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160
 
THE SŪRYAŚATAKA OF MAYŪRA
 
May this splendor of the Hot-rayed (Sürya) bestow blessings
upon you!
 
(Here ends the praise of the splendor.)'
 
"
 
Notes. 1. Lit. asisiramahaso means of the not-cold-rayed.' 2. The
real embodiment of glory' is the goddess Sri, whose name means
'Splendor' or 'Good Fortune.' In this stanza, the goddess Śrī is, by
implication, compared to the fri (splendor) of Sürya; cf. stanzas 21 and
23, where the splendor of Sürya is compared, also by implication, to an
eye and a lamp-wick, respectively. In stanza 42, Sürya's splendor is com-
pared to Lakşmi, who is Sri. 3. The splendor of Sürya is stable and
constant, but the goddess Sri, or Good Fortune, is notoriously unstable and
fickle. 4. Sürya's splendor (fri) does not originate in the ocean, but the
goddess Śri was born from the ocean, on the occasion of its celebrated
churning, along with the pärijata tree, the elephant Airāvata, and the
kaustubha jewel which was appropriated by Vişnu; cf. references to the
story of the churning of the ocean as cited in stanza 42, notes 3 and 14.
5. The goddess Sri was born from the ocean, resting on the expanded
petals of a lotus, and with a lotus in her hand, and soon after her appear-
ance cast herself upon Vişnu's breast; cf. stanza 2, note 2, and stanza 42,
notes 3 and 6, and the story of the ocean's churning as already cited. 6.
Naraka was a demon, slain by Kṛṣṇa (Vişņu); cf. Harivamśa, 2.63 (Dutt,
p. 512-521); Bhaguvata Purana, 10. 59. 21 (Dutt, vol. 2, book 10, p. 264).
7. The first 43 stanzas have been devoted to the praise of the rays, or the
splendor, of Sürya; the following 6 stanzas deal with the praise of the
horses that drew Sürya's chariot; cf. Introd., p. 84, where the subject-
matter of the Süryaśataka has been discussed.
 
V.L. (a) B nodanvāj janmabhūmir; H -bhūmir na. (b) VJHB pāṇāu
na padmam na ca; VJHB narakaripūrasthali. (c) K tribhuvanabhavane,
VJHB trişu bhuvanatatesv. (d) JH śriśreyamsi; K tejovarnanam (for
dyutivarnanam).
 
44
 
rakṣantv akṣuṇṇahemopalapaṭalam alam lāghavād utpatantaḥ
pātangāḥ pangvavajñājitapavanajavā vājinas te jaganti
 
yeşām vītānyacihnonnayam api vahatām mārgam ākhyāti
 
merāv
 
udyann uddāmadīptir dyumaṇimaṇiśilāvedikājātavedāḥ
 
The horses of Patanga² (Sürya), which outstrip Pavana (the
Wind) in speed, by reason of their contempt for the Lame
One,³
 
Do not, because of their extreme lightness, crush' [with their