mahā saura mantram

The rays bear upward that god Jātavedas, that all the world may behold the sun.

Away, like thieves, the constellations slink off with the nights, before the sun who beholds all.

His banners have been seen, his rays among the peoples, blazing like fires.

Swift, seen by all, you are the maker of light, O Sun; you illumine the whole shining realm.

Facing the clans of the gods you rise, facing men, facing all — that the heavenly light be seen.

With that light, O purifier, by which you look upon the busy race of men — with that, O Varuṇa, you see.

You traverse the sky and the broad mid-space, measuring out the days with the nights, beholding all that is born, O Sun.

Seven tawny mares bear you in your chariot, O god Sun, flame-haired, far-seeing.

The sun has yoked the seven bright daughters of his chariot; with these, self-yoked, he goes.

Beholding the higher light beyond the darkness, we have come to the Sun, god among gods, the highest light.

Rising today, O you great as Mitra, ascending to the higher heaven — destroy, O Sun, the sickness of my heart and my sallow pallor.

We lay my sallowness upon the parrots, upon the ropaṇākā birds; and my sallowness we set down upon the yellow hāridrava birds.

This Āditya has risen with all his might, delivering the one who hates me into my hands; may I not fall into the hands of one who hates.

The wonderful front of the gods has risen — the eye of Mitra, of Varuṇa, of Agni. He has filled heaven and earth and the mid-air: the Sun is the self of all that moves and all that stands still.

The Sun follows behind the shining goddess Dawn as a young man a maiden, there where god-seeking men stretch out the ages, good upon good.

Auspicious are the tawny horses of the Sun, dappled, gleaming, worthy of gladness; doing homage they have mounted the back of heaven, and in a day they circle heaven and earth.

That is the godhead of the Sun, that his greatness: in the midst of his work he gathers up what he had spread abroad. When he has loosed his tawny mares from their station, Night draws her garment over all.

That form the Sun assumes in the lap of heaven, for Mitra and Varuṇa to behold. Endless is the one, his bright splendour; the other, the dark, his tawny mares gather in.

Today, O gods, at the rising of the sun, deliver us from distress and from blame. May Mitra grant us this, and Varuṇa, and Aditi, the river, the earth and the sky.

They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni; and he is the heavenly bird of beautiful wings, Garutmān. Being one, the wise speak of him in many ways; they call him Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan.

Dark is their path; the tawny ones of beautiful wings, clothed in the waters, fly up to heaven. They have returned from the seat of order, and then the earth is drenched with ghee.

The swan seated in the pure, the Vasu seated in the mid-air; the priest seated at the altar, the guest seated in the house; seated among men, in the best, in order, in the firmament; born of water, of cattle, of order, of the rock — he is Order itself.

When the asura Svarbhānu pierced you, O Sun, with darkness, the worlds looked out bewildered, like one who does not know his ground.

When today, O Sun, rising you declare us free of offence to Mitra and to Varuṇa in truth — may we, O Aditi, be dear to you among the gods, O Aryaman, as we sing your praise.

The Sun has spread his lofty beams over the many generations of men. Shining, he is seen as one with the sky; made by design, he was well made by the makers.

So, O Sun, rise up before us with these praises and with your swift steeds. Declare us free of offence to Mitra and to Varuṇa, to Aryaman and to Agni.

May Varuṇa, Mitra and Agni, keepers of order, open for us a thousand streams of bounty. May the shining ones grant our prayer; being praised, may they fill our desire.

The blessed Sun rises, beholding all, the common good of men; the eye of Mitra and Varuṇa, the god who has rolled up the darkness as one rolls up a hide.

The quickener of men rises, the great banner of the sun, the surging one, setting the one wheel turning round, drawn by the swift steed yoked at the pole.

Blazing forth from the lap of the dawns he rises, hymned by the singers. This god Savitṛ has pleased me, who does not diminish the one abiding law.

The golden ornament of heaven rises, of wide gaze, whose goal is far, swift and blazing. Now indeed, quickened by the sun, may men go to their tasks and do their work.

Where the immortals made a path for him, he follows the course like a falcon in flight.

That lovely form rises from heaven at the turning, when the swift god Etaśa bears him, fit for all to gaze upon.

The lord of each and every head, of what moves and what stands, of the whole mid-space alike — seven sisters, tawny mares, bear the Sun in his chariot for our welfare.

That eye set by the gods rises pure. May we behold a hundred autumns; may we live a hundred autumns.

Truly you are great, O Sun; truly, O Āditya, you are great. Great is the greatness of you who are great, and it is praised; truly, O god, you are great.

Truly, O Sun, you are great in renown; wholly, O god, you are great. By your greatness you are the mighty one among the gods, the chief priest, the far-shining and inviolable light.

Homage to the eye of Mitra and Varuṇa! To the great god render that worship which is due. Sing to the far-seen banner born of the gods, to Sūrya, the son of heaven.

May that word of truth guard me on every side, where heaven and the days stretch out. All else that stirs goes to its rest; but the waters ever remain, and ever the sun rises.

No godless one, from of old, has stayed you when you drive with your winged steeds. One light goes eastward through the mid-space; with the other you journey, O Sun.

O Sun, with that light by which you drive off the darkness and rouse the whole world with your beam — with that drive from us all want, all failure of offering, all sickness and all evil dreaming.

Sent forth for all, you guard the sacred law; unwearied you rise according to your own nature. When today we call upon you, O Sun, may the gods assent to that our purpose.

May heaven and earth hear that of ours; may the waters, may Indra, may the Maruts hear our call and our word. May we never suffer want in the sight of the sun; living in good, may we come to old age.

Ever of good mind, of clear sight, rich in offspring, free of sickness and of guilt — may we, long living, behold you rising day by day, O Sun, great as Mitra.

Bearing the great light, O far-seeing one, radiant, a joy to eye after eye, ascending from the lofty expanse — may we, living, behold you, O Sun.

You by whose banner all the worlds go forth and enter in again with the nights — O green-haired Sun, rise for us in guiltlessness, day by day with a better day.

Be gracious to us with your light, gracious with the day, gracious with your beam, gracious with frost and with heat. As there is peace on the road, so let there be peace in the house: grant us, O Sun, wondrous wealth.

O gods, grant shelter to both our kinds of offspring, the two-footed and the four-footed. Eating and drinking, gaining strength, well fed — set among us that peace and health that is without harm.

Whatever grave offence against the gods we have done you, O gods, by the tongue or by the negligence of the mind — upon the niggard who wishes us harm, O Vasus, lay that guilt.

May the Sun guard us from heaven, the Wind from the mid-air, and Agni from what belongs to earth.

With favour, O Savitṛ, you whose blaze is worth a hundred impellings — guard us from the falling thunderbolt.

May the god Savitṛ give us sight, and the mountain give us sight; may the Ordainer give us sight.

Give us sight, sight for the eye, sight for our bodies to look abroad; and may we see this world together and apart.

O Sun, may we behold you, fair to look upon; may we, having the sight of men, see clearly.

May the far-shining and lofty one drink the sweet soma, granting unbroken life to the lord of the sacrifice. Driven by the wind, guarding of his own accord, he has nourished the creatures and shines forth in manifold ways.

Far-shining, lofty, well borne, most winning of strength, set in the law of heaven, fixed in truth upon its support — that light was born, slayer of foes, slayer of Vṛtra, greatest slayer of the Dasyus, slayer of asuras and of rivals.

This is the best of lights, the highest light; it is called the all-conquering, the winner of wealth, the lofty. All-illumining, blazing, great — the Sun has spread wide for the seeing, with might and unfailing vigour.

Blazing with light you reached the shining realm of heaven — you by whom, the maker of all and possessed of all divinity, these worlds were all brought forth.

This dappled bull has come forth; he has taken his seat before the Mother, and goes on to the Father, the heavenly light.

He moves within the shining realm, breathing out and breathing in; the mighty bull has looked upon the heaven.

He rules over thirty abodes; the Word is set upon the flying bird, meted out to the daylight by the shining days.

Order and Truth were born of kindled ardour; from that came Night, and from that the surging ocean.

From the surging ocean the year was born, ordaining the days and nights, the ruler of all that has eyes.

The Ordainer fashioned the sun and the moon as before, and heaven and earth and the mid-air, and then the heavenly light.

Savitṛ from behind, Savitṛ from before, Savitṛ from above, Savitṛ from below — may Savitṛ impel to us wholeness on every side; may Savitṛ grant us long life.