Piṅgala, Scribe of Sūrya
Piṅgala · piṅgala, “the tawny one”
Piṅgala is the scribe and attendant of Bhagavān Sūrya. The Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa shows him standing at the right of Bhagavān Sūrya, with Daṇḍanāyaka on the left, and the two together are the doorkeepers of Sūryaloka. Nārada tells Sāmba that he is the lekhaka, the scribe, in the Sūrya Maṇḍala. Brahmā says he was appointed by Agni, and that Agnideva himself, being of the colour of gorocana, is called Piṅgala. When Revanta fled at birth, Bhagavān Sūrya sent Piṅgala and Daṇḍanāyaka to bring him back, and to this day they have found no flaw in that horse.
The scribe in the Sūrya Maṇḍala
Sumantu Muni tells King Śatānīka how Nārada spoke to Sāmba of Bhagavān Sūrya and those around him. Sūrya’s two wives, Rājñī and Nikshubhā, shine at his two sides, and devatās of different names surround him. Piṅgala is there as lekhaka, the scribe, and another there is Daṇḍanāyaka. Hearing this, Sāmba asks, “Who is Piṅgala? What does he always write, standing in the Sūrya Maṇḍala?” Later he asks again to hear of the parivāra devatās of Bhagavān Sūrya: Rājñī, Nikshubhā, Diṇḍi, Piṅgala and the others.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 76, 79
Agni and the name Piṅgala
Brahmā tells Rudra who was appointed to the Sūrya ratha, and he says that Agni appointed Piṅgala. To the ṛshis Brahmā says more. He promises to tell of Daṇḍanāyaka and Piṅgala and of the other Pravaras, the devatās who stand in the directions. In former time, when the dānavas had set about killing Bhagavān Sūrya, the devas resolved to become the chiefs of the army. Kārttikeya took his place on the left. Agnideva stands on the right side of Bhagavān Sūrya, and being of the colour of gorocana, he is called Piṅgala.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 53, 124
Where he stands
Brahmā counts the Pravaras once more in brief: the two Aśvinī Kumāras; Daṇḍanāyaka and Piṅgala, who are to be known as doorkeepers of Sūryaloka; Rājña and Sausha; Revata and Dindi; and eighteen others. All of them bear many kinds of weapons, and together with the mighty Garuḍa they follow Bhagavān Sūrya.
In the Sūrya temple, Piṅgala stands to the right of Bhagavān Sūrya and Daṇḍanāyaka to his left. At the pratishṭhā of the Sūrya mūrti, Daṇḍa and Piṅgala are placed at its feet.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 124, 130, 136
In the rathayātrā
Brahmā tells Rudra how the ratha of Bhagavān Sūrya is to be driven and who goes with it. The Pratīhāri goes ahead of the ratha to clear the road. After him the Daṇḍanāyaka is sent, and after him Piṅgala. Rakshaka and Dvāraka ride in the rear, Dindi sits in the front part, and ahead of him goes the Lekhaka, the scribe dear to Bhāskara.
As Bhagavān Sūrya has the presence of his two wives, Saṃjñā and Chāyā, so the presence of Dindi, Piṅgala and the others is also a chief thing in the ratha yātrā.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 56, 58
Piṅgala and the horse Revanta
Nārada tells Sāmba that Saṃjñā bore from Bhagavān Sūrya a son named Revanta, of tejas equal to his father’s. That eighth horse fled as soon as he was born. Bhagavān Sūrya ordered his side-attendants Daṇḍanāyaka and Piṅgala to bring the horse to him without using force and without doing it any harm, young as it was. Standing at the two sides of Bhagavān Sūrya, Daṇḍanāyaka and Piṅgala wished to find some weakness or fault in the horse, and to this day they have not found one.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 79
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 53, 56, 58, 76, 79, 124, 130, 136