Skandapurana 1.4.41: adhyāyaḥ 43

The venerable Nārada said: / "Then, O son of Pṛthā, desiring to show grace to the people once more, / I wished to bring here the manifest god, the sun. 43.1

For the Lord Sun is the boat for all living beings; / in this world and the next, O son of Kuntī, the Sun is held to be the sustainer of the universe. 43.2

Those men who remember the Sun with devotion and who praise him, / and who constantly worship him, have accomplished their ends—there is no doubt. 43.3

And those who are devoted to devotion to the Sun, their minds ever fixed on him, / who constantly remember the Sun, do not experience sorrow. / (43.4)

Delightful mansions, women adorned with varied jewels, / and limitless wealth are the fruit of the rites of worshipping the Sun. / (43.5)

Devotion to the Sun is rare indeed, and worshipping him is hard to attain; / giving to him is hard to attain, and offering oblation to him is harder still. / (43.6)

He on the tip of whose tongue rests the two-syllable word 'Ravi', / joined with obeisance and the rest—fruitful is his life. / (43.7)

Reflecting in my heart on this great māhātmya born of the Sun, / for a full hundred years, O Pārtha, I gratified the Sun with devotion. / (43.8)

Subsisting on air with completely pure recitation / of the Vedic metres, the Lord then formed a second form from the sky by the power of yoga, / (43.9)

and the shining one, difficult to behold with his brilliance, became visible before my eyes. / (43.10)

Folding my hands in reverence and bowing to the Lord, the Sun, / I fully gratified the divine Īśvara with varied Sāman chants. / (43.11)

Pleased, the boon-giver said to me: 'O celestial seer, for a very long time / I have been worshipped by you with austerity; choose a boon as you desire.' / (43.12)

Thus addressed, I praised the lord of the world with folded hands and words: / 'If you are pleased with me, if a boon is to be granted to me, / (43.13)

then, O Lord, that part of you which is present in Kāmarūpa, / which was formerly worshipped by King Rājavardhana and by the people— / (43.14)

O Sun, you should remain here forever by that very part.' / Then, when the delighted god said, 'So be it,' O Bhārata, / (43.15)

I installed the Sun under the name Bhaṭṭāditya; / because it was installed by me, a bhaṭṭa, the Sun declared it so. / (43.16)

Then, having worshipped that Sun who had entered into [the icon] with flowers, / my limbs bathed in an excess of devotion, I then performed this hymn of praise / (43.17)

with the one hundred and eight names that are the secrets of all the Vedas: / 'Possessor of seven steeds, Unfathomable in Self, Supreme Great Compassionate One, / (43.18)

Reviver, Victorious, Life-principle, Lord of Life, Master of the World, / Refuge of Time, Maker of Time, Great Yogin, Great of Intellect, / (43.19)

Bringer of the End of Beings, God, Delighter in the Joy of the Lotus, / Thousand-footed, Giver of Boons, Adorned with Divine Earrings, / (43.20)

Lover of Dharma, Fit in Nature, Savitṛ, Borne on the Wind, / Āditya, Free from Anger, Sūrya, Garlanded with Rays, Fire, / (43.21)

Maker of Day, Destroyer of Day, Silent Sage, He of the Fine Chariot, Foremost of Charioteers, / Husband of Rājñī, Golden-seeded, Pūṣan, Tvaṣṭṛ, Day-maker, / (43.22)

Ornament of the Sky, Sustainer, Allotter of Shares, Charming One, / Wise, Lord of Creatures, Auspicious, Viṣṇu, Lord of Śrī, Foremost Physician, / (43.23)

Maker of Light, Lord of the World, Saluted by the World-Guardians, / Discerner of Intentions, Rightly Guided, Great Soul, Fond of Devotees, / (43.24)

Fame, Bestower of Fame, Eternal, Radiant, Dispeller of Sins, / Victorious in Joy, Of Great Valour, Swan, Cause of Dissolution, / (43.25)

Accomplisher of Goals, Excellent in Company, All-Knowing, Lord of Speech, / Worshipful to All, Remover of Death, Compassionate, Cause of Dharma, / (43.26)

Remover of the Affliction of the Bowed, Free from Disease, Long-lived, Giver of Happiness, Happy, / Auspiciousness, Lotus-eyed, Observant of Vows, Bestower of the Fruit of Vows, / (43.27)

Pure, Complete, Giver of the Path of Liberation, Enjoyer, Great Lord, / Dhanvantari, Speaking Kindly, Knower of Archery, Sole Monarch, / (43.28)

Father of the Universe, Comet, Cleansed, Dispeller of Darkness, Guru, / Lord of the Rays, Host of Guests, Of Auspicious Conduct, Fond of the Pure, / (43.29)

Lover of Sāman Chants, Friend of the World, Multiform, Originator of the Yugas, / Bridge of Dharma, Witness of the World, Roamer of the Sky, All-Giver, Sovereign Lord.' / (43.30)

Thus was the Sun praised by me with the one hundred and eight names. / May the all-pervading Lord, dear to all the worlds, be pleased with all beings! / (43.31)

Delighted by this hymn of praise, the Sun said to me: / 'O celestial seer, desiring to do what is pleasing to you, I shall always dwell here by my part. / (43.32)

Whoever worships me here as Bhaṭṭāditya with great devotion, / attains the same fruit as worshipping me a thousand times in Kāmarūpa. / (43.33)

And whatever a brahmin offers here for my sake, whether little or much, / that shall become inexhaustible, and I will accept it as if handed to me. / (43.34)

With red lotuses, kahlāra water-lilies, saffron blossoms, oleanders, / and three hundred great lotuses, a person on a Sunday, / (43.35)

or those who worship me here on the seventh or the sixth lunar day, / whatever desires one prays for, all those one will surely attain. / (43.36)

From the darśana of me with devotion, illness and poverty are destroyed; / from obeisance one attains heaven, and by constantly listening [to this] one attains liberation. / (43.37)

And whoever acts without devotion toward me shall surely go to ruin. / As for this hymn of one hundred and eight names uttered by you before me, / (43.38)

hear the fruit for one reciting it thrice daily or once daily: / he shall be famous, fortunate, learned, very happy, pleasant to look upon, / (43.39)

endowed with a life of a hundred years, and free from all diseases. / Moreover, whoever listens to this daily, or recites it, restrained and pure, / (43.40)

even a little food prepared for him shall become inexhaustible; / he shall always be victorious, and he shall remember his past births. / (43.41)

Therefore, this supreme, great benediction must be recited by you; / likewise, create an excellent pool before me for the purpose of ablutions. / (43.42)

Where the part from Kāmarūpa is, there shall be a pool in the forest.' / Having thus granted boons, the Sun vanished on that very spot. / (43.43)

Then, according to the words of the Sun, on the right side of Siddheśa / in the middle of the forest, a pool was made by me with a blade of darbha grass. / (43.44)

The pool produced from Kāmarūpa, and those trees, O Bhārata, / became merged together—a great wonder arose in my mind. / (43.45)

On the bright seventh day of the month of Māgha, whether a woman or a man / performs an auspicious ablution in the pool and beholds Bhaṭṭāditya, / (43.46)

limitless merit shall be theirs; and whoever worships his chariot / and performs a chariot procession along whatever path it goes, [attains great reward]. / (43.47)

And those people who see [it] are all blessed, without a doubt; / endowed with sons, grain, and wealth, free from disease, and possessed of splendor,

those men will become—they who cause the chariot festival to be performed. / Whatever fruit is proclaimed by the wise at all the sacred fords such as the Gaṅgā,

that fruit is [obtained] at the pool of Bhaṭṭāditya on the seventh day. / And he who, having bathed in that pool, offers an arghya water-oblation to the sun, / attains the fruit of giving a hundred brown cows.

Arjuna said: / All [sages], beginning with Vāsudeva, say this, O great sage:

Without the morning arghya water-oblation to the sun, everything done is fruitless. / I desire to hear the rule for that, O best among knowers of rules!

Nārada said: / Listen to that rule, destroyer of all sins, / by which the gods, beginning with Brahmā, offer the arghya water-oblation to the high-souled Bhāskara.

First, having become pure at dawn when the sun has risen, having drawn a small maṇḍala with red sandalwood paste upon a maṇḍala made with cow dung, having then filled a copper vessel with substances such as red sandalwood water and white sandalwood, and having placed inside it gold, unbroken grains, dūrvā grass, curd, and clarified butter, one should set it down.

One should touch one's own body with this mantra: / 'Oṃ, homage to Khakholka.' / One should stand having recited it seven times. / By that, purification arises, and the body becomes fit for worship. / Afterward, having meditated upon the god Savitṛ seated on his seat in the middle of the maṇḍala, twelve-souled, being worshipped by the gods and others; having placed the previously mentioned arghya vessel on one's head; having lowered both knees to the earth; facing the sun with a mind fixed on him, one should utter the arghya mantra. / It is spoken as having issued from the mouth of the sun:

At the sound of the recitation of which, having stopped his chariot, / the Sun receives the arghya water-oblation and grants the desired boon:

'Oṃ, [to him] whose horses standing on the chariot, they say, are the seven meters; / whose charioteer is Aruṇa, standing in front drawing the chariot;

Jayā, Vijayā, and Jayantī, who destroys sin; / Iḍā and Piṅgalā, and those having horse-faces who pull;

Ḍiṇḍi, the serpent Śeṣa, and likewise the leader of the gaṇas, / Skanda, Revanta, Tārkṣya, and likewise the two Kalmāṣa birds;

and Rājñī, the goddess Nikṣubhā, and Lalitā named Saṃjñā; / likewise the gods who partake of sacrifices, and whatever others are proclaimed;

surrounded by these who dwell below and above— / him, the creator of the world, dispeller of darkness, I invoke.

The Lord Sun, consisting of water, setting this sacrifice into motion: / receive this arghya water-oblation and pādya water for washing the feet! Homage, homage [to you]!'

The invocation: / 'O thousand-rayed one, giver of boons, whose form is life, homage to you!' / Thus is the bringing of presence. / Uttering 'Oṃ vaṣaṭ', beholding the pair of feet of the sun, one should pour out the vessel into the lotus on the ground; that is called pādya water for washing the feet. / Having thus given the pādya water, with hands folded in reverence, one should perform the welcome: / 'Welcome, O Lord! Come, having shown your favor to me, be seated! / Accept worship here, and grant your favor with your mind! / Remain right here so long as I perform the worship!'

Thus one should offer a respectful address and a lotus seat with this mantra. / The son of the lotus sits upon that lotus seat. / For him seated upon the seat, one should perform the remainder of the worship according to this procedure: / 'Oṃ, homage to the moon-formed lord of the milk ocean!' / Thus the ceremonial bath with milk and other liquids. / 'Oṃ, homage to the Sun who dwells in water!' / Thus the ritual bath with water. / Then one should offer a pair of clean garments with this mantra: / 'O Sun, accept with mercy this pair of garments of mine: / one an ornament for your waist, and the second a covering for your body.'

Then one should offer a sacred thread with this mantra: / 'Made of woven threads, pure, this highest sanctifying object, / the sacred thread, O Lord of the gods, accept! Homage be to you!'

Then, according to one's means, one should offer ornaments such as a white crown and rings with this mantra: / 'This crown is fastened with jewels, and [this] ring and ornaments; / accept this embellishment offered by me with devotion.'

Having thus offered the adornment, one should afterward offer an unguent mixed with saffron, vermilion, camphor, and red sandalwood.

'Oṃ, this sap of trees is very dear to you, O hot-rayed one; / it is indeed suitable for you, O Lord! Accept it with mercy from me.'

Then one should perform worship with campaka, japā, karavīra, karṇaka, saffron, and red lotus flowers, and others.

'Oṃ, the sap of forest trees, divine, rich in fragrance, the highest scent, / the nourishment of all the gods—may this incense be accepted!'

The mantra for the incense of frankincense. / Then one should present a food offering prepared with rice pudding and the like, with this mantra: / 'The food offering is nectar, increasing the life of all beings; / given by me in a full vessel, receive it, be gracious to me!'

Then, having presented water for rinsing, betel, a lamp, an ārātika light, a cooling fan, repeated worship, and the like, having praised him according to one's capacity, and saying, 'Forgive good deeds or bad deeds,' one should dismiss him. / Then, having bowed again, having presented the gold, cloth, sacred thread, and ornaments to a brahmin, and having gathered the remnant of the offerings, one should cast it into the water.

Thus is the rule for offering the arghya water-oblation. / He who, in this manner, offers the arghya water-oblation to the Sun daily in the morning, either in an image or in a maṇḍala, / becomes as dear to the sun as his own self.

By this rule, Karṇa offers the arghya water-oblation to the Sun; / therefore, O son of Pṛthā, he is considered by the sun as beloved as his own self.

If one is unable [to do the whole rite], one should daily offer a single arghya water-oblation to the Maker of Day; / then, here on the Rathasaptamī, it should be offered with special effort in the pool.

Having obtained the fruit of a horse sacrifice, he will attain the world of the sun; / therefore, with every effort, the arghya water-oblation must be offered here, O Bhārata.

Indeed, such a god, Bhaṭṭāditya, remains here; / even far greater than this in many ways, destroying sin and increasing righteousness.

And here the ordeal is eightfold, producing immediate proof; / for it is consumed by the sinful like the halāhala poison, O Pārtha.

Thus ends the forty-third chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Bhaṭṭāditya at the Confluence with the Ocean', in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first section, the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.