śrī bhāskara stutiḥ (yudhiṣṭhira kṛtam)

Yudhiṣṭhira's own praise of the Sun, which this record's banner and colophon both name the Bhāskara Stuti, from the third chapter of the Mahābhārata's Āraṇyaka Parva — the same chapter in which Dhaumya teaches him the hundred and eight names, and part of the same episode. The text here is an abridgement that keeps about half the verses. It argues from dependence throughout: you are the eye of the world and the self of every embodied being, and the world is held up by you, lit by you, purified by you and guarded by you without motive; were you not to rise, this world would be blind, and no thoughtful man would move toward dharma or wealth or desire at all. Fire does not comfort the cold as your rays do. The last verse gives the episode its point — the king, wanting to keep open house for everyone who comes, asks the lord of food for food.