Surya Shataka
17th-century Tanjore-style painting of Surya
Information
ReligionHindu
AuthorMayurabhatta
LanguageSanskrit
Period7th century
Verses100

The Surya Shataka (Sanskrit: सूर्यशतक, romanized: Sūryaśataka)[1] is a 7th-century Sanskrit hymn composed in praise of the Hindu sun god Surya by the poet Mayura Bhatta, comprising one hundred verses.[2][3]

Etymology

Surya Shataka translates to a "century of stanzas in praise of the Sun" in Sanskrit.[4]

Description

Tribhuvanapala, in his commentary of this hymn, makes six divisions of this work. Verses 1 to 43 extol the rays of Surya, 44 to 49 praise the horses of the deity, and 50 to 61 hail Aruna, the charioteer of the sun god. Verses 62 - 72 extol the chariot of Surya, 73 - 80 praise the Suryamandala (circular motions of the sun), and 81 to 100 hail various depictions of the sun.[5]

Legend

The composition of the Surya Shataka is commonly regarded to have cured the poet of leprosy due to the grace of Surya.[6] In other accounts, the illness cured is stated to be blindness.[7]

According to temple tradition, Mayura undertook a penance to propitate Surya at the Deo Surya Mandir located at Deo in present-day Aurangabad district, Bihar. While he was composing the verses, he was troubled by a brahmarakshasa, but he was able to defeat him and please the sun god to be cured of leprosy. The hundred verses he composed became known as the Surya Shataka.[2]

Hymn

The first verse of the Surya Shataka is as follows:[8][9]

jambhārātībhakumbhodbhavamiva dadhataḥ sāndrasindūrareṇuṃ
raktāḥ siktāivaughairudayagiritaṭīdhātudhārādravasya
āyāntyā tulyakālaṃ kamalavanarucevāruṇā vo vibhūtyaya
bhūyāsurbhāsayanto bhuvanamabhinavā bhānavo bhānavīyāḥ


The early rays of the Sun look red as if they have resumed the thick streaks of vermilion, coming out of the temple of elephant of the killer of Jambha (Indra). They also appear as if they are drenched by the mineral streams of the slopes of Udayacala (mountain). Carrying the lustre of the blooming lotus, that open up at their advent, they illuminate the whole world. May those rays bestow prosperity on you.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Das, Sisir Kumar (2005). A History of Indian Literature, 500-1399: From Courtly to the Popular. Sahitya Akademi. p. 112. ISBN 978-81-260-2171-0.
  2. 1 2 Saran, Anirudha Behari; Pandey, Gaya (1992). Sun Worship in India: A Study of Deo Sun-Shrine By Anirudha Behari Saran, Gaya Pandey. p. 46. ISBN 9788172110307. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Srivastava, Vishnulok Bihari (2009). Dictionary of Indology By Vishnulok Bihari Srivastava. ISBN 9788122310849. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. R.S. Peale. 1891. p. 287.
  5. ↑ Mayur Bhatta. Suryasatakam of Mayur Bhatta. pp. xxviii.
  6. ↑ Banerji, Sures Chandra (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature: Spanning a Period of Over Three Thousand Years, Containing Brief Accounts of Authors, Works, Characters, Technical Terms, Geographical Names, Myths, Legends and Several Appendices. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 336. ISBN 978-81-208-0063-2.
  7. ↑ Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (2001). South Indian Customs. Asian Educational Services. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-206-0153-6.
  8. ↑ Surya Shatakam of Mayur Bhatta (in Sanskrit with English translation by P. R. Kannan) Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Mayur Bhatta. Suryasatakam of Mayur Bhatta. p. 2.
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