Category: Aditya Hrudayam

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 27
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 22

Of all the 31 shlokas in Aditya Hrudayam this particular verse is my absolute favorite. This verse is very very special. It hits the sweet spot and stunningly blends the scientific and spiritual merits of Sun in a very elegant way. It directly talks about the science behind the hydrological cycle. Science and spirituality are two entirely different worlds. But seeking the truth is the central and most fundamental goal to both these communities. It is precisely why they both treasure Sun. NASA explores Him and Vedas adore Him. No matter which way you seek, truth is the truth. It ultimately prevails. So here it goes….

नाशयत्येष वै भूतं तदेव सृजति प्रभुः। 
पायत्येष तपत्येष वर्षत्येष गभस्तिभिः॥ 22 ॥

Nāśayatyeṣa vai bhūtaṃ tadeva sṛjati prabhuḥ।
pāyatyeṣa tapatyeṣa varṣatyeṣa gabhastibhiḥ॥ 22 ॥

Meaning:
(Salutations to the) Lord who destroys the Beings, and who (re)creates them all
He heats the water, drinks (the Water) by His rays, and again Rains (the same Water)

This verse talks about Sun powering the hydrological cycle on earth. The Sage starts by saying Sun is the oldest and greatest recycler of all times. And in the second line he talks about the movement of water above and below the surface of the earth. Without any ambiguity or doubt he hits the nail right on its head. He very clearly states the three stages of the water cycle namely evaporation, condensation and precipitation. It is impressive to me that Sage Agasthya composed this in Treta Yuga. Just to give a perspective of the timeline – we are now in Kali yuga, which is 432,000 human years long. Before kali was Dwapara yuga. It had 864,000 years (twice as long as Kali). Before dwapara was Treta yuga, almost twice as long as Dwapara. So this shloka dates way back in the past, way way before the hydrologic cycle was “scientifically explained” by Bernard Palissy. Now, how is that for science and technology in the Vedic age? Absolutely astonishing !!!
#Adityahrudayam #Solarpower #Vedicscienc

नाश Nāśa – Destroys
यत् yat – that
एष eṣa -He
वै vai – indeed
भूतं bhūtaṃ – all existing beings in the world
तदेव tadeva
तत् Tat – that
ऐव Eva – only
सृजति sṛjati – creates
प्रभुः prabhuḥ – Lord
पायत् pāyat – Drinks
एष eṣa – He
तपत् tapat– Heats, warms
एष eṣa -He
वर्षत् varṣat – rains
एष eṣa – He
गभस्तिभिः gabhastibhiḥ – with His (Sun’s) rays
Gabhasti means the rays of the sun. Gabastibhih is strilinga bahuvacana Tritiya vibakthi

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 26
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 21

Before I start today’s blog I would like to say a few words about this week’s blog pictures. These are pictures from NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and showed up on my news feed the morning. Personally I think there is no one sunrise that is glorious over the other. They all are pretty stunning. However, this one is quite special. How?? As you may know, astronaut Kelly spent a year in space. During that time, everyday he witnessed 16 sunrises (oh my one lucky guy!!). Of the total 5,440 sunrises he witnessed, this was the last sunrise he captured on the very last day of his mission. Today’s shloka talks about how the Sun is a witness to all that happens in the world. And I think these photos capture the essence of that theme. The Sun is out there in the space witnessing every single thing happening on this universe. On a side note, please also note how the sun looks white (not yellow) from space.

Switching gears, on to my blog now.

तप्तचामीकराभाय वह्नये विश्वकर्मणे। 
नमस्तमोऽभिनिघ्नाय रुचये लोकसाक्षिणे॥21॥

Taptacāmīkarābhāya vahnaye viśvakarmaṇe।
namastamo’bhinighnāya rucaye lokasākṣiṇe ॥ 21॥

Meaning:

तप्त – Tapta – Heated, Molten
चामीकरा – cāmīkarā – Gold
भाय – ābhāya – appearance, glamor
वह्नये – vahnaye – Fire
विश्वकर्मणे – viśvakarmaṇe – one who activates the world
विश्व – world
कर्म- Actions
नमस् – namas – Salutations
तमस् – tamo(as) – darkness
अभिनिघ्नाय – abhinighnāya – subdues, quells
रुचये – rucaye – radiant, brilliant
लोकसाक्षिणे – lokasākṣiṇe – witness to the world
लोक – loka – world
साक्षिणे – sākṣiṇe – witness

Salutations to Him who is glamorous in appearance like molten gold.
Salutations to Him who is the fire that energizes and activates the world
Salutations to Him who quells and drives away the darkness (both cosmic and internal)
Salutations to Him one who is radiant and one is the witness to the world

Mantra Blog Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 25
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 20

तमोघ्नाय हिमघ्नाय शत्रुघ्नायामितात्मने। 
कृतघ्नघ्नाय देवाय ज्योतिषां पतये नमः ॥ 20॥

tamoGnAya himaGnAya SatruGnAyAmitAtmane ।
krtaGnaGnAya devAya jyotizAM pataye namaH ॥ 20॥

Meaning:

तमोघ्नाय tamoGnAya
Salutations to the destroyer of darkness (ignorance). 
It has been repeatedly reiterated throughout this shloka that Lord Surya not only drives the darkness from the cosmos but also the inner darkness i.e. is all the negativities that are residing in us.

हिमघ्नाय himaGnAya
Salutations to the destroyer of cold, fog and snow (inertness). It is also true that Sun burns out not only the fog but also dormancy, lethargy, sluggishness,etc.

शत्रुघ्नाय SatruGnAya
Salutations to the destroyer of enemies

आमितात्मने AmitAtmane
Salutations to the God whose will power is immeasurable.

कृतघ्नघ्नाय krtaGnaGnAya
Salutations to the destroyer of the ungrateful and

देवाय ज्योतिषां पतये नमः devAya jyotizAM pataye namaH
Salutations to the Lord of all the stellar/heavenly bodies and to the God who showers light on this universe

तमो (तमस) – Darkness
घ्नाय (घ्न+आय) 
घ्न – destroyer, one who negates
आय – to the one (This is caturthi vibakthi/ 4th vibakthi -Dative case )
Ex: Sooryaya namah means Salutations to Surya)
हिम – snow, ice, frost, cold
घ्नाय- to the one who destroys or negates 
शत्रु – enemy
घ्नाय – to the one who destroys or negates
आमित – immeasurable
आत्मने – soul, will power
कृतघ्न – ungrateful
घ्नाय – to the one who destroys or negates
देवाय – to the God, Deity
ज्योतिषां -heavenly/celestial bodies
पतये -to the lord
नमः – Salutations, Prayers

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 24
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 19

ब्रह्मेशानाच्युतेशाय सूर्यायादित्यवर्चसे।
भास्वते सर्वभक्षाय रौद्राय वपुषे नमः॥ 19 ॥

Brahmeśānācyuteśāya sūryāyādityavarcase।
bhāsvate sarvabhakṣāya raudrāya vapuṣe namaḥ॥ 19॥

Meaning:

ब्रह्मेशानाच्युतेशाय Brahmeśānācyuteśāya
Salutations to the overlord of brahma, Esh(war)a and Achyuta.

Why does Sage Agastya call Sun the chief of Brahma, Achyuta and Eshwara? 
Simple. It is because he does all their jobs in one form- creating,sustaining and destroying the Universe.

The universe and all the lives in it came to existence only after the ‘Big Bang’ – the gigantic collision of molecular cloud of gas and dust to form the Sun. So in this aspect of creation he is Brahma

He powers all the lives in this universe with his energy in the form of light and heat. Without him nothing survives in this world. So in this aspect he is Vishnu.

In the end, he will eventually consume and destroy the entire universe. So in this aspect he is Rudra.

Here is the science behind how that will happen
Our Sun right now is middle aged. He was born 4.5 billion years ago. He is now in the main sequence phase of his life, fusing hydrogen to helium to produce energy in the form of heat and light. But this process will not go on for ever as there is only finite amount of hydrogen in his core. That is, he has already used half of the store of hydrogen and what is left will last for another 5 billion years. As more hydrogen is fused to helium the core shrinks, outer layers move to the center causing more fusion. The energy output also increases. What it means is in another 3.5 billion years Sun will be 40% more brighter and warmer. This will cause oceans to boil and at that point life will not be possible on earth. Eventually in 5 billion years the Sun will exit the main sequence phase and become a Red Giant and consume all inner planets including earth. After this he will become a cooling star called white dwarf that will no longer produce energy but will still continue to glow in the sky

सूर्यायादित्यवर्चसे sūryāyādityavarcase
Salutatiuons to the brilliance dwelling in Surya, Aditi’s son

भास्वते सर्वभक्षाय रौद्राय वपुषे नमः bhāsvate sarvabhakṣāya raudrāya vapuṣe namaḥ
Salutatuions to the one who shines, one who consumes all (in the end), (and hence) the one who is a wonderfully beautiful form of the fierce Rudra.

ब्रह्म Brahme – Brahma
ईशाना eśānā – Eshwara
अच्युत ācyute – Achyutha
ईशाय eśāya – Lord
सूर्याय sūryāya – Surya
आदित्य āditya –coming from Aditi
वर्चसे varcase – brilliance
भास्वते bhāsvate – one who shines
सर्व sarva – All
भक्षाय bhakṣāya – eating
रौद्राय raudrāya – fierce, worshipper of rudra
वपुषे vapuṣe – wonderfully beautiful
नमः namaḥ – Pray, Salute

ब्रह्म Brahme – Brahma
ईशाना eśānā – Eshwara
अच्युत ācyute – Achyutha
ईशाय eśāya – Lord
सूर्याय sūryāya – Surya
आदित्य āditya –coming from Aditi
वर्चसे varcase – brilliance
भास्वते bhāsvate – one who shines
सर्व sarva – All
भक्षाय bhakṣāya – eating
रौद्राय raudrāya – fierce, worshipper of rudra
वपुषे vapuṣe – wonderfully beautiful
नमः namaḥ – Pray, Salute4You, Ravishankar Palanivelu and 2 others4 CommentsLikeShow more reactionsComment

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 23
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 18

नम उग्राय वीराय सारङ्गाय नमो नमः। 
नमः पद्मप्रबोधाय मार्ताण्डाय नमो नमः॥ 18 ॥

Nama ugrāya vīrāya sāraṅgāya namo namaḥ । 
namaḥ padmaprabodhāya mārtāṇḍāya namo namaḥ ॥ 18 ॥

Meaning:
नम उग्राय वीराय (Nama ugrāya vīrāya)
Salutations to Him who is fierce and terrible (to the sinners) and who is brave and eminent.

सारङ्गाय नमो नमः (sāraṅgāya namo namaḥ)
Salutations again and again to the one who is polychromatic (made of all colors).

Wait…. what?? Is he not yellow or orange??
No. He is not. Here is a very interesting scientific correlation to prove what the Sage said is right. 
It is a common misconception that Sun is yellow or Red. He appears yellow/orange/Red at sunrise or sunset when he is closer to the horizon. But Sun is essentially all colors mixed together. The Sun emits a lot of energy in the visible range. In wavelength scale it is from 390 nm to 700 nm, and when you translate it to colors, you get all colors from violet to red, just as we see them in the rainbow. When you mix all those colors together you get white, and that is why white is the true color of the Sun. But seen from the Earth, the Sun can have many colors: from whitish-yellowish when it is high above the horizon, to red when it sets or rises. This is because the shortest wavelengths (that we see as different shades of blue) are being scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere, coloring the sky blue. And when our eyes combine all those rainbow colors, except the blue ones, the Sun’s color our eyes see is yellowish. The lower toward horizon the Sun is, the more blue is scattered and the Sun’s color shifts to red. To further illustrate this I have posted two pictures of the Sun taken from Space. The first one is a Space Selfie taken by astronaut Aki Hoshide with the Sun to his left. The second is the picture of Sun as seen from the International Space Station photographed by Terry W. Virts (NASA Astronaut). In both these pictures look how the Sun appears white.

नमः पद्मप्रबोधाय (namaḥ padmaprabodhāya)
Salutations again and again to the one who makes the lotus flowers bloom

Thought it would be interesting to add this scientific note here:

Do you know how the flowers know when to bloom??
Flowers know when to bloom because of a gene named Apetala1. Plants blossom at different times because several factors, including the weather, temperature and the amount of sunlight. Information about these conditions is relayed to Apetala1, which activates when it senses that the timing is right to commence flowering!!

मार्ताण्डाय नमो नमः (mārtāṇḍāya namo namaḥ)
Salutations again and again to Martanda. Martanda is another name for Sun. We can also interpret this to be the huge bird in the sky.

नम – Nama – salutations
उग्राय – ugrāya – fierce, furious
वीराय – vīrāya – heroic, courageous
सारङ्गाय – sāraṅgāya – of variegated colors, polychromatic
नमो नमः – namo namaḥ – Salutations again and again
नमः – namaḥ – Salutations
पद्म – Padma – Lotus
प्रबोधाय – prabodhāya – who causes to blossom
मार्ताण्डाय – mārtāṇḍāya – bird in the sky, Sun God
नमो नमः – namo namaḥ – Salutations again and again

 Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 22
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 17

जयाय जयभद्राय हर्यश्वाय नमो नमः। 
नमो नमः सहस्रांशो आदित्याय नमो नमः॥ 17 ॥

Jayāya jayabhadrāya haryaśvāya namo namaḥ । 
namo namaḥ sahasrāṃśo ādityāya namo namaḥ ॥ 17 ॥

Meaning:

Salutations again and again to him who brings Victory.

Salutations again and again to him who brings prosperity and auspiciousness (to victories)

Salutations again and again to him who rides Reddish-brown horses

Salutations again and again to him who spreads himself into a thousand rays

Salutations again and again to the beloved son of Aditi 
(Aditi is Devamata. Aditi in Samskritam means one who has inexhaustible abundance. She is one of the thirteen wives of Sage Kashyapa. They had 33 sons of which 12 are Adityas including Lord Surya.)

जयाय – Jayāya – one who brings victory

जय – jaya – victory

भद्राय – bhadrāya – brings prosperity, auspiciousness

हर्यश्वाय- (हरी+अश्वाय)- haryaśvāya – Hari is green. Some people interpret this as green horses. 
But in this context it is haridra + ashvaya. Haridra is more like reddish brown or tan. It seems to make sense while talking about horse coat colors.

नमो नमः – namo namah – Salutations again and again

नमो नमः – namo namah – Salutations again and again

सहस्रांशो – sahasrāaṃśo – sahasrā + aṃśo 
Sahasram is 1000 Amsa means parts. sahasrāaṃśo means one who manifests into a thousand parts (rays)

आदित्याय – ādityāya – Beloved son of Aditi
Aditi means inexhaustible

नमो नमः॥ – – namo namah – Salutations again and again

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 21
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 16

Now at this point Sage Agastya takes things up a notch. Shlokas 16 thru 21 is the core of the whole prayer. This set of 5 shlokas is absolutely fantastic and one should try to learn these five at the very least if not the entire 31 shlokas.

नमः पूर्वाय गिरये पश्चिमायाद्रये नमः।
ज्योतिर्गणानां पतये दिनाधिपतये नमः॥ 16 ॥

namaḥ pūrvāya giraye paścimāyādraye namaḥ।
jyotirgaṇānāṃ pataye dinādhipataye namaḥ ॥ 16 ॥

Meaning:

नमः पूर्वाय गिरये namaḥ pūrvāya giraye
Salutations to (the Lord in) the eastern mountains (during sunrise).
Note: The first picture is the sunrise in the Cascade mountain range in Corvallis OR I captured during our trip there

पश्चिमायाद्रये नमः। paścimāyādraye namaḥ ।
Salutations to (the Lord in) the western mountains (during sunset)
Note: This is a picture of Sunset in the Smoky Mountains

ज्योतिर्गणानां पतये jyotirgaṇānāṃ pataye
(Salutations to him, who is the) Lord of the entire group of heavenly objects

दिनाधिपतये नमः॥ dinādhipataye namaḥ॥
Salutaions to the Lord who rules the Day(light)

नमः – namaḥ– bow, salute, pray 
पूर्वाय – pūrvāya– in the East
गिरये – giraye– Mountains
पश्चिमायाद्रये (पश्चिमाय+अद्रये) – paścimāyādraye
पश्चिमाय – paścimāya – Western
अद्रये – adraye– Mountains
नमः – namaḥ– bow, salute, pray
ज्योतिर्गणानां – (ज्योतिर+गण+आं) – jyotirgaṇānāṃ
ज्योतिर – jyotir– Heavenly astronomical bodies that give out light
गण – gana -Group
गणानां – gaṇānāṃ – group of 
ज्योतिर्गणानां – Lord of the entire group of heavenly bodies. This includes stars, planets, planetary systems, galaxies, nebulae etc
पतये – pataye -Lord of 
दिनाधिपतये (दिन+अधिपति+ये) – dinādhipataye
दिन – dinā-Day
अधिपतिये – ādhipataye– Lord of 
नमः – namaḥ- bow, salute, pray

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 20
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 15

नक्षत्रग्रहताराणामधिपोविश्वभावनः ।
तेजसामपीतेजस्वी द्वादशात्मन्नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ 15 ॥

Nakṣatragrahatārāṇāmadhipo viśvabhāvanaḥ ।
tejasāmapi tejasvī dvādaśātman namo’stu te ॥ 15 ॥

Meaning:

Nakṣatragrahatārāṇāmadhipo
He is the lord (the presiding deity) of all star constellations (zodiac), planets, and stars.

viśvabhāvanaḥ
He conceives the whole world in his mind, meaning nothing happens in this world without his influence

tejasāmapi tejasvī 
He is brightest amongst the bright (he has more energy than even the most energetic)

Dvādaśātman namo’stu te
My salutations to you Aditya, who manifests in twelve forms.

The twelve adityas represent a distinct type of energy and a different aditya rules or shines in each lunar month.

1. As Datha (Chitra) he creates living beings
2. As Aryama (Vaishaka) he roams the mountains and makes lotuses bloom
3. As Mitra (Jyeshta) he prevents darkness
4. As Varuna (Ashada) he is in the waters
5. As Indra (Shravana) he destroys the enemies
6. As Vivasvan (Bhadrapada) he is in the fire and helps to cook food
7. As Tvashta (Ashvina or Aipasi in tamil) he lives in trees and herbs
8. As Vishnu (Karthigai) he is the head of all adityas and protects all beings
9. As Amshuman (Margashirsha) he is in wind
10. As Bhaga (Pasha or Thai in tamil) he heads the thithis, ghatikas, Ayanas etc
11. As Pushy (Magha) he grows food crops
12. As Parjanya (Phalguna) he heats up the world and powers water cycle

नक्षत्र –Nakshatra – star constellation
ग्रह – Graha– Planet
ताराणा – Taraanam– star 
अिधपो – Adhipo (derived from adhipati)- lord or the presiding deity
विश्व – Vishwa – world
भावनः – bhavanah – causing to be, manifesting
तेजसामपी – (तेजस+अपी) Tejasaamapi – Tejas is bright, energitic
अपी- api – even
तेजस्वी – Tejasvi – Brilliant, energetic
द्वादश – Dwadasha – Twelve
आत्मन् – Atman – Soul, Spirit
नमोऽस्तु – नमस्+अस्तु +ते 
नमस्- Namas – Salute in reverence
अस्तु – Astu – ok, let it be
ते – Te – To you

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 19
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 14

आतपी मण्डली मृत्युः पिङ्गलः सर्वतापनः। 
कविर्विश्वो महातेजाः रक्तः सर्वभवोद्भवः॥ 14 ॥

Atapī maṇḍalī mṛtyuḥ piṅgalaḥ sarvatāpanaḥ
kavirviśvo mahātejāḥ raktaḥ sarvabhavodbhavaḥ ॥ 14 ॥

Lord Surya encompasses a full spectrum of creative and destructive powers within himself. Just as how he can power life on this earth, he also has a fierce side that can scorch and burn everything down to ashes. In other words, this shloka hints at climate change – heat waves, wild fires, death and destruction. It reminds us of the aggressive side of his nature and cautions us to be fearful and respectful of his formidable power.

Meaning:

He radiates a lot of heat when he is shining

He is circular in shape. (combined together it can also be interpreted that his orbit is full of heat)

When he is aggressive he is devastating and can cause death.

This makes perfect sense. Every year we hear about people all over the world dying due to intense heat waves. For example, in India month of May is the peak summer time and referred to as ‘Agni Nakshatram’. This is the one-month period when the heat is intense. All schools and colleges are closed. Marriages and other functions are generally not performed during this time. Too much heat can lead to dehydration, heat exhaustion and in extreme cases death.

(At such times) He is tawny (reddish brown) in color (see attach)

He can torment all creatures with his intense energy and burn everything to ashes.
(Note: This also makes perfect sense. Living here in CA, we need not look any farther for wild fires. Although some of them are due to human activities such as arson, here the reference is to sun related reasons such as heat waves, draught and dry vegetation leading to wild fires.)

He is gifted with insight (the poet) and reigns the entire universe

He has fierce temper when he is intense.

At such times he glows Red in color.
(Note:This is the part of the shloka I love the most. Can the sun glow Red? Yes it can. When ? During the wild fires early this year we saw sun glow in a orange/reddish orange color for several days. When particles, such as smoke or dust, fill the atmosphere, the longer wavelengths of light — which look red — scatter more effectively. Hence he appears Red. Check out this link https://earthsky.org/ear…/red-sun-uk-oct-2017-sahara-ophelia

His energy gives rise to the entire worldly existence.

आतपी – radiates heat
मण्डली – circle, orbit
मृत्युः – death
पिङ्गलः – reddish-brown (tawny)
सर्व – all
तापनः – burn , traumatise, miserable
कवि – poet gifted with insight
र्विश्वो – universe
महातेजाः – full of intense/fierce energy
रक्तः – Red (with anger)
सर्व – all
भवोद्भवः भव+उुद्भवः – generate worldly existence

Aditya Hrudayam Series Week 18
Shloka Taatparyam Shloka 13

व्योमनाथस्तमोभेदी ऋग्यजुःसामपारगः। 
घनवृष्टिरपां मित्रो विन्ध्यवीथीप्लवङ्गमः॥ 13 ॥

Vyomanāthastamobhedī ṛgyajuḥsāmapāragaḥ
ghanavṛṣṭirapāṃ mitro vindhyavīthīplavaṅgamaḥ ॥ 13 ॥

Meaning:

He is the lord who rules the sky

He breaks the darkness in the sky every morning ( and also the darkness i.e. ignorance that resides within us)

He is the master of Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas

He is the cause of heavy rains. (Without him there is no rain – A subtle hint at the water cycle. Sun’s rays causes evaporation of the water into water vapors, which then condense in the clouds and reaches back the earth by precipitation. A more detailed description follows later in Shloka 22)

He is the friend of Varuna ( the rain God or the lord of water )

He effortlessly travels in the sky (across the vindhya mountains) with little or no physical exertion (like a monkey that jumps between trees with ease). 
This brings to mind a very famous story about Vindhya mountains, the Sun and Sage Agastya. Vindhya is the famous mountain range that separates the Deccan Plateau from the Indo-Gangetic plains of North India. According to the ancient legends, the Vindhya mountain which is considered a living deity, asked Surya to circumambulate him, even as he was doing to the Meru mountain. When Surya politely refused, Vindhya started growing taller and taller, obstructing his path. The gods in heaven who were alarmed at this, requested the great sage Agastya to intervene. When Agastya arrived Vindhya bowed to him. The sage commanded him to be like that, until he returned from the south, which he never did.

व्योम – Sky
नाथ – Ruler
तमो – Darkness 
भेदी – one who breaks, interrupts
ऋग् यजुः साम – Rig Yajur and Sama the three Vedas
पारगः – fully conversant or familiar with, accompolished, Mastered
घन – heavy
वृष्टि – rain
रपां apam – of water
मित्रो – friend
विन्ध्य – vindhya mountains
वीथी – street, lane, way, row
प्लव – monkey
ङ्गमः – move