The ''Surya Shataka'' () is a 7th-century
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
hymn composed in praise of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
sun god
Surya
Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...
by the poet
Mayura Bhatta, comprising one hundred verses.
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Etymology
''Surya Shataka'' translates to a "century of stanzas in praise of the Sun" in Sanskrit.
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.
Legend
The composition of the ''Surya Shataka'' is commonly regarded to have cured the poet of leprosy due to the grace of Surya. In other accounts, the illness cured is stated to be blindness.
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
Aurangabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Aurangabad is also called "Chittorgarh" of Bihar because the number of Suryavanshi Rajputs is very high here. Aurangaba ...
. While he was composing the verses, he was troubled by a brahmarakshasa
A brahmarakshasa (, ) is one of a class of Rakshasa, rakshasas, a race of usually malevolent beings in Hinduism. A member of the Brahmin Varna (Hinduism), caste who engages in unrighteous deeds is cursed to become a brahmarakshasa after his death ...
, 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''.
Hymn
The first verse of the ''Surya Shataka'' is as follows:[Surya Shatakam of Mayur Bhatta (in Sanskrit with English translation by P. R. Kannan)](_blank)
Retrieved 27 August 2023.
See also
*''Ādityahṛdayam
''Ādityahṛdayam'' (, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu devotional hymn, dedicated to Āditya or Sūrya (the Sun God), found in the Yuddha Kānda (6.105) of Vālmīki, Vālmīki's Rāmāyana. It was recited by the sage Agastya to Rāma in the battlefield b ...
''
*''Gayatri Mantra
The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra.
The term Gāyatr ...
''
References
{{Reflist
Hindu texts
7th-century Sanskrit literature