All posts in this series
- Aditya Hridayam – Introduction
- Aditya Hridayam – Part 3
- Aditya Hridayam – Part 2
- Aditya Hridayam – Part 1
Sri Rama had encountered Ravana for the third time. Ravana was overwhelmed by the barrage of attacks dealt by Sri Rama because of which he fell unconscious in his chariot. His charioteer retreated outside the battlefield where Ravana later regained consciousness and ordered to be taken back.
In this context:
ततो युद्ध परिश्रान्तं समरे चिन्तयास्थितम् ।
रावणं चाग्रतो दृष्ट्वा युद्धाय समुपस्थितम् ॥ 1 ॥दैवतैश्च समागम्य द्रष्टुमभ्यागतो रणम् ।
उपागम्याब्रवीद्रामं अगस्त्यो भगवान् ऋषिः ॥ 2 ॥
Meaning: Approaching Rāma standing absorbed in deep thought in the battle-field, exhausted by the fight, and facing Ravana who was duly prepared for the war, The glorious sage Agastya, who had come in the company of the gods, to witness the battle and spoke.
Here, Agastyō Bhagavān Rṣiḥ (अगस्त्यो भगवान् ऋषिः) has an underlying meaning. Bhagavan is taken to mean a person who is imbued with dharmic knowledge (jnana). It is this knowledge that made the Sage Vishwamitra say the famous “suprabhatam” with the specific term “utishtha” so that Sri Rama may be roused and fulfill the reason(s) for descending unto the earth. In the same way, Agastya Maharshi gives initiation (upadesha) in the Aditya Hridayam to Sri Rama so that he accomplishes his mission (avatar prayojna).
The essence of the Gayatri mantra is present within the Aditya Hridayam. Those who have not undergone the sacred thread ceremony (upanayana) should recite the latter while those who have undergone initiation should recite it after the Gayatri if they wish. Though, there may be a few technicalities like this – the fruit one receives is the same.
Before we get back to what Agastya Maharshi says, we need to take a quick detour. The Aditya Hridayam is present earlier in the Yuddhakanda.
Sri Rama and his vanara army are preparing for war. Hearing this, Ravana becomes enraged and proceeds to torment Sita maa.
Using his illusory powers he created decapitated bodies of Rama and Lakshmana. Sita maa was horrified on seeing the heads and continued to be extremely distressed despite being assured by Vibishana’s daughter that the bodies were illusory.
Valmiki Maharshi then writes:
गिरिवरमभितो ऽनुवर्तमानो हय इव मण्डलमाशु यः करोति ।
तमिह शरणमभ्युपेहि देवि दिवसकरं प्रभवो ह्ययं प्रजानाम् ॥ ३६ ॥
Translates to: The sun, which encompasses the entire globe with its rays, rises as if originating from the Udaya and Asti mountains. He is the progenitor of the day and of all beings. Dinakar being the creator, sustainer and destroyer should certainly be surrendered to, a sudden revelation that encompasses Sita maa’s mind. She proceeds to give obeisance to Suryaji which immediately vanquishes her mental torment.
Whether it is mental torment faced by Sita maa or physical exhaustion felt by Sri Ram, one can alleviate oneself through Suryaji’s worship albeit through the names of Diwakar and Aditya respectively.
Coming back to Agastya Maharishi, he says:
राम राम महाबाहो शृणु गुह्यं सनातनम् ।
येन सर्वानरीन् वत्स समरे विजयिष्यसि ॥ 3 ॥
Translates to: O Rāma, the mighty armed! Hear the following eternal secret, by which you can conquer all the enemies in battle, my child!
Sri Krishna states in the Gita:
“इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं” (idam tu te guhyam), to inform Arjuna that the knowledge he is about to impart paves way for one’s liberation. The term “guhyam” is related to the term shastra.
Shastra is divided into the material (prakata) and immaterial sciences (guhyam). The former constitutes the natural sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology centered around empiricism in contrast to the latter which depends on strict austerity and contemplation. Due to such strict observances required to get such insights, it is only the sages who can bestow upon us with this knowledge out of their compassion.
Such guhya shastras are again divided into three:
- Guhya- Dharmic texts
- Guhyathara- Upasana texts
- Guhyathama- Vedanta texts
Through the application of these lenses, we can understand the underlying meaning of our scriptures and in this case Suryaji.
The materialist would of course only see that the sun is nothing more than a star but even he would have to admit that it serves the purposes of creation, sustenance, and destruction.
The sages with their profound wisdom can extricate this material veil from him to “see” his true form and understand his essence such that in the end they perceive no difference between themselves and him.
*Without such an understanding some people with deviant tendencies read the shastra or hear some story about the sun having a male-like body or a river, mountain, and moon supposedly taking on human form or having wings and consider it to be absurd. However, no one proclaimed that these take place under the constraints of nature. These impossible accounts and forms are meant to provide us with a certain quality(s) of Bhagavan and lower deities so that one can contemplate on it easily and attain moksha.
आदित्यहृदयं पुण्यं सर्वशत्रु-विनाशनम् ।
जयावहं जपेन्नित्यं अक्षय्यं परमं शिवम् ॥ 4 ॥
Translates to: This supreme prayer, Ādityahrudayam, is the best amongst auspicious verses, it will destroy all enemies, and sins, dispel all doubts, allay all worry and sorrow, anxiety and anguish, and increase the longevity of life. It gives complete prosperity.
Some may say that they have no enemies so there is no real need for this verse.
However, the uses are not limited to only that but have merit (punya) for instance. Punathi anena ithi punyam refers to the idea that merit is that which makes us pure. It is that which purifies our consciousness (chitta) and without it, one cannot grow spiritually.
But there are many enemies or obstacles that can hinder us from attaining such purification. That is why sarva shatru vinashanam (सर्वशत्रु-विनाशनम्) i.e the destruction of enemies is important. Even if we don’t have some gangster to deal with, the enemies within us such as laziness, lust, anger, greed, etc prevent us from developing ourselves. These are first destroyed so that merit takes effect.
Jayavaham (जयावहं)- This text provides victory but in what sense? The scriptures that help man to accomplish the four goals of life i.e. dharma, artha, kama, and moksha are referred to as “jaya”, as seen in the case of the Puranas and the Mahabharata.
Akshayam param Shivam (अक्षय्यं परमं शिवम्) – The imperishable and supreme is Shivam. Shivam refers to what the Bhagavatam states in its second verse: śivadaṃ tāpatrayonmūlanam. This Shivam is not bound by the three gunas therefore it is that which is beyond mundane qualities. This higher state is moksha and such a permanent result can only be attained with the help of such texts.
To be continued…