- Author : Krishna Sakha, Mudarangadi
- Translator: Lakshmi
When the Pandavas started their exile, about 80,000 spiritual seekers followed Dharmaraja. When faced with the challenge of providing food for these people, Dharmaraja turned to his priest Dhaumya for guidance. This is when Dhaumya advised the Sooryaashttotara. Pleased by this prayer, Sooryanarayana gave the ‘Akshayapatra’ to Dharmaraja saying, “Even a little food, prepared by you, put in this vessel can be made inexhaustible, by its ability”.
However, there are certain names in this Sooryaashtottara, like Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Dhanvantri and many others, which in no way can be considered as the names of Soorya.
In his maxims for determining the meaning of the Vedas (vēdārthanirṇāyaka sūtra), Lord Vedavyasa quotes an example from the Vedas themselves (“śāstradr̥ṣṭyā tūpadēśō vāmadēvavat”) to clarify this. When the special adjectives mentioned in the scriptures cannot be applied to the Gods, the Supreme Lord who pervades in them must be considered.
Sri Madhwacharya in his commentary to this maxim, cites the following from Padma Purana
“tattannāmnōcyatē viṣṇuḥ sarvaśāstr̥tvahētutaḥ… na kpāpi kiñcinnāmāsti tamr̥tē puruṣōttamam”,
which means: As He (the Lord) inhabits and governs everybody, in the true sense, all names are applicable to Him.
Even the Vedas speak of this:
yō dēvānāṁ nāmadhā ēka ēva..
nāmāni sarvāṇi yamāviśanti taṁ vai viṣṇuṁ paramamudāharanti.
In Tatparya Niryana, Sri Madhwacharya clearly mentions that Dharmaraja prays Lord Narayana, who dwells in Soorya, for the Akshayapatre.
vicintya tēṣāṁ bharaṇāya dharmajaḥ..sampūjya sūryasthitamacyutaṁ prabhuṁ.
Because of all these reasons, one must be aware of the indweller Lord Narayana, while reciting this stotra.
This stotra itself mentions the lineage of it passing from Indra to Naarada, from Naarada to Dhaumya and from Dhaumya to Dharmaraja. The benefit of chanting the stotra is mentioned at its end.
Although it is true that such stotras do not reap fruits without the blessings of gurus, they can still be instruments to see the glory of Bharata. Nevertheless, this stotra, which enabled Dharmaraja to feed 80,000 people, can very well relieve our hunger!! If it is used for pleasing the Lord, it can fulfill our entire lives.
- Soorya Narayana Image Source : https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/95/c2/2595c2f7f3ceb00d5eeaf5517c808b0b.jpg
