness with the Supreme. Names that say he is one with Brahman, with Vishṇu and with Paramātmā, the supreme consciousness that fills all that exists and whose visible form is the sun’s disc.
  • His relation to the living being. Names that call him the witness of all actions (Sākshin), the inner light of the eye, the source of the life-breath (prāṇa), and the one who gives moksha to his devotees.

Sūrya Pūjā at Guptakshetra

The worship of Sūrya at the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama includes:

  • Worship at sunrise at the Saṃgama, facing east toward the sun rising over the ocean.
  • Saying the 108 names while offering arghya (a libation of water) to the sun.
  • Offerings of red flowers (above all the red lotus), red sandal paste and red cloth. All of these belong to the solar power of Sūrya.
  • Gāyatrī japa. The Sūrya Gāyatrī, and the Vedic Gāyatrī mantra, which is addressed to the shining form of Sūrya as Savitā, make up the heart of the Sūrya sādhanā.
  • Worship at the Jayāditya shrine. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa worshipped this Āditya on his pilgrimage.

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa also says that Bālāditya (the child-sun) is worshipped near the Barkarika Tīrtha, and Bhaṭṭāditya at the central Sūrya shrine. These three Ādityas, Bhaṭṭāditya, Jayāditya and Bālāditya, make up the Saura sacred group of Guptakshetra. (Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 43, 46 and 54.)

The phala of worshipping Sūrya at the Saṃgama

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa says that worship of Sūrya at the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama brings great puṇya. This is most true at sunrise, facing the ocean, because the sunlight then falls straight on the Saṃgama, the point where the holy river meets the sacred sea. For those who worship with the 108 names and true śraddhā (faith), diseases are cured, pāpa is destroyed and moksha is reached.

Sources

  • Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43
  • Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 46 and 54