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THE SURYASATAKA OF MAYŪRA
127
In¹ summer the rays of Mārtaṇḍa² (Sürya), having become, as it
were, wearied from continually wandering over the uni-
verse, and as if drying up with their own heat,
Repeatedly suck up water from the earth, like [men, who drink
water when] heated by a forest-fire;
But in the rainy season, as if [they had been] made sick by ex-
cessive drinking," they vomit out [this] water,
And in winter are, [in consequence], feeble.
May these rays of Mārtaṇḍa (Sürya) long be in existence for the
destruction of what is inauspicious to you!
Notes. 1. In this stanza the rays of Sürya are compared, by a rather
elaborate simile (cf. Introd., p. 94), to a human being. In summer, like
a thirsty person, they suck up water from the earth. Having drunk too
much, they become sick, and in the rainy season vomit out what they have
drunk, in the form of rain (cf. stanza 9, note 2). Just as anyone feels
weak after vomiting, so also do the rays, and that is why the sun's rays
are weak and give but little heat in winter. Other elaborate similes in
the Saryaśataka are found in stanzas 26, 31, 34 and 50. The imagining
of the rays in the guise of a human being is an instance of the rhetorical
figure 'Poetic Fancy' (utprekşã); cf. stanza 1, note 6. 2. A fanciful
etymology of the name 'Mārtaṇḍa' is given in the Markandeya Purana,
105.8-20 (Pargiter, p. 564-565). The story accounting for the origin of
the name is as follows. The Sauşumna ray of the sun once entered the
womb of Aditi. Aditi fasted. Kaśyapa, her husband, said to her: 'Why
dost thou destroy the egg that is in thy womb by fasting?' When the
child was born, a voice from the air was heard, saying: 'Whereas thou,
O Muni, hast spoken of this egg as destroyed, to thee therefore, O Muni,
this thy son shall be called Mārtanda [from maritam andam, " destroyed
egg"].' For a picture of the ruins of the Märtanda temple of the Sun
in Kaśmir, see Vincent Smith, The Early History of India, p. 372, 3d ed.,
Oxford, 1914. 3. Lit. 'bearing weariness, as it were.' 4. Lit. 'having
the universe wandered over with repe on.' 5. Lit. 'having sickness
acquired through excess of drinking.'
V.L. (a) V dvrttibhrantavimbaḥ; JHB svoşmandiva, V svoşuneva. (b)
B davagnitapta isa. (c) B ivodvantate ya himarttau. (d) VJHB mar-
tandasya pracandaf; V -bhide 'bhişavo, JHB -bhide bhişavo.
15
tanvānā digvadhūnām samadhikamadhurālokaramyām ava-
sthām
ārūḍhaprauḍhileśotkalitakapilimā 'lamkṛtiḥ kevalaiva
j
127
In¹ summer the rays of Mārtaṇḍa² (Sürya), having become, as it
were, wearied from continually wandering over the uni-
verse, and as if drying up with their own heat,
Repeatedly suck up water from the earth, like [men, who drink
water when] heated by a forest-fire;
But in the rainy season, as if [they had been] made sick by ex-
cessive drinking," they vomit out [this] water,
And in winter are, [in consequence], feeble.
May these rays of Mārtaṇḍa (Sürya) long be in existence for the
destruction of what is inauspicious to you!
Notes. 1. In this stanza the rays of Sürya are compared, by a rather
elaborate simile (cf. Introd., p. 94), to a human being. In summer, like
a thirsty person, they suck up water from the earth. Having drunk too
much, they become sick, and in the rainy season vomit out what they have
drunk, in the form of rain (cf. stanza 9, note 2). Just as anyone feels
weak after vomiting, so also do the rays, and that is why the sun's rays
are weak and give but little heat in winter. Other elaborate similes in
the Saryaśataka are found in stanzas 26, 31, 34 and 50. The imagining
of the rays in the guise of a human being is an instance of the rhetorical
figure 'Poetic Fancy' (utprekşã); cf. stanza 1, note 6. 2. A fanciful
etymology of the name 'Mārtaṇḍa' is given in the Markandeya Purana,
105.8-20 (Pargiter, p. 564-565). The story accounting for the origin of
the name is as follows. The Sauşumna ray of the sun once entered the
womb of Aditi. Aditi fasted. Kaśyapa, her husband, said to her: 'Why
dost thou destroy the egg that is in thy womb by fasting?' When the
child was born, a voice from the air was heard, saying: 'Whereas thou,
O Muni, hast spoken of this egg as destroyed, to thee therefore, O Muni,
this thy son shall be called Mārtanda [from maritam andam, " destroyed
egg"].' For a picture of the ruins of the Märtanda temple of the Sun
in Kaśmir, see Vincent Smith, The Early History of India, p. 372, 3d ed.,
Oxford, 1914. 3. Lit. 'bearing weariness, as it were.' 4. Lit. 'having
the universe wandered over with repe on.' 5. Lit. 'having sickness
acquired through excess of drinking.'
V.L. (a) V dvrttibhrantavimbaḥ; JHB svoşmandiva, V svoşuneva. (b)
B davagnitapta isa. (c) B ivodvantate ya himarttau. (d) VJHB mar-
tandasya pracandaf; V -bhide 'bhişavo, JHB -bhide bhişavo.
15
tanvānā digvadhūnām samadhikamadhurālokaramyām ava-
sthām
ārūḍhaprauḍhileśotkalitakapilimā 'lamkṛtiḥ kevalaiva
j