Āditya Hṛdayam

Agastya Maharshi gave Rāma the Āditya Hṛdayam on the battlefield of Laṅkā, in the middle of the last duel with Rāvaṇa. The Āditya Hṛdayam is a stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Sūrya, the sun. Agastya told Rāma that if he recited it three times, he would win the victory over Rāvaṇa in that very hour. The account is in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Chapter 107.

The setting: a moment of weariness

The war had gone on for many days and nights. Prahastha, Kumbhakarṇa and Indrajit had fallen. Then Rāvaṇa himself entered the field in great rage.

The duel between Rāma and Rāvaṇa went on for many muhūrtas (short periods of time). Each arrow was met by another arrow, and each weapon by its equal. Rāma broke Rāvaṇa’s bow, and Rāvaṇa took up another. Rāma destroyed his crown, and Rāvaṇa made a new one. Rāma broke the rākshasa’s chariot, and a new one appeared. Devas, gandharvas, siddhas, mahārshis and nāgas gathered in the sky above Laṅkā to watch.

At one point Rāma stood on the battlefield deep in thought. He was chintākrānta (weighed down by worry) and tired from the long fight. Rāvaṇa’s charioteer had taken him away for a while to rest the horses. Now Rāvaṇa, refreshed, came back to the field.

Agastya comes down

At that moment Agastya Maharshi, who had come with the devas to watch the battle, left the assembly of devas in the sky. He came to Rāma, stood before him in the middle of the battlefield, and spoke.

The teaching

Agastya said: “O Rāma, mighty-armed one, you who delight the hearts of all beings! I will now tell you a stotra that is sanātana (eternal), very secret and most holy. By reciting it you will win victory over all your enemies in this battle.”

He went on: “This Āditya Hṛdayam is supremely holy. It destroys all enemies and gives victory in every direction. It gives imperishable good fruit and always brings what is good. It removes all pāpa (sin), takes away worry and sickness, and lengthens life. It is the best of all mantras and japas (repeated prayers).”

Agastya then taught the stotra. It is a series of divine names of Sūrya, each with its meaning, and each name points to one quality of the sun.

The opening names

Agastya spoke of Sūrya by these names:

  • Raśmimān: the one with endless golden rays.
  • Samudyan: the one who rises each dawn and gives awareness to the world.
  • Devāsura-namasktaḥ: the one to whom both devas and asuras bow.
  • Vivasvān: the one whose brightness is greater than all other lights.
  • Bhuvaneśvara: the ruler of all worlds, through the rains he governs.
  • Bhāskara: the giver of light to the worlds.

Sūrya contains all the devas

The stotra says that Sūrya is sarva-devātmaka, the ātmā (self) of all the devas. In him live the forms of Brahmā, Vishṇu, Śiva, Kumāra, Prajāpati, Devendra, Kubera, Kāla, Yama, Chandra, Varuṇa, the pitṛ-devatās, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, the Aśvinī-devatās, the Maruts, Manu, Vāyu, Agni, and all living beings. He is the cause of all the six seasons (shaḍṛtus).

The full series of names

Agastya went through a long series of names. Each comes with its meaning:

  • Ādityaḥ: the son of Aditi. Savitā: the one who starts creation. Sūryaḥ: the one who lights the world. Khagaḥ: the one who travels the sky for the good of the worlds.
  • Pūshā: the one who feeds the world through rain. Gabhastimān: the one blazing with rays. Suvarṇa-sadṛśaḥ: the one who is gold in colour. Bhānuḥ: the one who shines by himself.
  • Hiraṇya-retāḥ: the seed of all universes. Divākara: the one who makes the day.
  • Haridaśvaḥ: the one with dark-coloured horses. Sahasrārchiḥ: the one with countless rays. Saptī: the one with seven horses (the chariot of seven horses, saptāśva ratha).
  • Marīchimān: the one whose rays are the root of all tejas (radiance). Timiroṇmathanāḥ: the destroyer of darkness. Śambhuḥ: the giver of happiness. Tvashṭā: the destroyer of all. Mārtāṇḍa: the one who is born again to make the world anew after pralaya (the great dissolution). Aṃśumān: the one who always shines by himself.
  • Hiraṇya-garbhaḥ: the one who carries the universes within him. Śiśiraḥ: the one who gives relief from the three tāpas (kinds of suffering). Tapanaḥ: the giver of tapas (heat and austerity). Bhāskaraḥ: the giver of divine light. Raviḥ: the one praised in all the worlds.
  • Vindhya-vīthī-plavaṅgamaḥ: the one who moves swiftly through the Vindhya passage.
  • Āṭapī: the one who has heat (āṭapa). Maṇḍalī: the one with a round disc. Mṛtyuḥ: the destroyer of enemies. Piṅgalaḥ: the one golden-brown at dawn. Sarvatāpanaḥ: the one who heats all creatures at midday.
  • Kaviḥ: the master of all the śāstras. Viśvaḥ: the universal one. Mahātejāḥ: the one of great radiance. Raktaḥ: the one with love for all creatures. Sarvabhavobhavaḥ: the cause of the birth of all beings.
  • Nakshatra-graha-tārāṇām adhipaḥ: the master of all stars, planets and constellations. Viśva-bhāvanaḥ: the one who sustains the universe. Tejasām api tejasvī: the radiance beyond all other radiance.
  • Dvādaśātmā: the one who shines in twelve forms. These are the twelve Ādityas: Indra, Dhātā, Bhaga, Pūshā, Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryamā, Archi, Vivasvān, Tvashṭā, Savitā and Vishṇu. The Govindarājīya commentary gives this list from the smṛti.

Sūrya as the ātmā of all action

Agastya then said to Rāma: “O joy of the Raghus! This Sūrya is the master who creates, sustains and dissolves all creatures. With his rays he heats the world, and with rain he feeds it. He lives within all beings as their inner ruler (antaryāmin). Even when they sleep, he stays awake. The offering (havis) is his own form, and the fruit of the offering is also his. He is known through the Vedas. He is the form of the yajña (fire ritual) and the form of the fruit of the yajña.

“In every hardship, every calamity, every difficult road and every great danger, the one who praises this Sūrya-deva does not perish.”

Agastya’s command to Rāma

Agastya ended: “O Rāma, mighty-armed one, recite this Āditya Hṛdayam three times with single-pointed attention (ekāgratā). In this very great war you will win. You will kill Rāvaṇa at this very moment.”

Having said this, Agastya Maharshi went back to his place in the assembly of devas.

Rāma recites and goes forward

Śrī Rāma, full of radiance, received the greatness of the Āditya Hṛdayam from Agastya Muni. His worry left him, and he was filled with deep joy (santosha). With full attention he fixed the mantra in his mind and heart.

Then he sipped water (ācamana) three times and became ritually pure (śuchi). He fixed his eyes on Sūrya-deva in the sky and recited the mantra three times. He was filled with great joy.

He took up his bow and went toward Rāvaṇa, resolved to destroy the night-wanderer (nishāchara) completely. At that very moment Sūrya-deva knew that Rāvaṇa’s end was now certain. He looked at Rāma from among the devas in the sky and called out with great joy: “Rāma! Hurry!”

More about the episode

The Govindarājīya commentary says that Rāma’s worried state at this moment was not a failure of courage. Throughout the war Rāma held back on purpose, and gave Rāvaṇa every chance to surrender. The coming of Agastya showed that the time of the final decision had arrived, and that more delay would no longer fit dharma. The Āditya Hṛdayam was the last key.

The Āditya Hṛdayam is also kept as a stotra in its own right, with its own verses.

Sources

  • Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 107 (the Āditya Hṛdayam)
  • Govindarājīya commentary on the Rāmāyaṇa (on Rāma’s state of mind and on the twelve Ādityas, from the smṛti)