आदित्यहृदयम् नामावली

आदित्यहृदयम् नामावली

Commentary with Namavali : by N.Balasubramanian bbalu at satyam.net.in INTRODUCTION Aditya Hridayam is a popular hymn. It appears in the Yuddhakandam in Valmiki's Ramayana. It is a prayer to Aditya. One meaning of `Aditya` is the sun. But, in this hymn `Aditya` is to be taken to signify the Supreme Being. `Hridayam` is known to mean the heart; but it also means secret. The prayer holds in itself the secret teachings of the upanishads about the Supreme Being. The various names of the Lord mentioned in the hymn are of great significance and so justify the name `hridayam`. Given below are the 138 names of the Lord नामावलिः culled from the hymn. They come handy for those who want to do prostrations to the Lord while uttering each name and those who want to do puja to the Lord. Those who want to do puja may invoke the Lord in a design (rangoli) or a picture or in a pot of water and perform archana after reciting each name. They are also suitable for reciting by those who, for some reason are not able to do any of the above or recite the hymn in full. (The following abbreviations are used in the comments given below. VS - Vishnu Sahasranamam with the commentary of Shri Sankaracharya. LS - Lalitha Sahasranamam) The Aditya Hridayam, as we all know, was taught by the sage Agastya to Shri Rama in the battle field. The battle with Ravana was fierce and long-drawn. Rama was tired and concerned at the fact that the end was not in sight. At that time the sage appeared on the scene and taught Aditya Hridayam. He advised Shri Rama to worship Surya and repeat the verses three times. He said that by doing so the Lord will be pleased wirth his devotion and ensure victory in the battle पूजयस्वैनमेकाग्रो देवदेवं जगत्पतिम् । एतत् त्रिगुणितं जप्त्वा युद्धेषु विजयिष्यसि । Before proceeding further, some questions may arise in the minds of the reader who has some familiarity with this hymn. 1 - Who is Aditya? Is He the same as the sun we see rising and setting daily or some one different? 2 - Why does the sage ask Shri Rama to recite the prayer three times? 3 - And lastly, we know that Shri Rama was an avatar or incarnation of the Supreme Being. This being so, why should He be asked to pray to some one? The answer to these questions require some explanation. They are given below. THE LORD'S MANIFESTATIONS. The upanishads say that the Supreme Being or the Lord (will be called as He here) is without any attributes including form.. But He manifests Himself in three forms for the benefit of His devotees. 1 - In the gross form स्थूल रूपेण . The eyes cannot see Him, because He is the power behind the eyes. So, the kindly Lord makes Himself visible in the form of Aditya or the sun. Shri Rudram (7th and 8th Rik) says this. असौ यस्ताम्रो अरुण उत बभ्रुः सुमङ्गलः । असौ योऽवसर्पति नीलग्रीवो विलोहितः। उतैनं गोपा अदृशन्नदृशन्नुदहार्यः । उतैनं विश्वाभूतानि स दृष्टो मृडयाति नः॥ This Sun who is copper colored when he rises, then slightly rosy-red, then golden-yellow, this highly auspicious and beneficient one is verily Rudra. The Lord Rudra with the blue throat who has assumed the form of the sun glows red while rising. Him the cowherds behold and so the women carrying water; nay all the creatures. He who is thus beheld by all; may He bless us with happiness. Since He resides in the skies He is known as विहायसगतिः - विहायसं गतिः आश्रयोऽस्येति विहायसगतिः। (VS 876). The sun provides the world with warmth, light, rain etc. They give life to all in this planet and also sustain life. So, the sun has the functions of Brahma the creator, Narayana the sustainer and Sankara the destroyer rolled into one. The following prayer recited during Sandhyavandanam says all this. नमः सवित्रे जगदेक चक्षुषे जगत् प्रसूति स्थितिनाश हेतवे। विरिञ्चि नारायण शंकरात्मने। 2 - In the subtle form सूक्ष्म रूपेण He is the inner being who bleses the sun and gives him his radiance. This is said in many places in the scriptural texts. Some such cases are cited here for reference. आदित्यः - आदित्यमण्डलान्तःस्थो हिरण्मयः पुरुषः आदित्यः; यथादित्य एक एवानेकेषु जलभाजनेषु अनेकवत् प्रतिभासते एवमनेकेषु शरीरेषु एक एवात्मानेकवत् प्रतिभासत इति आदित्यसाध्र्म्याद्वा आदित्यः। VS (39). He is the Golden-hued Being resident in the solar disc. Or, just as one sun appears as many in many vessels containing water, so also the same Atma appears as many in many bodies. So, He is known as Aditya. ज्योतिरादित्यः - ज्योतिषि सवितृमण्डले स्थितो ज्योतिरादित्यः। VS (564). He resides in the sun. भानुमण्डलमध्यस्था - भानुमण्डलस्य सूर्यमण्डलस्य मध्ये तिष्ठतीति तथा। संध्यासमये देव्यास्तत्र ध्येयत्वात्। LS (275). She resides in the solar disc. She is to be meditated upon during the evening prayers. We meditate on Narayana who resides in the sun with the following prayer recited during our Sandhyavandanam. ध्येयः सदा सवितृमण्डल-मध्यवर्ती नारायण सरसिजासन-संनिविष्टः। केयूरवन् मकर-कुण्डलवान् किरीटी हारी हिरण्मयवपुः धृत-शंखचक्रः॥ Similarly we are advised to meditate upon Lord Siva along with Amba in the sun and get relieved from the cyclic births. सौरमण्डल मध्यस्थं सांबं संसारभेषजम्। नीलग्रीवं विरूपाक्षं नमामि शिवमव्ययम्॥ The Mundaka Upanishad makes a more detailed narration. (II-I-9 and 10). तच्छुभ्रं ज्योतिषां ज्योतिस्तद्यदात्मविदो विदुः। It is pure, and is the Light of lights which the knowers of the Self realise. तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति। Everything shines according as He does so: by His light all this shines diversely. Shri Sankarchrya explaines in his commentary that the Supreme Being is naturally effulgent. All this - the universe constituted by sun etc., shines diversely. It is that very Brahman that illuminates and shines through the different manifested lights. Shri Krishna says this specifically in His Bhagavad Gita. (15-12). He says that the light that resides in the sun and illuminates the whole world, that which is seen in the moon and fire are all His only. यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम्। यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम्॥ 3 - In the causal form कारण रूपेण as the Self residng in the heart of all beings. He is known as भूतात्मा - भूतानामात्मा अन्तर्यामीति भूतात्मा । एष त आत्मान्तर्याम्यमृतः (बृ-उ ७.३-२२) इति श्रुतेः। VS(8). सर्वान्तर्यामिणी - सर्वेषामन्तःकरणनियामक इति । एष त आत्मान्तर्याम्यमृत॒ इत्यन्तर्यामिब्राह्मणात्। LS(818). Shri Krishna says this clearly in the Gita. BG (10-20). He says that He is the Self residing in the heart of all beings. He is the beginning, the middle and also the end. अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः। अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च॥ The worship of Surya by chanting the verses thrice implies the worship of the Supreme Being in all the three forms - in the gross form as the Sun, the worship of Supreme Being in the subtle form as the power behind the Sun and, in the causal form as the sentience resident in the heart of all beings as explained above. We may find in the list of names (namavali) that follows names that support the above explanation. After teaching the Aditya Hridayam the sage left the place and joined the gods (devas) who have assembled in the sky above the battle field to witness the war between Shri Rama and Ravana. अस्मिन् क्षणे महाबाहो रावणं त्वं वधिष्यसि। एवमुक्त्वा तदागस्त्यो जगाम च यथागतम्॥ Earlier Shri Rama was concerned as to how he can win the battle with Ravana as the events were not going his way. But on hearing the advice from the sage Agastya, he regained his confidence and became cheerful. He chanted the Aditya Hridayam stotram as advised by the sage and got ready to face Ravana. रावणं प्रेक्ष्य हृष्टात्मा युद्धाय समुपागतम्। सर्वयत्नेन महता वधे तस्य धृतोऽभवत्॥ Surya Bhagavan was pleased by Shri Rama chanting the Aditya Hridayam properly with devotion. He came down from His region and joined the group of gods who have assembled in the sky above the battle field to watch the events. He encouraged Shri Rama to go ahead and fight Ravana. He was sure that Rama will kill Ravana and emerge victorious in the war. अथ रविरवदन्निरीक्ष्य रामं मुदितमनाः परमं प्रहृष्यमाणः। निशिचरपतिसंक्षयं विदित्वा सुरगणमध्यगतो वचस्त्वरेति॥ Now, we take up the question No. (3) mentioned earlier. That is, Shri Ramayana says that Shri Rama was an incarnation of Shri Narayana or the Supreme Being. We find in the Valmiki Ramayana (Yuddha Kanda - chapter 120) that after Shri Rama won the battle with Ravana, the gods including Brahma, Rudra and others approached Shri Rama, praised him and said that he is none other than the Supreme Being Narayana. भवान् नारायणो देवः श्रीमान् चक्रायुधो विभुः। This being so, is it appropriate for Shri Rama to worship the Sun god? Does it not imply that the Sun god is superior even to Shri Rama who is not different from the Supreme Being? The answer to this question is as follows. The Sun god mentioned in this Aditya Hridayam is not the solar disc but the Supreme Being rsiding in the sun. This is said in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3-7-9) यः आदित्ये तिष्ठन् आदित्यादन्तरः, यमादित्यो न वेद, यस्यादित्यः शरीरम्, य आदित्यमन्तरो यमयति, एष त आत्मान्तर्याम्यमृतः॥ He who inhabits the sun, but is within it, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun, and who controls the sun from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. This was said earlier also. That the Surya Bhagavan referred to here is the supreme Being only is amply made clear as He is called herein (name no. 109) as the Lord of Brahma, Isha or Siva and Achyuta or Vishnu ब्रह्मेशानाच्युतेशाय नमः। How can the sun be the Lord of the three gods mentioned here? So, one has to conclude that the Aditya is only the Supreme Being. Shri Rama took on the role of a human being just to teach us the way to live, not just to destroy the demons. मर्त्यावतार-स्त्विह मर्त्यशिक्षणं रक्षोवधायैव न केवलं विभोः। BH(5-19-5) He wanted to show that when one is confronted with a seemingly difficult situation that appears to defy solution, he can overcome it by resorting to God. Shri Krishna gave Arjuna the same advice on the KurukShetra battle field. He told Arjuna that he will overcome all difficulties by fixing his mind on Him the Lord. Shri Krishna added a warning that if Arjuna failed to heed His advice, and, if from egotism he thought he can manage the affairs himself, he will then be doomed to fail.. BG(18-58). मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि। अथ चेत्त्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि॥ This, then, is the lesson we learn from Aditya Hridayam. To repeat, we should turn to Lord when confronted with problems that threaten to overwhelm us. Now, given below are the names नामावलिः of Lord Surya. ॥ आदित्यहृदयम् नामावलिः ॥ ॐ रश्मिमते नमः । ॐ समुद्यते नमः । ॐ देवासुरनमस्कृताय नमः । ॐ विवस्वते नमः । ॐ भास्कराय नमः । ५। ॐ भुवनेश्वराय नमः । ॐ सर्वदेवात्मकाय नमः । ॐ तेजस्विने नमः । ॐ रश्मिभवनाय नमः । ॐ देवासुरगणलोकपालाय नमः । १०। ॐ ब्रह्मणे नमः । ॐ विष्णवे नमः । ॐ शिवाय नमः । ॐ स्कन्दाय नमः । ॐ प्रजापतये नमः । १५। ॐ महेन्द्राय नमः । ॐ धनदाय नमः । ॐ कालाय नमः । ॐ यमाय नमः । ॐ सोमाय नमः । २०। ॐ अपांपतये नमः । ॐ पितृमूर्तये नमः । ॐ वसुमूर्तये नमः । ॐ साध्यमूर्तये नमः । ॐ अश्विमूर्तये नमः । २५। ॐ मरुन्मूर्तये नमः । ॐ मनवे नमः । ॐ वायुमूर्तये नमः । ॐ वह्नये नमः । ॐ प्रजमूर्तये नमः । ३०। ॐ प्राणाय नमः । ॐ ऋतवे नमः । ॐ कर्त्रे नमः । ॐ प्रभाकराय नमः । ॐ आदित्याय नमः । ३५। ॐ सवित्रे नमः । ॐ सूर्याय नमः । ॐ खगाय नमः । ॐ पूष्णे नमः । ॐ गभस्तिमते नमः । ४०। ॐ सुवर्णसदृशाय नमः । ॐ भानवे नमः । ॐ हिरण्यरेतसे नमः । ॐ दिवाकराय नमः । ॐ हरिदश्वाय नमः । ४५। ॐ सहस्रार्चिषे नमः । ॐ सप्तसप्तये नमः । ॐ मरीचिमते नमः । ॐ तिमिरोन्मथनाय नमः । ॐ शंभवे नमः । ५०। ॐ त्वष्ट्रे नमः । ॐ मार्ताण्डाय नमः । ॐ अंशुमते नमः । ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः । ॐ शिशिराय नमः । ५५। ॐ तपनाय नमः । ॐ भास्कराय नमः । ॐ रवये नमः । ॐ अग्निगर्भाय नमः । ॐ अदितेःपुत्राय नमः । ६०। ॐ शंखाय नमः । ॐ शिशिरनाशनाय नमः । ॐ व्योमनाथाय नमः । ॐ तमोभेदिने नमः । ॐ ऋग्यजुःसामपारगाय नमः । ६५। ॐ घनवृष्टये नमः । ॐ अपांमित्राय नमः । ॐ विन्ध्यवीथीप्लवङ्गमाय नमः । ॐ आतपिने नमः । ॐ मण्डलिने नमः । ७०। ॐ मृत्यवे नमः । ॐ पिङ्गलाय नमः । ॐ सर्वतापनाय नमः । ॐ कवये नमः । ॐ विश्वस्मै नमः । ७५। ॐ महातेजसे नमः । ॐ रक्ताय नमः । ॐ सर्वभवोद्भवाय नमः । ॐ नक्षत्रग्रहताराणां अधिपाय नमः । ॐ विश्वभावनाय नमः । ८०। ॐ तेजसामपि तेजस्विने नमः । ॐ द्वादशात्मने नमः । ॐ इन्द्राय नमः । ॐ धात्रे नमः । ॐ भगाय नमः । ८५। ॐ पूष्णे नमः । ॐ मित्राय नमः । ॐ वरुणाय नमः । ॐ अर्यमणे नमः । ॐ अर्चिष्मते नमः । ९०। ॐ विवस्वते नमः । ॐ त्वष्ट्रे नमः । ॐ सवित्रे नमः । ॐ विष्णवे नमः । ॐ पूर्वायगिरये नमः । ९५। ॐ पश्चिमायाद्रये नमः । ॐ ज्योतिर्गणानांपतये नमः । ॐ दिनाधिपतये नमः । ॐ जयाय नमः । ॐ जयभद्राय नमः । १००। ॐ हर्यश्वाय नमः । ॐ सहस्रांशवे नमः । ॐ आदित्याय नमः । ॐ उग्राय नमः । ॐ वीराय नमः । १०५। ॐ सारंगाय नमः । ॐ पद्मप्रबोदाय नमः । ॐ प्रचण्डाय नमः । ॐ ब्रह्मेशानाच्युतेशाय नमः । ॐ सूर्याय नमः । ११०। ॐ आदित्यवर्चसे नमः । ॐ भास्वते नमः । ॐ सर्वभक्षाय नमः । ॐ रौद्रय वपुषे नमः । ॐ तमोघ्नाय नमः । ११५। ॐ हिमघ्नाय नमः । ॐ शत्रुघ्नाय नमः । ॐ अमितात्मने नमः । ॐ कृतघ्नघ्नाय नमः । ॐ देवाय नमः । १२०। ॐ ज्योतिषांपतये नमः । ॐ तप्तचामीकराभाय नमः । ॐ वह्नये नमः । ॐ विश्वकर्मणे नमः । ॐ तमोभिनिघ्नाय नमः । १२५। ॐ घृणये नमः । ॐ लोकसाक्षिणे नमः । ॐ भूतस्र्ष्ट्रे नमः । ॐ भूतपालाय नमः । ॐ भूतनाशाय नमः । १३०। ॐ पायते नमः । ॐ तपते नमः । ॐ वर्षते नमः । ॐ सुप्तेषु जाग्रते नमः । ॐ भूतेषु परिनिष्ठिताय नमः । १३५। ॐ अग्निहोत्राय नमः । ॐ अग्निहोत्रिणां फलाय नमः । ॐ परमसमर्थाय परब्रह्मणे नमः । १३८। Encoded and proofread by N.Balasubramanian bbalu at satyam.net.in
% Text title            : AdityhridayamnAmAvalI
% File name             : AdityhridayamnAmAvalI.itx
% itxtitle              : AdityahRidayam nAmAvalI
% engtitle              : AdityahRidayam nAmAvalI
% Category              : hRidaya, navagraha, nAmAvalI
% Location              : doc_z_misc_navagraha
% Sublocation           : navagraha
% Texttype              : nAmAvalI
% Language              : Sanskrit
% Subject               : philosophy/hinduism/religion
% Transliterated by     : N.Balasubramanian bbalu at satyam.net.in
% Proofread by          : N.Balasubramanian bbalu at satyam.net.in
% Translated by         : N.Balasubramanian bbalu@satyam.net.in
% Latest update         : July 7, 2010
% Send corrections to   : Sanskrit@cheerful.com
% Site access           : https://sanskritdocuments.org

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