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THE SURYASATAKA OF MAYURA
May the Heater's (Sürya's) flood of rays, the limit of [whose]
sphere [of action] is subject [only] to its own will, protect
you ¹⁰!
133
Notes. I. Or, the 'Illuminator.' 2. Lit. 'as if through pity, with the
thought: "May [that world], tender as a lotus stalk, not go
wither-
ing." 3. A mythical circular mountain-range, separating the earth from
void space, was called Lokaloka, 'Visible-invisible.' It was so high that
the light of neither sun, moon nor stars could reach its farther side.
Hence the farther side was always wrapped in inky blackness; cf. Bhaga-
vata Purana, 5. 20. 34-37 (ed. Bombay, 1898; cf. tr. by M. N. Dutt, vol. 1,
book 5, p. 74-75, Calcutta, 1895); and Visnu Purāṇa, 2.4 (Wilson, vol. 2,
p. 204-205). 4. Lit. 'it does not illumine the farther side of Lokāloka,
just because of its name.' If Sürya should shine upon the invisible
(aloka) side, that side would become visible (loka). 5. That is, at
sunset, when the sun is on the western horizon. The horizon, as being
the place where sky meets earth, may be called the boundary of the sky.'
6. The rays become shorter as Sürya nears his setting; cf. stanza 7, where
it is said that 'the rays at first [i.e. at dawn] bear dwarfishness, but after-
wards indeed are long'; and stanza 98, which describes the 'new' rays
as 'not having attained their full length.' 7. The fanciful picture pre-
sented seems to be that Sürya shortens his rays, fearing lest their heat
should cause the mundane egg to break-heat hatches eggs-and so destroy
the universe which rests within the egg. But it is not clear to me why
the egg should be more endangered when Sürya nears the horizon than
at any other time of day. The story of the birth of the universe from
the egg of Brahmã is told in all the Purāṇas; cf. for example, Vişnu
Purana, 1.2 (Wilson, vol. 1, p. 39-40), or Markandeya Purana, 45. 62-70
(Pargiter, p. 222-223). The 'golden egg' is also mentioned in Manu, 1. 9.
8. Lit. avakaśävadhir means 'limit of [whose] place.' I have rendered as
'limit of [whose] sphere [of action].' 9. That Sürya is responsible for
his acts to no one but himself is an idea expressed also in stanza 6.
According to F. W. Thomas (ed. of the Kavindravacanasamuccaya, introd.,
p. 68, Calcutta, 1912), this stanza of the Süryaśataka is cited by Ujjvala-
datta, on Unadisutra (Aufrecht's edition, p. 19), 4. 51.
IO.
V.L. (a) V hi loke, B 'hiloka.
20
aśyāmaḥ kāla eko na bhavati bhuvanānto 'pi vite 'ndhakāre
sadyaḥ prāleyapādo na vilayam acalaś candramā apy upaiti
bandhaḥ siddhāñjalīnāṁ na hi kumudavanasyā 'pi yatrojjihāne
tat prātaḥ prekṣaṇīyam diśatu dinapater dhāma kāmādhikam
vaḥ
May the Heater's (Sürya's) flood of rays, the limit of [whose]
sphere [of action] is subject [only] to its own will, protect
you ¹⁰!
133
Notes. I. Or, the 'Illuminator.' 2. Lit. 'as if through pity, with the
thought: "May [that world], tender as a lotus stalk, not go
wither-
ing." 3. A mythical circular mountain-range, separating the earth from
void space, was called Lokaloka, 'Visible-invisible.' It was so high that
the light of neither sun, moon nor stars could reach its farther side.
Hence the farther side was always wrapped in inky blackness; cf. Bhaga-
vata Purana, 5. 20. 34-37 (ed. Bombay, 1898; cf. tr. by M. N. Dutt, vol. 1,
book 5, p. 74-75, Calcutta, 1895); and Visnu Purāṇa, 2.4 (Wilson, vol. 2,
p. 204-205). 4. Lit. 'it does not illumine the farther side of Lokāloka,
just because of its name.' If Sürya should shine upon the invisible
(aloka) side, that side would become visible (loka). 5. That is, at
sunset, when the sun is on the western horizon. The horizon, as being
the place where sky meets earth, may be called the boundary of the sky.'
6. The rays become shorter as Sürya nears his setting; cf. stanza 7, where
it is said that 'the rays at first [i.e. at dawn] bear dwarfishness, but after-
wards indeed are long'; and stanza 98, which describes the 'new' rays
as 'not having attained their full length.' 7. The fanciful picture pre-
sented seems to be that Sürya shortens his rays, fearing lest their heat
should cause the mundane egg to break-heat hatches eggs-and so destroy
the universe which rests within the egg. But it is not clear to me why
the egg should be more endangered when Sürya nears the horizon than
at any other time of day. The story of the birth of the universe from
the egg of Brahmã is told in all the Purāṇas; cf. for example, Vişnu
Purana, 1.2 (Wilson, vol. 1, p. 39-40), or Markandeya Purana, 45. 62-70
(Pargiter, p. 222-223). The 'golden egg' is also mentioned in Manu, 1. 9.
8. Lit. avakaśävadhir means 'limit of [whose] place.' I have rendered as
'limit of [whose] sphere [of action].' 9. That Sürya is responsible for
his acts to no one but himself is an idea expressed also in stanza 6.
According to F. W. Thomas (ed. of the Kavindravacanasamuccaya, introd.,
p. 68, Calcutta, 1912), this stanza of the Süryaśataka is cited by Ujjvala-
datta, on Unadisutra (Aufrecht's edition, p. 19), 4. 51.
IO.
V.L. (a) V hi loke, B 'hiloka.
20
aśyāmaḥ kāla eko na bhavati bhuvanānto 'pi vite 'ndhakāre
sadyaḥ prāleyapādo na vilayam acalaś candramā apy upaiti
bandhaḥ siddhāñjalīnāṁ na hi kumudavanasyā 'pi yatrojjihāne
tat prātaḥ prekṣaṇīyam diśatu dinapater dhāma kāmādhikam
vaḥ