2023-02-23 18:49:13 by ambuda-bot
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THE SŪRYASATAKA OF MAYURA
līnām ākāśa evā 'mṛtakaraghaṭitām dhvāntapakṣasya parvany
evam sūryo 'ṣṭabhedām bhava iva bhavataḥ pātu bibhrat
svamūrtim
213
Sürya, like Bhava (Siva), possesses an eightfold form.¹ [As
Siva] is the <earth>, [so Sürya] is the <repository> of
splendor;
[As Siva is water, so Sürya] consists of water, [as proved] by his
shedding rain upon the universe³;
[As Siva] is <wind>³, [so Sürya] is a <purifier>, even in recalling
[his name];
[As Siva is fire, so Sûrya] is fiery, [as proved] by his ability to
burn;
[As Siva is the sacrificing priest, so Sürya] is frequently like the
sacrificer because of the desired gifts [which he bestows];
[As Siva is ether, so Sürya] is identical with the sky in which he
is merged;
[And as Siva is the sun and moon, so Sürya, the sun], is united
with the moon at the conjunction in the dark half [of the
lunar month].
May Sürya protect you'!
Notes. 1. The commentary quotes from an unnamed source: kşitijala-
pavanahutafanayajamānākāśasomasüryakhyaḥ, 'Earth, Water, Wind, Fire,
the Sacrificer, Sky, Soma (Moon), and Sürya [are] the names [of the
eight forms of Siva]. These eight forms or aspects are also allotted to
Siva in the opening verse of Kālidāsa's Sakuntala; see also Mahābhārata,
3.49.8, where Maheśvara (Siva) is called aştamurti, 'possessing eight
forms.' 2. For the idea that Sürya is a reservoir of rain-water, see
stanza 9, note 2. 3. The term pavanim, ordinarily meaning 'purifying,'
is here, punningly, to be regarded as an adjective from pavana, 'wind,'
and to mean 'consisting of wind.' Its gloss is väyumayim, 'consisting of
wind,' and a footnote to the commentary points out that there is a pun
involved. The far-fetched likeness to the wind is probably not real, but
only such by virtue of the word-pun, although there may possibly be
involved a reference to the inspiration of the breath, or of air, as a stimu-
lator of thought and of the intellectual faculties-like the 'rhythmic
breathing of the present-day swamis. The literal translation of pāvanim
samsmrtav apy is 'purifying, even in remembering,' and this doubtless
means that a devotee of Surya gains purification by merely recollecting, or
meditating on, that deity. The gloss smarane 'pi krte sati pavanim
līnām ākāśa evā 'mṛtakaraghaṭitām dhvāntapakṣasya parvany
evam sūryo 'ṣṭabhedām bhava iva bhavataḥ pātu bibhrat
svamūrtim
213
Sürya, like Bhava (Siva), possesses an eightfold form.¹ [As
Siva] is the <earth>, [so Sürya] is the <repository> of
splendor;
[As Siva is water, so Sürya] consists of water, [as proved] by his
shedding rain upon the universe³;
[As Siva] is <wind>³, [so Sürya] is a <purifier>, even in recalling
[his name];
[As Siva is fire, so Sûrya] is fiery, [as proved] by his ability to
burn;
[As Siva is the sacrificing priest, so Sürya] is frequently like the
sacrificer because of the desired gifts [which he bestows];
[As Siva is ether, so Sürya] is identical with the sky in which he
is merged;
[And as Siva is the sun and moon, so Sürya, the sun], is united
with the moon at the conjunction in the dark half [of the
lunar month].
May Sürya protect you'!
Notes. 1. The commentary quotes from an unnamed source: kşitijala-
pavanahutafanayajamānākāśasomasüryakhyaḥ, 'Earth, Water, Wind, Fire,
the Sacrificer, Sky, Soma (Moon), and Sürya [are] the names [of the
eight forms of Siva]. These eight forms or aspects are also allotted to
Siva in the opening verse of Kālidāsa's Sakuntala; see also Mahābhārata,
3.49.8, where Maheśvara (Siva) is called aştamurti, 'possessing eight
forms.' 2. For the idea that Sürya is a reservoir of rain-water, see
stanza 9, note 2. 3. The term pavanim, ordinarily meaning 'purifying,'
is here, punningly, to be regarded as an adjective from pavana, 'wind,'
and to mean 'consisting of wind.' Its gloss is väyumayim, 'consisting of
wind,' and a footnote to the commentary points out that there is a pun
involved. The far-fetched likeness to the wind is probably not real, but
only such by virtue of the word-pun, although there may possibly be
involved a reference to the inspiration of the breath, or of air, as a stimu-
lator of thought and of the intellectual faculties-like the 'rhythmic
breathing of the present-day swamis. The literal translation of pāvanim
samsmrtav apy is 'purifying, even in remembering,' and this doubtless
means that a devotee of Surya gains purification by merely recollecting, or
meditating on, that deity. The gloss smarane 'pi krte sati pavanim