Brahmā’s Stotras to Sūrya
The Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, gives a series of great hymns to Bhagavān Sūrya. Brahmā, Bhagavān Śiva and Bhagavān Vishṇu sang them at the very start of the kalpa, when Bhagavān Sūrya showed his virāḍrūpa (his vast form) to the devas. Brahmā also sang a second stotra, which is kept in chapters 173 and 174. Together these hymns show the highest side of Bhagavān Sūrya in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.
The setting: Sūrya shows himself at the start of the kalpa
At the dawn of the present kalpa, Brahmā and all the devas were seized by ahaṃkāra (pride of self). A darkness of moha (confusion) covered them. At that moment a great tejas (radiance) rose of itself and spread until it filled the whole world. It began to circle in the sky, as if it were playing with the devas. On the earth below, its light looked like the middle of an open lotus.
The devas stood amazed. They thought: “This tejas has appeared for our sake and for the good of all the worlds. We cannot know where it comes from. The master of this tejas, the tejomūrti, does not show himself. We ask this tejas itself: O Deva! Who are you? Where are you? What is the nature of this tejas? All of us long to see you.”
In answer to their prayer and their bowing down, Bhagavān Sūrya showed himself in his virāḍrūpa. Each of the devas then praised him in turn. The Bhavishya Purāṇa tells this in the Brahma Parva, chapters 152 and 153.
Brahmā’s first stotra
namaste deva deveśa sahasra kiraṇojjvala |
lokadīpa namaste’stu namaste koṇa vallabha ||bhāskarāya namonityaṃ khakholkāya namo namaḥ |
vishṇave kālacakrāya somāyāmita tejase ||namaste pañcakālāya indrāya vasurētase |
khagāya lokanāthāya ekacakra rathāya ca ||jagad dhitāya devāya śivāyāmita tejase |
tamoḥgnāya surūpāya tejasāṃ nidhaye namaḥ ||arthāya kāmarūpāya dharmāyāmita tejase ||
mokshāya moksharūpāya sūryāya ca namo namaḥ ||krodha-lobha-vihīnāya lokānāṃ sthiti-hetave |
śubhāya śubharūpāya śubhadāya śubhātmane |
śāntāya śāntarūpāya śāntaye’smāstu vai namaḥ |
namaste brahmarūpāya brāhmaṇāya namo namaḥ ||
Brahmā’s praise, in English: “O Devadeveśa! You blaze with thousands of rays. You are the lamp of this world, the Koṇavallabha. Salutations to Bhāskara, to Khakholka, to Vishṇu, to the wheel of time, to Soma of measureless tejas, to the being of the five kālas, to Indra, to Vasuretas, to Agni, to Khanā, to the Lokanātha, to the rider of the chariot with one wheel. In you alone we see the divine forms and names of all powers. You are the one who does good to the world. You are Śiva. You are the destroyer of darkness. You are the store of tejas. You are free from anger and greed. You are the cause of the world’s staying in being. You are yourself Śubha, Maṅgala and the giver of good. You are peaceful in nature. You are Brahman. You are Brāhmaṇa. O Parabrahman! O Paramātman! O Jagatpati, be pleased with me.”
The Bhavishya Purāṇa gives this in the Brahma Parva, chapter 153.
Bhagavān Śiva’s stotra
jaya bhāva jayājeyā jayahaṃsa divākara |
jaya śaṃbho mahābāho khagagocara bhūdhara ||jaya loka pradīpāya jaya bhāno jagatpate |
jaya kāla jayānanta saṃvatsara śubhānana ||jaya devāditeḥ putra kaśyapānanda vardhana |
tamoghna jaya saptesa jaya saptāśva vāhana ||graheśa jaya kāntīśa jaya kāleśa śaṃkara |
artha kāmeśa dharmeśa jaya moksheśa śarmada ||jaya vedāṅga rūpāya graharūpāya vai namaḥ |
satyāya satya rūpāya surūpāya śubhāya ca ||krodha-lobha vināśāya kāmanāśāya vai jaya |
kalmasha pakshirūpāya yatirūpāya śaṃbhave ||viśvāya viśvarūpāya viśvakarmāya vai jaya |
jayoṃkāra vashaṭkāra svāhākāra svadhāmaya ||jayāśvamedharūpāya cāgni rūpāryamāya ca |
saṃsārārṇava pītāya mokshadvāra pradāya ca ||saṃsārārṇava magnasya mama deva jagatpate |
hastāvalambyo deva bhavatvaṃ gopate’dbhuta ||
Bhagavān Śiva’s praise, in summary: “O cosmic form, Jayabhāva, Ajeyā, Haṃsa, Dīvākara! O Śambhu of great arms! O Khagagocara (seen by birds and by those who move in space), O Bhūdhara! O Lokapradīpa! O Bhānu! O Kāla! O Ananta! O Saṃvatsara! O Kāśyapānanda-vardhana, son of Aditi, victory to you! O Graheśa, Kāntiśa, Kāleśa, Śaṃkara, master of artha, kāma, dharma and moksha! O you who are the form of the Vedāṅgas, of truth itself, of all the Vedic forms of the grahas, of the Kalmasha birds, of the yogis! O Viśva, Viśvarūpa, Viśvakarman! O Oṃkāra, Vashaṭkāra, Svāhākāra, Svadhāmaya! O Aśvamedha-rūpa, Agni, Aryama, who drank the ocean of saṃsāra and gives the door of moksha! O Jagatpati, be the support of my hand as I drown in the ocean of saṃsāra.”
The Bhavishya Purāṇa gives this in the Brahma Parva, chapter 153.
Bhagavān Vishṇu’s stotra
namāmi devadeveśa bhūta bhāvanam avyayam |
divākaram raviṃ bhānuṃ mārtaṇḍaṃ bhāskaraṃ bhagam ||indraṃ vishṇuṃ hariṃ haṃsam arkaṃ lokaguruṃ vibhum |
trinetram tryaksharaṃ tryaṃgaṃ trimūrtiṃ trigatiṃ śubham ||shaṇmukhāya namonityaṃ trinetāya namo namaḥ |
caturviṃśati pādāya namo dvādaśa pāṇaye ||namaste bhūta pataye lokānāṃ pataye namaḥ |
devānāṃ pataye nityaṃ varṇānāṃ pataye namaḥ ||tvaṃ brahmā tvaṃ jagannātho rudrastvaṃ ca prajāpatiḥ |
tvaṃ somas tvaṃ tathādityas tvamoṃkāra eva hi ||bṛhaspatiḥ budhas tvamhi tvaṃ śukras tvaṃ vibhāvasuḥ |
yamas tvaṃ varuṇas tvamhi namaste kaśyapātmaja ||tvatta eva samutpannaṃ sadevāsura mānusham |
tvayā tatam idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat sthāvara jaṃgamam ||brahmācāham ca rudraśca samutpanno jagatpate |
kalpādau tu parādeva sthitaye jagato’nagha ||namaste vedarūpāya aharo rūpāya vai namaḥ |
namaste jñānarūpāya yajñāya ca namo namaḥ ||prasīdas māsu deveśa bhūteśa kiraṇojjvala ||
Bhagavān Vishṇu’s praise, in summary: “I bow to you, Devadeveśa, the unchanging one, the nurturer of all beings: Dīvākara, Ravi, Bhānu, Mārtāṇḍa, Bhāskara, Bhaga, Indra, Vishṇu, Hari, Haṃsa, Arka, Lokaguru. You are three-eyed, three-syllabled, three-limbed, of triple form (Trimūrti), moving in three ways. You have six faces, twelve hands and twenty-four feet. Salutations to you. You are Bhūtapati, Lokapati, Devapati, Varṇapati. You are Brahmā, Jagannātha, Rudra, Prajāpati, Soma, Āditya and Oṃkāra himself. You are Bṛhaspati, Budha, Śukra, Agni, Yama and Varuṇa, O son of Kaśyapa. All beings, devas, asuras and humans, arose from you. This whole world, moving and not moving, is pervaded by you. Brahmā, I and Rudra ourselves arose from you, O Jagatpati, at the dawn of the kalpa, for the keeping of the world. You are the form of the Veda, the form of jñāna, yajña itself. Be pleased with us, O Deveśa, O one of blazing rays.”
The Bhavishya Purāṇa gives this in the Brahma Parva, chapter 153.
Brahmā’s second stotra
A second stotra by Brahmā is kept in the teaching of Sauradharma, where Aruṇa tells it to Garuḍa.
bhagavantaṃ bhagakaraṃ śāntacittam anuttamam |
devamārgapraṇetāraṃ praṇato’smi divākaram ||śāśvataṃ śobhanaṃ śuddhaṃ citrabhānuṃ divaspatiṃ |
devadeveśa mīśeśaṃ praṇatosmi raviṃ sadā ||sarvadukhaharaṃ devaṃ sarvadukhaharaṃ ravim |
varānanaṃ varāṃgaṃ ca varasthānaṃ varapradam |
vareṇyaṃ varadaṃ nityaṃ praṇatosmi vibhāvasum ||arkam aryamaṇaṃ cendraṃ vishṇum īśaṃ divākaram |
deveśvaraṃ devarataṃ praṇatosmi vibhāvasum ||
Brahmā ends: “One who listens to this stotra every day (ya idaṃ śṛṇuyān nityam) will gain the highest fame and reach Sūrya-loka (sūryapuraṃ vrajet).”
The Bhavishya Purāṇa gives this in the Brahma Parva, chapters 173 and 174.
The phalaśruti
The Bhavishya Purāṇa says, in Aruṇa’s teaching to Garuḍa, that Brahmā, Vishṇu and Maheśvara reached their high places only through full, devoted and victorious worship of Bhagavān Sūrya. Indra’s lordship is the fruit of Sūrya pūjā. The whole deva-gaṇa became what it is through Sūrya upāsanā (worship of Sūrya). One who listens to these stotras every day with devotion will gain both the highest kīrti (fame) in this world and Sūrya-loka at the end of this life.
Sources
- Bhavishya Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 152–153 (the setting and the three stotras)
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 153 (Brahmā’s first stotra, Bhagavān Śiva’s stotra, Bhagavān Vishṇu’s stotra)
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 173–174 (Brahmā’s second stotra)
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 152–156, 173–174 (the phalaśruti)