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  • How to chant Aditya Hrudayam?
  • How does it help in life?
  • What is the story behind this?
Keshav Srinivasan
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  • have bath fisrt then born doop close your eyes take your problam and helpd ypo win your battle rama then feelhelpless to win the battle agstya rishi give this aditya herdya storom after chanting this mantra he win the battle jai shree ram –  Dec 15 '15 at 11:31
  • Commentry + Aditay Hridyam Namavali: https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_z_misc_navagraha/AdityhridayamnAmAvalI.html – Second Feb 27 '21 at 16:08
  • It cannot be considered an interpolation simply because Rama was taught the Bala Atibala mantras by Viswamitra earlier. This is a Mantra for defeating enemies. That is for eradicating hunger, thirst. See the subtle difference. – Hari Oct 22 '16 at 09:42

2 Answers2

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The Aditya Hridayam, meaning heart of Surya, is a hymn to Surya the sun god that the sage Agastya told Rama on the battlefield of Lanka right before his battle with Ravana, as described in the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana. Here is what Agastya tells Rama:

O Rama, the mighty armed! Hear the following eternal secret, by which you can conquer all the enemies in battle, my child! This holy hymn dedicated to the Sun deity will result in destroying all enemies and bring you victory and never ending supreme bliss.

He then praises Surya effusively, after which he gives the actual hymn:

namaḥ pūrvāya giraye paścimāyādraye namaḥ |

jyotirgaṇānāṃ pataye dinādhipataye namaḥ ||

jayāya jayabhadrāya haryāśvāya namo namaḥ |

namo namaḥ sahasrāṃśo ādityāya namo namaḥ ||

nama ugrāya vīrāya sāraṅgāya namo namaḥ |

namaḥ padmaprabodhāya pracaṇḍāya namo.astu te ||

brahmeśānācyuteśāya sūryāyādityavarcase |

bhāsvate sarvabhakṣāya raudrāya vapuṣe namaḥ ||

tamoghnāya himagnāya śatrughnāyāmitātmane |

kṛtaghnaghnāya devāya jyotiṣāṃ pataye namaḥ ||

Hail to you in the form of eastern mountain and hail to the western mountain. Hail to the lord of host of luminaries and hail to the lord of the day. Hail to you, the giver of victory, hail to you, the joy born of victory! Hail to you, the god with green horses, hail to you, having thousands of rays! Hail, hail to you the son of Aditi! Hail to you, the fierce one, hail to you the valiant one! Hail to you, the one with variegated colours! Hail to you, the awakener of the louts, hail to you, the furious one! Hail to you, the ruler of Brahma, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu the infallible, the sun-god, the light indwelling the solar orb, the resplendent one, the devourer of all, appearing in form of Rudra. Hail to you, the dispeller of darkness, the destroyer of cold, the exterminator of foes, the one whose extent in immeasurable, the destroyer of the ungrateful, the god, who is the ruler of all lights.

And here is the benefit he describes to Rama:

O Rama! No individual glorifying this sun-god, in distresses in difficulties; in the woods or in times of peril, comes to grief. Worship this sun-god, the lord of the universe and the god of all gods with undivided attention. Muttering this praise three times, you will come out victorious in battles. You will be able to kill Ravana at this very moment, O mighty armed one!

Agastya then left the battlefield, and Rama followed his instructions, sipping water three times and then saying the Aditya Hridayam three times, and as a result Surya himself (who was Rama'a ancestor after all) urged Rama on. And needless to say, Rama did indeed win his battle against Ravana.

By the way, I should mention that it's customary to recite the whole chapter, not just the actual hymn I quoted above.

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  • @@Keshav-the aditya Hridayam part is considered interpolation, but it any away doesnt impact supremacy of Lord Rama. Rama and Lakshmana were given bala and atibala secret mantras by Vishwamitra during Bala kanda itself and Vishwamitra says that those initiated into these two mantras will not become tired nor will be troubled by pangs of hunger etc.So, if you look at why and how Aditya hridayam came about, it says Rama become tired fighting Ravana.The very primise is wrong.If, Rama became tired, then Vishwamitras mantras have to be questioned. –  Feb 06 '15 at 14:22
  • @@Keshav- So, Rama becoming tired is very questoonable. Hence, the Aditya Hridayam can be considered safely as interpolation. –  Feb 06 '15 at 14:24
  • "the aditya Hridayam part is considered interpolation" Who considers it an interpolation? "The very primise is wrong.If, Rama became tired, then Vishwamitras mantras have to be questioned." But what if Rama hadn't uttered the Bala and Atibala mantras at that particular time? It may be that their effect only protects you for a certain length of time. Perhaps the effect had worn off, and then Rama would have said the mantra again if Agastya hadn't come onto the battlefield. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 06 '15 at 15:02
  • @@Keshav - Please read the bala khanda. Please read the actually, Sanskrit verses too. You should get the answer by yourself. If, you are questioning the very supremacy of Rama, then there is nothing to discuss. Please don't make assumptions that Rama hadn't uttered, effect wore off etc. There is no question of some thing getting worn off some things clinging on. The subject is Rama here. Not some tom, dick and harry. Ramo vigrahavan dharmaha; Ramo dvirnabhibashatey. These are sufficient to answer the greatness of Rama. Aditya Hridayam is considered interpolation by Vaishnavas. –  Feb 06 '15 at 17:06
  • @Krishna I am absolutely not questioning the supremacy of Rama; I'm a Sri Vaishnava after all. Where did you get the idea that I was questioning it? "Aditya Hridayam is considered interpolation by Vaishnavas." Do you have a source for that? Has some Acharya said that? – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 06 '15 at 17:10
  • @@Keshav - I am not at all questioning your credentials as SriVaishnava. Many Srivaishnavas do consider it as an interpolation. I don't have the information immediately. That doesn't mean that Aditya Hridayam cannot be interpreted properly by Vaishnavas. Infact, I came to know, very recently from a brilliant and well learnt Sri Vaishnava that Maheshvara Tirtha, an ancient advaitic commentator on Sri Ramayana has interpreted "rudrAya vapuShaye" as a pointer to narasimhAvatAra, while explaining the Aditya Hridayam as a Vishnu-stuti (and not a stuti on sUrya as popularly held today) –  Feb 06 '15 at 17:28
  • @Krishna That's interesting. By the way, I looked in the Bala Kanda and the verse that mentions no tiredness just says "na śramo na jvaro vā te na rūpasya viparyayaḥ na ca suptam pramattam vā dharṣa iṣyanti nairṛtāḥ". It doesn't mention that the effect will last forever or that it will last from the time Rama receives it indefinitely or anything like that. So it's possible that the mantra needs to be repeated. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 06 '15 at 17:44
  • @@Keshav - na shramo na jvaro vaa te na ruupasya viparyayaH || 1-22-12 na ca suptam pramattam vaa dharSa iSyanti nairR^itaaH |

    12b, 13a. te= to you; shramaH= tiredness; na = not - will not be there; jvaraH vaa na = fever, or, no; ruupasya viparyayaH na= form - personality, misshaping, no; suptam vaa pramattam= sleeping, either, [or] unvigilant; nairR^itaaH= demons; na dharSa iSyanti= not, attack [you.]

    "On receiving these hymns neither tiredness nor fever, nor disfiguring of personality can effect you, nor the demons can charge you either you are sleeping or unvigilant. [1-11-12b, 13a]

     –  Feb 06 '15 at 17:48
  • @Krishna The "on receiving these hymns" part is just added by the translator. The Sanskrit verse doesn't actually say that. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 06 '15 at 17:50
  • @@Keshav - Please read the remaining verses too. It clearly indicates that Rama and Lakshmana received and practised it. It also, says, Rama received, but interpretation is from Rama, Lakshmana also received it or both received it. Moreover, Vishwamitra will never give these mantras to unworthy and there are no one more worthy than the brothers. So, we can safely conclude that Rama practiced it, because Rama is dharma and viceversa.Does Ramanyana say anywhere that Rama never practiced it or the effect of the mantras has worn off? –  Feb 06 '15 at 17:59
  • @Krishna it doesn't say that, but it also doesn't say in the Yuddha Kanda anything to the effect that the mantras were in effect the whole time. (I'm not saying Rama never practiced it.) So right now we have insufficient evidence to decide one way or another. If you're able to find a quote from a Sri Vaishnava acharya saying that the chapter is an interpolation, that would help. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 06 '15 at 18:02
  • vidyaa samudito raamaH shushubhe bhiima vikramaH || 1-22-21 sahasra rashmiH bhagvaan sharadiiva divaakaraH | guru kaaryaaNi sarvaaNi niyujya kushika aatmaje | uuSuH taam rajaniim tatra sarayvaam susukham trayaH || 1-22-22

    21b, 22. bhuuri vikramaH= one with marvellous, valiance; Rama; vidyaa samuditaH= teachings, on obtaining; kushikaatmaje= in respect of Vishvamitra; sarvaaNi guru kaaryaaNi = all, teacher's, works – works to be done in respect of teacher; niyujya= on performing; sharadi= in autumn; sahasra rasmiH bhagavaan = thousand, rayed, god; divaa karaH iva= sun,

     –  Feb 06 '15 at 18:04
  • @Krishna That verse just says that he received the mantras and he performed service for Vishwamitra. In any case, I'm not claiming that Rama never put the mantras to use. I'm just saying there is nothing in the Yuddha Kanda to indicate that the mantra was in effect at all times, so we can't decide one way or another without further evidence concerning the Aditya Hridayam's provenance, like from a Sri Vaishnava Acharya. As far as Kamban goes, there are a lot of things in the Valmiki Ramayana that he omits, and there are a lot of details he has that aren't present in the Valmiki Ramayana. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 06 '15 at 18:09
  • @@Keshav - The Beatiful Kamba Ramayana written by great Kamban in tamil in 9-10th century, doesn't contain this Aditya Hridayam. This is itself is sufficient to prove that Aditya Hridayam is interpolation –  Feb 06 '15 at 18:13
  • @@Keshav - I found the following based on Kurattalwan Sri KoorattAzhwAn, the erudite discipleof Sri RamAnujA, in his beautiful stotra “AtimAnushastavam”, lists out the very human actions of Sri RamA, not at all befitting an avatara of Sriman NarAyanA, and inquires of Him, “When you portrayed yourself as a human being with all so called failings, how was it possible for you to perform superhuman acts like the bridging of the ocean,the piercing of seven trees and worlds with a single arrow, the granting of Moksha to Sabari and Jataayu, etc?”. –  Feb 06 '15 at 18:35
  • @@Keshav -koorathAzhwAn devotes 16 slokas to the Ramavatara,and furnishes an exhaustive list of the mortal frailties displayed by RamA on various occasions his abject distress at the kidnapping of Sri Janaki , seeking the help of mere monkeys in the search for Her, not facing Vali in battle directly, His prayers to Samudra Raja to cross the ocean,apparent helplessness when Sri Lakshmana was felled by the mAyAvi Indrajit,etc. –  Feb 06 '15 at 18:38
  • @@Keshav - The point to note here is that Sri KoorattAzhwAn does not include in this long list any prayer to the Sun God by a RamA in distress on the battlefield. This makes it clear that Aditya Hridayam was not a part of srimad RamAyanA, atleast during Sri KoorattAzhwAn’s times –  Feb 06 '15 at 18:41
  • @@Keshav - Govindaraja has written a commentary on the Ramayana, and clearly does cast doubts about the authenticity at the end of the Aditya Hrudayam chapter. Govindaraja says explicitly Varadaraja Udaari, who is mentioned as a Ramayana commentator in Nambillai's Eedu, has skipped this chapter and also says that as per Udaari's calculation there are 130 chapters in Yuddha Kanda, while Aditya Hrudayam would result in 131 chapters. I was informed about this by a well versed Srivaishnava. –  Feb 15 '15 at 16:38
  • @Krishna Thanks. Do you know if Govindaraja's commentary on the Ramayana is available online in English? In any case, this web page quotes Govindaraja giving reasons why the Aditya Hridayam may not be authentic: http://www.culturalindia.org/data/aadityahridayamenglish.asp This web page, on the other hand, says that Govindaraja mentions it not being commented on by Udari, but apart from that it doesn't seem like he definitively said it's not authentic: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-bookreview/a-hymn-to-sun-in-the-ramayana/article1446269.ece So I want to read it myself. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 15 '15 at 17:00
  • @@Keshav - I am not sure about the English version. I was informed by well versed srivaishnava about it and I provided the same information. –  Feb 15 '15 at 17:02
  • @@Keshav - The link provided by you mentions But "Govindaraja opines that this "Aaditya Hridayam" doesn't exist in the original Ramayana written by the Sage Valmiki and must have been added later. He says, "this stotra is not available in some old manuscripts of Valmiki Ramayana. Udari whose commentary is said to be the oldest on Valmiki Ramayana has not mentioned this Stotra in his work. These as well as the Koortalwan's Atimanushstavam clearly indicate that Aditya Hridayam is interpolation. –  Feb 15 '15 at 17:07
  • @Krishna Yeah, the culturalindia link says that but the Hindu article seems to suggest that he didn't reject it outright. That's why I want to try to read the original. – Keshav Srinivasan Feb 15 '15 at 17:09
  • @@Keshav - Govindaraja might have commented on the aditya hridayam (not sure) but has clearly cast his doubts about its authenticity. –  Feb 15 '15 at 17:11
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    @@Keshav - I got the following information from a well versed Srivaishnava. English translations of Govindaraja's commentary are not available, as far as I know. (And it is better to read in original Sanskrit since translations are often distorted versions). Govindaraja starts the commentary without any remarks first: अथादित्यहृदयोपदेशः । ततो युद्धपरिश्रान्तमित्यादिश्लोकद्वयमेकान्वयम् ।…. After giving a commentary to the entire chapter without compromising Vaishnavism, Govindaraja raises some objections and gives a couple of possibilities about its authenticity:(cont.) –  Feb 17 '15 at 07:03
  • @@Keshav - (cont.)ननु -- उत्तरत्र ब्रह्मरुद्रादयस्सर्वे एकवाक्यता भवान्नारायणो देव इत्यादिना विष्णोरेवसर्वस्मात् परत्वं महताग्रंधेन प्रतिपादितवन्तः । अत्र सूर्यस्यैव सर्वोत्तरत्वमुच्यते कथमिदं संगच्छते । उच्यते -- यथा मधुविद्यायामादित्यस्य परतया प्रतिपाद्यतेऽपि तदन्तर्यामिण्येव परमात्मनि मधुविद्यायास्तात्पर्यमिति बादरायणो ब्र्बह्ममीमांसायामुक्तवान् तथास्य मन्त्रस्यादित्यान्तर्यामिविषयतयासर्वमिदं संगच्छते । नारायणपरत्वं ह्युपक्रमप्रभृत्योपसंहारमविवादमिति पूर्वमेव बहुलं प्रतिपादितम् । 'ब्रह्मेशानाच्युतेशाये'त्येतदपि मूर्तित्रयस्यपरमात्मजन्यत्वादुपपद्यते । (cont.) –  Feb 17 '15 at 07:04
  • @@Keshav -अयं च सर्गः केषुचित् कोशेषु नदृश्यते । उडारिणा न व्याख्यातश्च । आरंभात्प्रभृति प्रबन्धप्रतिपादितनारायणपरत्वविरुद्धं चात्र प्रतिभाति सूर्यपरत्वम् । अस्मिंश्च काण्डे त्रिंशदुत्तरशतसर्गा उडारिणा गणिता । एतदन्तर्भावे एकत्रिंशदुत्तरशतसर्गस्तेन गणिताभवेयुः । –  Feb 17 '15 at 07:04
  • @Krishna- What is even problem if it is surya stuti. Let us consider this surya stuti then why do any of the vaishnavite sect be hurt from it?. As surya is also considered an avatar of Lord MahaVishnu and he is also known as SuryaNarayana. so is'nt it just stuti of Lord Mahavishnu in another form?? Please don't consider this offence towards any of the sect/caste/vaishnava acharya. – Yogi Aug 01 '15 at 06:00
  • @KeshavSrinivasan - Do you mean that actual stotra is just these 10 lines else is just buttering, because I have a book which has nayasa+prestuti verse and afterstuti verse which praise how important this verse is, and I have to read all this. If it is done with these 10 lines this means rama had just recited these 10 lines three times am i correct, and I should follow the maryada Purushottam? – Yogi Aug 01 '15 at 06:03
  • @Yogi I would suggest you follow the proper procedure, and not just do what Rama did. Part of the point of the surrounding verses is so that you understand the efficacy of the stotram by reference to the story of how Rama used it. The Valmiki Ramayana didn't exist yet when Rama was on the battlefield, so it's not like he had the option of reciting those Ramayana verses. By the way, Krishna isn't claiming that Valmiki got something wrong. He's claiming that later people added that chapter into Valmiki's work. – Keshav Srinivasan Aug 01 '15 at 06:39
  • @Krishna Why just apply the adjective 'tired' to Rama, the verse just says Tato Yuddha Parishrantam.... Ravanam cha agrato Drshtva.... – Surya Dec 15 '15 at 12:06
  • @Krishna so it can very well mean that 'Seeing that Ravana was tired in battle..' – Surya Dec 15 '15 at 12:07
  • @Krishna You say that there are 130 chapters in Yuddha Kanda according to Govindaraja; but then valmikiramayan.net lists only 128 chapters. Also, even the copy I have lists only 128 chapters. So where are the other two chapters? – Surya Apr 18 '16 at 09:55
  • NOT only Govindaraja but the critical edition of Valmiki Ramayana also doesn't have Aditya Hrudyama Shrotam. – Nayonika Vats Jul 06 '20 at 10:23
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  1. How to chant?

Take a bath early in the morning, face the Sun God and chant it. Make sure you do the namaskara mudra because Surya Deva is the lover of , and, easily appeased by namaskaram.

  1. How it helps in life?

Every word/phrase in the stotra tells us the greatness of both the Sun God and the benefits of worshipping him. But, in the introduction Sage Agastya says:-

"sarvanarin vatsa samare vijayishyasi ||"

It bestows victory in battle

"sarva shatru-vinashanam |"

It destroys all enemies (it has been extrapolated that it destroys all internal and external enemies as Surya is also the giver of knowledge)

"jayavaham"

It produces triumph

"akshayyam paramam shivam"

It grants everlasting (never deteriorating) supreme auspiciousness

"sarvamangala-mangalyam" "sarva papa pranashanam"

It imparts auspiciousness to all that is auspicious. It destroys all sin.

"chintashoka-prashamanam"

It alleviates worry and sorrow

Note: the prefix "pra" is used to indicate comparative/superlative effect and , when used, means that the job is done in a particularly glorious and most effective fashion.

"ayurvardhanam-uttamam"

This hymn that is of the highest order increases longevity ( life-span)

The stotram begins after this with "raSmimantam". However, it is better to chant the preceding verses as well.

In the concluding part, sage Agastya teaches Rama the specific phala sruti (i.e. list of benefits) and this has been explained by Keshav

In general, the Sun God is the visible parabrahma, pratyaksha nArAyaNa. Sun worship bestows health, wealth, knowledge as well as liberation. In particular, Sun is worshiped for good health and the Aditya Hrdayam is the easy means to achieving all these goals.

  1. What is the story behind this?

Already answered by Keshav. To add, Rama felt slightly tired after fighting of the last and most dangerous of Ravana's battalions, his mUla sainya. Sage Agastya appeared before him and granted him the Aditya Hrdaya. Upon receiving the initiation, Rama performed "Acamana" , chanted the hymn and killed Ravana.

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