Adithya hrudaya sthOthram
Meaning of Adithya hrudayam : The PURUSHA which is in the innermost part of the SOORYA MANDALA.” Please see “ ya yEshontharAdithyE hiranmaya: purushOdrusyathE “ etc..
Before we chant this sthOthra with devotion every day , we must chant* AGASTHYA BHAGAVAAN as RUSHI, ANUSHTUP as CHANDUS and BRAHMA as DEVATHA.
and use it for warding off all obstacles to attain BRAHMA VIDHYA AND to succeed in all our attempts, “ Shadanga Nyaasa “ is performed by chanting BHOORBHUVASVA: with PRANAVAand using the THREE WORDS of GAYATHRI. “ jayathu jayathu sUryam sapthalOkaika dIpam kirana shamitha pApam klEshadu:khasya nAsham arunanigama gamyamchAdimAdithyamUrthim sakala bhuvana vandyam bhAskaram tham namAmi “ is the dhyAna slOka.
This sthOthra comes in the 107th chapter of Sri. VaathmIki rAmAyanam “YUDDHA KAANDA: as taught by the Sage Agasthya, to Sri RAma before he went to wage war against RAVANA who was tired in war,
“ thathO yudhha parishrAndam samarE chindayA sthhitham
rAvanam chAgrathO drushtwA yudhhAya samupasthhitham 1.
daivathaischa samAgamya drashtumabhyAgathO ranam
upAgamyAbravIdrAmamagasthO bhagavAnrishi:” 2.
Meaning : * Sage Agasthya who went along with Devaas to see Sree Raama , who was tiredwaging war with Raavana due to war preparedness and was standing with “CHINTHA”(THOUGHYFULNESS) , told Sri Rama thus :-
“ rAma rAma mahAbAhO shrunu guhyam sanAthanam
yEna sarvAnareen vathsa samarE vijayishyasi 3
Adithyahrudayam punyam sarvashathruvinAshanam
jayAvaham japEnnithyam akshyyam paramam shivam 4
sarvamangalamAngalyam sarvapaapapranAshanam
chinthAshOkaprashamanam Ayurvardhanamuththamam “ 5.
Meaning : HEY VATSSA ( HEY DEAR) RAma who is lOkAbhirAma, having great and robust shoulders and hands with strength , please listen to my words by which you can win war against all enemies . The secret that Adithya Hrudaya SthOhram is sacred
And which remains from time immemorial and which endows success in all attempts, and
sanAthana ( continues to be endless ) and which is auspicious and which gives all the best in life and which eradicates all pApAs ( Sins ) , and which removes all worries and sorrows , and which gives dIrghAyus ( Long Life ) and which is most sacred among all the manthrAs should be chanted nithyam (daily or always ) with devotion.
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*: I have seen another version of this meaning that Lord Rama was tired of waging war with Ravana and was thoughtfully gazing the war field. If read Chapter 106 of Yuddha KAndha then we will come to know that Ravana was tired.
* Some are of the opinion that instead., ANGANYAASA and KARANNYAASA can be performed by chanting PRANAVAM and KarannayAsa by chanting the 6 names of Adithya as given in the 6th Stanza as OM RASHMIMATHE NAMA:ANGUSHTAABHYAAM NAMA; etc.
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“ rashmimantham samudyantham dEvAsura namaskritham
pUjayaswa vivaswantham bhAskaram bhuvanEshwaram “ 6.
You perform pooja to this Adithya dEva who rises with rays and who is prostrated or worshipped by dEvAs and asurAs equally and who is the responsible to lighten up and who is the Lord of lOka ( bhuvana ).
“ sarwa dEvAthmakO hyEsha thEjaswI rashmibhAvana :
Esha dEvAsuraganAn lOkAn pAthi gabhasthibhi :” 7.
This Lord Adithya is the same who is the embodiment of all devas (Esha; hi sarva dEvAthmaka : ) , and enlightens all ; and who is responsible to provide rays ( rashmibhAvana )
It is this Lord Adithya who protects by his rays ( gabasthibhi : ) all dEvAs and asurAs, and all the worlds ( lOkAn ) .
“Esha brahmAcha vishnuscha shiva: skanda : prajApathi :
mahEndrO dhanada : kAlO yama: sOmO hyapAmpathi : “ 8
It is only this Lord Adithya , who is the Brahma dEva , the lord of creations, Vishnu dEva (Lord of protection), Lord shiva ( lord of destruction ), Lord Subrahmanya ( skanda ) and Lord Prajaapathi ( the swAmy who is the Lord of all those souls who have been created. ( prajAnAm janya vasthunAm swami ). Again it is this Adithya dEva who is dEvEndra, KubEra ( dhanada ), who is the destructor of the whole of the universe ( kAlA : ) , yama : ( the lord who punishes ) i.e. “yamayathi shikshayathIthi yama ), sOma ( who is the ardha nArIshwara i.e “ mayA prabhayA , umA sarvadA sahitha sOma : “ and who is the Lord of Jala ( Water ) – “apAmpathi”
Note : I have also seen sOma being interpreted as Lord Chandra
“ pitharO vasava: sAdhhyA hyaschinou mruthO manu :
vAyurvanhi : prajAprAna ruthukarthA prabhAkara: “ 9.
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It is this Lord who bestows light to the worlds who are the “pithrUs”, ancestors ;
ashtavasUs ; the yOgis who have attained the power to do any thing ( sAdhyAs) ,
ashwinI dEvAs ; those who have no death ( “ mriyanthE na kadA chidithi marutha:”),
Manu ( who has attained knowledge in all subjects – “sarvanjnhan”., vAyu dEva,
Lord of Fire ( Vanhi DevA ) ; and who is the soul (prajA PrAna : ) of all subjects, and who is the creator of SEASONS ( ruthukarthA : ) , and enlightens all ( prabhAkara means the Lord who brings out knowledge in all )
“ Adithya: savithA sUrya: khaga: pooshA gabasthimAn
suvarnasadrushO bhAnurhirnyarEthA divAkara: “ 10.
This adithI dEvI’s son Adithya is the creator; He is the catalyst who makes us to do our “Karma “; He is the person who travels through the sky; He is the God who develops the world with rain ( pUshnAthIthi pUshA ) , He is the Lord with rays ( gabhasthhimAn ) . His complexion is like Gold; He is the Person who gives light (“ bhAnu “) ; He is the creator of the golden coloured universe ( “ hiranyarEthA “ ) ; He is the person who makes DAY ( “divAkara” ).
“ haridashwa: sahasrArchi : sapthasapthirmarIchimAn
thimirOnmathhana : shambhusthwashtA mArththAnda amshumAn. “ 11.
The word “haridashwa” has manay meanings. One meaning is the person who wins all the hearts ( handsome ), another meaning is the person with green horse (haritha = ashwa There are many more meanings. I leave it to the experts in Sanskrit to analyse.
sahasrArchi means the God with countless rays although literally sahasra means thousand.
Sapthasapthi : means one who has a horse by name saptha. Another meaning is one who has seven horses. Those who have very good knowledge in Sanskrit can interpret this with many other meanings.
marIchimAn means one who has bright rays of light.
thimirOnmathana means one who destroys “thimira” or darkness.
Shambhu means one who endows happy life (“ kshEma” )
thwashtA means one who is the destroyer.
maarththAnda means one who brings back those destroyed.
amshumAn means one who has many rays.
“ hiranyagarbha: shishrasthapanO bhAskarO ravi :
agnigarbhE/dither : puthra : shamkha : shishiranAshana “ 12.
hiranyagarbha : means one who remains in the middle of the universe; shisira : means one who cools down the mind of those prostrating before Him. Thapana means one who chars those who are enemies of those depending on Him. Literal meaning
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“thapana” is only one who chars by burning others. bhAskara means one who gives light. Ravi means one who is revered by all “ rUyathE sthUyathe sarvairithi ravi”.
Agnigarbha means the one who possesses fire himself during day. “ diva agnirgarbhe
Yasya sa :” . abhithE puthrA: means the son of Abhithee Devi. Shamkha : means the one who becomes calm himself after dusk. “ shAmyathi swayamEva sAyamkAlE
ithi shamkha ‘. shishiranAshana : literally means one who removes mist. Here, it means the one who destroys unintelligence ( “manda budhhi” ).
“ vyOmanAthhasthamObhEdI rugyaju:sAmapAraga:
ghanavrishtirapAmmithrO vindhdhyavIthhi plavamgama “ 13.
vyomanAthha means the king of sky; thamObhEdI means one who kills darkness or one who destroys rAhu or one who destroys the thamOguna of his devotees. rugyajussamapAragA means a scholar who is a master of rug vEda, yajur vEda and sAma vEda; ghanavrishti means the one who brings heavy rain; apAmmithra means the one who is friendly with “ ap “ i.e. water; vindhyavIthhi plavamgama means the one who goes with ease through the difficult terrain like the vindhyAs . Note : many interpretations are given by sAnskrit pundits for the words ” vindhya veethhi plavamgama ‘.
“ AthapI mandalI mruthyu : pimgala: sarvathApana
kavirvishwO mahAthEjA raktha: sarvabhavOdbhava : “ 14.
AthapI means the one which has heat in it. Here we may interpret it as the one who gives sun rays ( VEYYIL). mandalI means the one which is round shaped. Mruthyu means the one who is the destructor of every thing. Another meaning is the one who destructs all enemies. Pimgala : means the one who is golden coloured during rise.
Another meaning is the one who makes us to perform our duties. There are many meaning for this word. sarvathApana : means the one who troubles with heat during noon. Another meaning is the one who destructs the whole universe.kavi: means the one who is proficient in all subjects ( sarvanjna ) . vishwa: means the one who directs the universe. This word has much more meanings which only a person with very high knowledge in Sanskrit can explain. mahAthEja : means the one with great personality ( tEjas ) . raktha: means the one who likes all creatures. Again, another meaning is the one who is red in colour during rise and set. sarwabhavOthbhavA : means the one who is the cause for the wellbeing of all.
“ nakshathragrahathArAnAmadhipO vishwabhAvana :
tEjasamApi thEjaswI dwAdashAthman namOsthuthE “ 15.
“ nakshathragrahathArAnAm means the lunar constellations, planets and other non-lunar constellations; adipa meand the ruler or king; vishwabhawana means the one who protects all the universe; tEjasAm api tEjasvi means the one which is brighter
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than the brightest; dwAdashAthman means the one which is the soul of Lord Indra, Lord dhAthA, Lord bhaga, Lord pUsha, Lord mithra, Lord Varuna, Lord AryamAv,
Lord archchis, Lord vivaswAn , Lord Thwashtwa, Lord savithA and Lord Vishnu.
thE namah: asthu means to thy I salute .
“ namah: pUrvAya girayE paschimAyadrayE namah:
jyOthrganAnAm pathayE dinAdhipathayE namaH; “ 16,
I pay obeisance to thee ,who has the East mountain as thy rising place and the western mountain as the setting place and swamin of all objects in the horizon and the owner of the day time.
“: jayAya jayabhadrAya haryaswAya namoh: namah:
namO namah :sahasrAmshO AdithyAya namO namaH: “ 17.
JayAya = who is the the BrahmadwArapAla called “JAYA” or by the help of whom the BhakthAs win their mundane duties; jayabhadrAya means the one who gives victory and propitiousness; haryashwAya means the one who possess green coloured horses; namoh: namah: means I pay my obeisance to HIM. Again I pay my obeisance to HIM who is sahasrAmshO means the one who possess innumerable types of life or the one who possess innumerable rays; Adithya means the son of adithi.
“ namah: ugrAya vIrAya sArangAya namoh namoh:
namah: padmaprabOdhAya mArththAnDAya nomoh namah: “ 18.
ugrAya means the one who is the deadliest enemy of those who do not worship HIM;
vIrAya means the one who induces all creatures to perform their duties ( vividham IrayathIthi ); sAramgAya means the one who travels very fast through the skies or the one who is one who is dealt thoroughly through “pranavam” ; padmaprabhOdhAya means the one who makes lotus flower to blossom: mArththAndAya means the one who gives life to the dead universe ;namoh namah: means I prostrate again and again.
“ brahmEshAnachyuthEshAya sooryAyAdithyavarchasE
bhAswathe sarvabhakshAya raudrAya vapushE namaH: “ 19.
BrahmEshAnachyuthEshAya means the one who protects Brahma, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu or the God who is the God of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; sUryAya means the one who induces all to work; Adithyavarchase means the one who is having the brightness of Adithya; bhAswathE means the one who is bright; sarvab
akshAya means, the destructor of all ( universe ); raudrAya vapushE means the one who destroys the sufferings or the one who is ferocious during the destruction of the universe; namah: means I prostrate.
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“ thamOgnAya himaghnAya shathrughnAyAmithAthmanE
krithaghnaghnAya dEvAya jyOthishAmpathayE namah: “ 20.
thamOgnAya means the one who removes darkness; himagnAya means the one who removes HIMA ( Cold, Mist, snow etc ) ; shathrughnAya means the one who wards off the enemies of His worshippers; amithAthmanE means the one who has many attributes or facets; krithagnagnAya means the one who destroys those who are thankless; dEvAya means the one who shines HIMSELF; jYothishAmpathayE means the one who is the master of the whole universe ( JyOthis } ; namah: means I prostrate before thee.
“ thapthachAmIkarAbhAya vanhayE viswakarmanE
namahsthamO/bhinighnAya ruchayE lOkasAkshinE “ 21.
thapthachAmIkarAbhyAya means the one who is melted golden coloured; vanhayE means the one who in the guise of fire carries the oblation or offerings (havis). ; vishwakarmanE means the one who makes the worlds to perform ; thamO/ bhinighnAya means the one who destroys darkness or the one who removes ajnhAna ;
ruchayE means the one who has the shape of brightness or the one who is liked by all;
“rOchathE ithi ruchi”. lOkasAkshinE means trhe witness for all the sins and goods which we perform; Namah: means I prostrate.
With this Sloka the ashtOththara shatha naamah: (108 Names of Lord Soorya)
Which starts from RASHMIMANTHAM and ends with the name LOKASAAKSHINE, ends.
“ nAshayathyEsha vai bhUtham thadEva srujathi prabhuh:
pAyathyEsha thapathyEsha varshathyEsha gabhasththibhih: “ 22.
(Esha: vai bhUtham nAshayathu prabhu) = nAshayathyEsha vai bhUtham means ,It is this dEva who destroys the worlds ; thadEva srujathi prabhu means thath srujathi Eva means it is he who creates them also; pAyathyEsha means EshapAyathi means it is also this dEva who makes every thing to dry up; thapathyEsha ( Esha thapathi: ) means
it is this dEva who makes everyone to burn or it is this dEva who makes everyone to suffer; varshathyEsha gabhasthibhi ( Esha gabhasthibhi: varshathi ) means it is this dEva who with his rays make rains to fall.
“ Esha supthEshu jAgarththy bhUthEshu parinishtitha:
Esha EvAgnihOthram cha phalam chaivAgnihOthriNAm” 23
This DEva remains as as invisible and awake in all creatures when they sleep.
It is this DEva who is the shape of the five IndriAys which are the FIVE FIRES
(panchAgni) and it is this DEva who is the ultimate goal of AgnihOthrIs.
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“ vEdAscha krathavaschaiva krathUnAm phalamEva cha
yAni krithyAni lOkEshu sarva Esha ravi prabhu : “ 24.
It is this Soorya Bhagavaan who is the embodiment of all Vedaas, Yaagaas and their results. It is this Almighty Bhagavaan , who is the embodiment of all the deeds of the worlds.
“ EnamApathsu krichchrEshU kaanthaarEshu bhayEshu cha
keerththayan prusha: kaschinnAvasIdathi rAghava.” 25.
HEI rAghava means the one born in Raghu Kula i.e Sree Raama, a person who recites with devotion , this Adithya Hrudaya, remains protected from all accidents, difficulties and fears which threatens him.
“ pUjayaswainamEkAgrO dEvadEvam jagathpthim
Ethath thrigunitham japthwA tyuddhEshu vijayishyasi.” 26.
Without anything in mind or without thinking of any one ( EkAgrachiththan ), perform pUja to this Adithya bhagavAn who is the dEva of all dEvAs. If you recite this “Sthawa” three times you will win the war.
“ asmin kshanE mahaabaahO rAvaNam thwam vadhishyasi
EvamukthwA thadAgasthyO jagAmacha yathhagatham. “ 27.
HEI mahAbAhO (person with strong forearms) i.e. Sree Raama, without any wasteof time, immediately you will kill RAvaNa. Thus advising , Agsthya BhagavAn went away, like he came.
“ Ethacchruthwa mahAthEjA nashtashOkO/bhavaththa thadA
dhArayAmAsa suprIthO rAghava: prayathAthmavAn “ 28.
This is an important SLOKA wherein it is cleared that it was Sree Raama who was tired and was full of CHINTHA ( thoughts as to how to wage war with RAVANA and win over him ).
Hearing these words of Sage Agasthya, Sree Rama became “nashta shOka “ i.e.
SrI rAma overcame his grief. SrIrAma, became happy and started praying by controlling his body and mind (INDRIYAAS).
“ Adithyam prEkshya japthwA thu patam harshamavApthavaan
ThrirAchamya shuchirbhoothwA dhanurAdAya vIryavAn” 29.
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The brave RAma, after sipping water three times ( Achamana ) , cleaning himself, took the bow and stood before the Sun God and after chanting (Adithya Hrudaya), became very happy.
“ rAvaNam prEkshya hrushtAthmA yuddhAya samupA gamath
sarvayathnEna mahathA vadhE thasya dhrutho/bhavEth. “ 30
Happy and cheerful, Sree Raama went near Raavanaa to wage war against him with a determinant mind to kill him
“ athharaviravadannirIkshya rAmam
mudithamanA: paramam prahrusyamaaNa:
nisicharapathisamkshayam vidithwA
suraganamadhhyagathO vachasthwarEthi.” 31.
At that time The SUrya BhagavAn in the midst of other dEvAs became very pleased and happy and blessed Sree Raama with the power to kill RaavanA and said “start war immediately”
ITHYAARSHE SREEMAD RAAMAAYANE VAALMEEKIYE AADI KAAVYE YUDDHAKAANDDHE SAPTHOTHTHARASHATHATHAMA: SARGHA: SAMAAPTHAM - END OF 107th CHAPTER..
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