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This step is
called as upasthāna.
It begins
with a mantra for the Supreme Person whose physical symbol is the
solar orb. There are three different prayers, for the
morning,
noon and
evening worship respectively. The meanings are very
interesting and these mantrās are widely used.
Prayer for the SUN the soul of all
that moves and moves not (morning worship)
Morning Prayer to the Spiritual Sun
mitrasya charşhaņī dhŗtaĥ shravo
devasya sānasim satyam chitrashravastamam
[RV (3.59.6); KYV (3.4.11.5);
(4.1.6.3); SYV (11.62)]
I meditate on the glory and fame of
the all-protecting Sun who is adorable, eternal, bewitching the
hearts of all listeners.
mitrojanān yātayati prajānan
mitrodādhāra pŗthivīm utadyām,
mitraĥ kŗşhţīr animishābhi
chaşhţe satyāya [mitrāya] havyam ghŗtavad vidhema.
[RV (3.59.1) with some word
replacements KYV (3.4.11.5)]
The Sun guides all, knowing
everything. He supports the earth and the sky. He watches all
creation unwinkingly. To him we offer hymns endowed with clarity
(or rice with ghee, for ritualists) for attaining eternal fruits.
pra sa mitra marto astu prayasvān
yasta āditya shikşhati vratena,
na hanyate na jīyate tvoto
nenamamho ashnotyantito na dūrāt.
[RV (3.59.2); KYV (3.4.11.5)] O Sun who is
Mitra, may he who longs to worship You scrupulously get the full
benefit of righteousness.
Prayer for longevity (noon worship) mid-day prayer
tachchakşhur devahitam
purastāchchhukram uchcharat. pashyema sharadashshatam jīvema sharadashshatam
[RV (7.66.16), TA (4.42.5), AV
(19.6.7)]
nandāma sharadashshatam modāma
sharadashshatam bhavāma sharadashshatam
shŗņavāma sharadashshatam
prabravāma sharadashshatam
ajītāsyāma sharadashshatam jyok cha sūryamdŗşhe.
ya udagānmahato
arņavādvibhrājamānaĥ sarjīrasya madhyāt
samā vŗşhabho lohitākşhassūyo
vipashchin manasaa punātu.
[TA (4.42.5)]
Translation:
May we see and adore for a hundred
years the Sun whose orb rises in the east and who looks after the
welfare of the celestials like an eye. May we live thus for a
hundred years. May we rejoice with our kith and kin for a hundred
years. May we live gloriously for a hundred years. May we speak
sweetly for a hundred years. May we live for a hundred years
undefeated by the forces of evil. We desire to enjoy gazing at the
Sun for a hundred years.
May my whole mind be sanctified by
the Sun who bestows all our needs, whose eyes are red, who is
omniscient and who rises from amidst the waters of the ocean
illumining all the quarters.
There is another prayer in the
Atharva Veda (19.67) which is a variant of the one given above and
which gives a deeper meaning of "why we should live":
For a hundred autumns, may we see,
For a hundred autumns may we live,
For a hundred autumns may we know,
For a hundred autumns may we rise
and progress.
For a hundred autumns may we thrive,
For a hundred autumns may we be,
(our true self)
For a hundred autumns may we become
(perfect beings).
Aye, and even more than a hundred
autumns.
Prayer to Sun
ā satyena rajasā vartamāno
niveshayannamŗtam martyam cha
hiraņyayena savitā rathenādevo
yāti bhuvanā vipashyan
[RV (1.35.2), KYV (3.4.11.2), SYV
(33.43); (34.31)]
Moving along the worlds of Truth
duly establishing the immortal and the mortal,
God Savitr comes in his golden car
beholding the worlds.
udvayam tamasaspari pashyanto
jyotiruttamam,
devam devatrā sūryam aganma
jyotir uttamam.
[RV (1.50.10), Atharva (7.53.7), SYV
(20.21), (27.10), (35.14), (38.24), KYV (4.17.4)]
Beholding a higher Light beyond this
darkness, We have come
to the highest Light, Sūrya, God among Gods.
udutyam jātavedasam devam vahanti
ketavaĥ dŗshe vishvāya sūryam
[RV (1.50.1), SV (31), Atharva,
(13.2.16), (20.47.13), KYV (1.2.8.2), SYV (7.41), (8.41),
(33.31)]
The Rays bear upward the Divine, the
all-knowing Sun so that all may behold him.
chitram devānām udagādanīkam
chakşhur mitrasya varuņasyāgneĥ,
ā prā dyāvā pŗthivī antarikşham
sūrya ātmā jagatas tasthuşhashcha.
[RV (1.115.1), Atharva (13.2.35),
(20.107.14); SYV (7.42), (13.46); KYV (1.4.43.1), (2.4.14.4)]
The wonderful face of the Gods has
arisen, the eye of Mitra, Varuņa and Agni;
The Sun, the soul, ātma, of
all that moves and moves not, has filled the Heaven, the Earth and
the mid-world.
[This verse is the earliest
reference to the concept of soul or ātman]
Evening Prayer
Prayer for pardon of our offenses
imam me varuņa shrudhī havamadyā
cha mŗdaya, tvāmavasyurāchake.
[RV (1.25.19), Sama (1585), SYV
(21.1), TB: (2.1.11.6)] O Varuņa, please fulfill this prayer of
mine and make me happy here and now. I pray for Thy protection.
tattvā yāmi brahmaņā
vandamānastadashāste yajamāno havirbhiĥ.
ahedamāno varuņeha bodhyurusham
sa mā na āyuĥ pramoşhīĥ.
[RV (1.24.11), KYV (2.1.11.6), SYV
(18.49), (21.2)] I seek refuge in Thee uttering the Vedic
mantrās. The sacrificers seek Thee with the ingredients of
offering.
yachchiddhite visho yathā pradeva
varuņa vratam, minīmasi dyavi dyavi.
[RV 1.25.1, KYV 3.4.11.4]
O famous Varuņa, please accept my
prayer and don't ignore it. Please do not shorten my span of life.
yatkinchedam varuņa daivye jane
abhidroham manuşhyāshcharāmasi,
achittīyattava dharmā yuyopima mā
nastasmādenaso deva rīrişhaĥ.
[RV (7.89.5), Atharva, (6.51.3), KYV
(3.4.11.6)]
O Lord Varuņa, please protect us without
punishing us for sins committed by us in different ways—by
omitting to perform daily Thy worship like the ignorant folk, by
committing frauds on the celestials because of human ignorance or
by infringing the path of righteousness laid down by you.
kitavāso yadriripurna dīvi
yadvāgha satyamuta yanna vidmā.
sarvā tā vişhya shithireva
devāthā te syāma varuņa priyāsaĥ.
[RV (5.85.8), KYV (3.4.11.6)] O Varuņa, please expunge the sin like
those attributed to me unjustly by wicked people like gamblers who
go where the good do not go or the sins committed by me
consciously or unconsciously. We must ever remain beloved of you.
The next mantra
is addressed to the Divine Mother indicating that the worship is
concluded.
uttame shikhare devi (jāte)bhūmyām
parvata mūrdhani,
brahmaņebhyo abhyanujnātā
gachchha devi yathāsukham.
—(Mahānārāyaņa upanishad)
O Goddess, who resides always at the
supreme peak the earth's and mountains (i.e., the secret abode in
our heart) please return tell the brahmanas call you again.
Explanation:
The idea is that even though we have
stopped the contemplation, the Goddess watches us from her highest
abode in us just as a mother watches her children play without
being noticed by them. The final mantra is a salutation to the
Lord and the spouse together, Umāmaheshvara.
ŗtam satyam param brahma puruşham
kŗşhņapingalam,
ūrdhvaretam virūpākşham
vishvarūpāya vai namo namaĥ.
—Mahānārāyaņa Upanishad (23.1)
Translation:
Supreme Brahman, the Absolute
Reality, has assumedthe form of Umaamaheshvara, dark blue and
reddish brown in hue, absolutely chaste and possessing uncommon
eyes. Salutations to Her alone who is the Soul of the universe or
whose form is the universe. |
