Agni’s Stuti to Sūrya (Brahma Purāṇa)
Agni Kṛta Sūrya Stuti · agni kṛta sūrya stuti, “the praise of Sūrya sung by Agni”
Agni’s Stuti to Sūrya is the praise that Bhagavān Agni, the mouth of the devas, sang to Bhagavān Sūrya while Sūrya was being turned on the lathe. It is found in the Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 32, where Brahmā tells the munis of the birth of Mārtaṇḍa and the carving of his form. When Sūrya, the navel of all the worlds, was set on the lathe, the earth, the sky and the oceans were shaken, and the devas with Brahmā, the ṛshis and all beings praised him. Agni hailed him as moksha itself for those who have attained moksha, the supreme object of dhyāna, and the supreme goal of all beings. Viśvakarmā carved Sūrya’s form, and the Purāṇa promises sālokya with Sūrya to one who hears of it.
The setting
After his birth from Aditi, Mārtaṇḍa shone with rays below and above, blazing like a ball of fire, in a form that could not be clearly made out, and the munis asked how that form, red like a kadamba bud, became fit to be looked at. The Purāṇa gives the answer in its sixth chapter.
When Sūrya was set on the lathe and turned round, the earth with its oceans, mountains and forests rose and touched the sky; the sky with the moon, the grahas and the nakshatras was scattered and came down to the earth; the waters of the ocean were churned up; cliffs split and great mountains burst; the abodes of the lights that rest on Dhruva had their bonds of rays cut and fell; and the great clouds, scattered by the winds of the wheel’s turning, roared and broke apart. Seeing the three worlds so disturbed, the devas with Brahmā praised Bhāskara: “You appeared as the first deva of the devas. You are the support of all the splendour of the earth. You yourself are the three mūrtis in creation, sustenance and dissolution. O Jagatpati, maṅgala to you! You rain heat. Jaya, jaya!” Indra and the others praised him, the saptarshis praised him with many stotras, and the Vālakhilyas with the Vedic sūktas.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 32
The stuti
Then Bhagavān Agni, first of all the devas, who stands as the mouth of the devas, gladly spoke to Taraṇi, the Sun, as he was being turned on the lathe:
- “O Nātha! For those who have attained moksha, you are moksha itself.”
- “For those devoted to dhyāna, you are the supreme object of meditation.”
- “You are the supreme goal of all beings.”
- “For those who follow the karma-kāṇḍa, you alone are the goal. You are worthy of pūjā.”
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 32
After the stuti
The Vidyādharas, yakshas, rākshasas and nāgas praised him with the meaning of the Vedic words, śam to the two-footed and the four-footed beings, and prayed that all beings might bear his tejas. The gandharvas Hāhā and Hūhū, with Nārada and Tumburu, sang his praise; the apsarās Viśvācī, Ghṛtācī, Urvaśī, Tilottamā, Menakā, Sahajanyā, Rambhā and others danced; vīṇā, flute, drum and conch sounded in their thousands, and all the devas bowed with joined hands to the thousand-rayed one.
In that tumult Viśvakarmā, the architect of the devas, slowly set the orb of Ravi on the lathe and carved it skilfully as far as the knees. Because Bhānu did not give his approval, he was taken down from the lathe. The form that came from the loss of tejas was not rejected, and so his form became the most beautiful of all beautiful things and shone greatly.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 32
The phala
One who hears of this carving of the form of Bhānu, the cause of the seasons hemanta, varshā and grīshma, praised by the three mūrtis, attains sālokya with Sūrya, residence in his world, at the end of life.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 32
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 32