Prayers to Sun...

Today is Pongal. It is one festival that has made me merrier and happier than Deepavali. It usually happens on the 14th of January spread over four days. It’s holiday season in Chennai and was a great time to rejoice with family, enjoy the classical music programs in the evenings, watch new releases, witness the cricket match at the Chepauk grounds and roam around the Madras Book fair.

Initially I was not aware Makara Sankranti is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu. Later I learnt that Makara Sankranti is celebrated across India and in many parts of South East Asia and is known by different names. In most parts of India, it’s celebrated as the harvest festival. The occasion is to worship the Sun god for providing us with life and food on this planet.

What is Makara Sankranti and how it’s connected with Sun? The moment in time when sun enters the Rasi is called Sankranti or Sankramana. Each Rasi is a 30 degree arc of the orbit of the sun around the earth. Sun traverses each of the 12 Rasis over a period of one year. Each Sankranti is the beginning of a new month as per solar calendar. Makara Sankranti is the transition of the Sun from the zodiac (Rasi) of Sagittarius (dhanu) to Capricorn (Makara). It is also the beginning of Uthrayana (summer solstice) which signifies northward movement of the Sun and beginning of summer. Besides Makara Sankranti, the other important ones are - Mesha Sankranti in April, marks the beginning of new year, Karka Sankranti in July marks the beginning of Dakshinayana (southward movement and also called as Winter solstice).

How can there be life on earth without Sun? There are so many places in our scripture where the significance of Sun is highlighted. The ones that have made a deep impact in me are a few, which I thought of sharing on this auspicious day.

The first one is Aditya Hrudayam. It was taught to us in school days. It is an important hymn on Sun God recited by sage Agastya to Lord Ram on the battlefield. He mentions that it has the power to vanquish all enemies, bestow victory, blesses one with unending auspiciousness and eradicates all miseries.

The one dearer to me is Gayatri mantra and was initiated to the mantra during the sacred thread ceremony (Janau). It is a sacred hymn to extol the brilliance of Sun God, and is revealed in Rig Veda. It is chanted during Sandhya Vandana, the ritual to be followed everyday during sunrise, noon and sun set. It enables one’s higher intellectual energies and guides one on the path of wisdom.

The last one which I learnt during the Veda chanting classes is Aruna Prasnam. It is in Yajur Veda under Taiteraya Saka Aranyaka. It’s in 32 Anuvakas and in 132 mantras (panchatees). It’s also called as Surya Upanishad. The regular chanting of this Prasnam at sunrise and offering Surya namaskar at the end of every mantra is considered auspicious and beneficial.

It discusses various topics - prayers to Surya, visualization of Sun as Surya Narayan, Gayatri mantra, how Sun is linked to Time, Surya mandala, eight Adityas and the Maha Meru mountain, cycle of birth and death, reason and cause of timely and premature death besides prayers to Fire, water, Air and Space. It helps in having life without diseases, longer life with good health and banishment of premature death.

Let us cultivate the habit of doing Surya Namaskar every day and pray Sun to bless us all with good health.