Saturday, 1 February 2020
Māgha · bright fortnight (śukla) Saptamī · Aśvinī
☀About the day
- Lunar month
- Māgha
- Tithi at sunrise
- bright fortnight (śukla) Saptamī · until 18:11
- Nakṣatra
- Aśvinī
- Sunrise · Sunset (Ujjain)
- 07:07 · 18:14
Ratha Saptamī
✦Significance
The Sun’s own day — Sūrya Jayantī — when he is said to have first mounted his seven-horsed chariot and lit the world. A bath at dawn with arka leaves is held to remove seven kinds of wrong gathered over seven births, and to give health; it is also called Ārogya Saptamī and Acalā Saptamī.
📜The story from the scriptures
Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Brāhma-parva (Saptamī-kalpa); Sāmba Purāṇa
The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa tells that Sūrya was born to Aditi and Kaśyapa on the seventh tithi, and that the seventh is therefore dearest to him. It tells too of Sāmba, the handsome son of Kṛṣṇa, who through a curse was struck with leprosy; on Nārada’s counsel he went to the bank of the Candrabhāgā, worshipped the Sun through the year with the saptamī vows, and was made whole — and in thanksgiving raised the first temple of the Sun. Another telling is of King Yaśovarmā of Kāmboja, whose only son was born sickly; a sage saw that the boy lacked merit from former lives and prescribed the Ratha Saptamī vow, by which the prince was healed and ruled long.
🪔Regional traditions and folklore
At Tirumala the Lord rides seven vāhanas in a single day, from Sūrya-prabhā at dawn to Candra-prabhā at night — a “half-Brahmotsava”. Koṇārka, Arasavalli and Modhera keep their great day; Karnataka and Tamil homes draw a chariot raṅgolī and boil milk in the open courtyard until it overflows toward the Sun; mass Sūrya-namaskāra is performed in schools.
🔥Pūjā and havan
Bath at aruṇodaya (the red dawn) with seven arka (Calotropis) leaves — one on the head, two on the shoulders, two on the knees, two on the feet — with rice and ber fruit on them; arghya to the Sun from a copper vessel with red flowers and red sandal; pāyasa cooked in the sun on a fire of dried cow-dung; the Āditya-hṛdaya and the twelve names of the Sun.
ॐMantras and japa 2
ॐ घृणिः सूर्य आदित्यः ॥
oṃ ghṛṇiḥ sūrya ādityaḥ ||
Meaning: Oṃ — the radiant one, Sūrya, the son of Aditi.
Benefit: The eight-syllable Sūrya mantra — recited with arghya at sunrise for health, eyesight, vitality and a bright intellect.
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ | tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi | dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt ||
Meaning: We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitṛ; may he awaken our understanding.
Benefit: The mother of the Vedic mantras — recited at sunrise, noon and sunset for clarity of mind, inner light and the blessing of the Sun.
📖Scriptural references 3
- Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Brāhma-parva 47–55
- Sāmba Purāṇa
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha-kāṇḍa 105