DITYA HRDAYAM - PART 2

ditya Hdaya storam begins from verse 4. The stotra begins differently from commonly
known forms. Generally, benefits of reciting hymns are given at the end as phalaruti.
But, in ditya Hdaya storam, benefit of reciting this stotra is revealed in the first verse
itself. This is done with a specific purpose, as at the end of recitation sun god appears
before r Rma and wishes Him for his victory in the battle. We may wonder why Lord
Rma needs sun gods wishes. Rma is an incarnation and by leading His life as an
incarnation, He sets an example for us to follow. Brahman incarnates at different times,
when adharma weighs over dharma. During incarnations, He not only annihilates
adharma, but also imparts several spiritual teachings to enable us to pursue the path of
dharma.
There is also another reason for declaring the benefits of reciting this mantra at the
beginning. When Agastya told r Rma to recite ditya Hdayam three times, He did
so with a lot of devotion and as a result, sun god decided to grant the wishes of r
Rma to win the battle and communicated to Him. When prayers are answered due to
devotion, where is the time to talk about benefits? When god appears before us, will we
ever think about anything else? This was the situation when sun god appeared before
r Rma in person (with great reverence) and wished Him success in the battle.
Possibly we can think of one more reason for this. There was fierce battle going on.
Agastya made sudden appearance in the battle field to reveal the secret of ditya
Hdayam. This secret was revealed in the midst of the battlefield. Hence Agastya in the
beginning itself told Rma about the purpose of his revealing ditya Hdayam to Him.
The time was short and the battle was to be won immediately, as nobody wants further
deaths in the battlefield. Had Rma thought, He could have killed Rvaa in no time.
But, as already discussed, Rma is an incarnation and had set the righteous path for us
to follow. Now let us study the intricacies of this great hymn.

dityahdaya puya sarvaatru vinanam |

jayvaha japen nitya akaya parama ivam || (4)

sarvamagala mgalya sarvappa praanam |

cintoka praamana yurvardhanamuttamam || (5)

Meaning:
4. dityahdaya puya - This hymn known as ditya Hdayam is full of
auspiciousness and virtuousness (this is explained further in the summary
below); sarvaatru vinanam capable of eliminating all types of enemies; jayvaha
- it is capable of conferring victory; japen nitya - if recited daily; akaya - every
nourishing or un-decaying; parama ivam highest degree of auspiciousness (which
also includes emancipation).
5. sarvamagala mgalya - conferring and exhibiting eternal auspiciousness;
sarvappa all types of sins; praanam annihilation; cintoka praamana healing all types of mental afflictions (worries); yurvardhana uttamam gives a long
life.
Summary 4and 5:
Agastya introduces ditya Hdayam to r Rma by saying, dityahdaya puya.
Agastya has very carefully chosen his opening words. He speaks about auspiciousness
and virtuousness. The form of r Rma itself is full of auspiciousness and all His deeds
are highly virtuous in nature. As Rma has liking for this quality and attribute, Agastya
introduces this by saying that the hymn he is going to declare is full of puya.
Agastya begins the next introductory verse by saying sarvamagala mgalya which
means eternal auspiciousness, the stage of nanda, perpetual Bliss. Rma means
pleasing and charming. When one is happy within, enjoying Bliss, the state of
happiness is reflected in his face. Agastya knows very well that Rma is the source of
happiness and Bliss. Agastya, having known that the form of r Rma radiates
auspiciousness, chooses his words very carefully in the second verse. Agastya did not
say that this mantra is auspicious. Agastya takes into account two factors. One, he is
going to advise the eternal and all knowing Brahman who has incarnated in the form of
r Rma. That is why Agastya has chosen to use sarvamagala mgalya. When
a word is repeated twice, its importance is highly stressed. What made Agastya to open
this with sarvamagala mgalya, was, when r Rma was engulfed in deep
thought of annihilating Rvaa the next day, Rma has to
seriously listen to him,
and the importance of this mantra is to be properly conveyed. (This is known as
homonymy in English literature). This is also like first impression is the best
impression. Secondly, Agastya is revealing to Rma about this most auspicious

mantra in the battle field as there is a possibility that this could not be taken seriously,
as discussed earlier. Hence, Agastya has chosen to address Rma the way He likes it.
Agastya did not stop by talking about auspiciousness once. He concludes the first verse
by saying, parama ivam, which means the highest degree of happiness, which is
known as Bliss. Agastya in his introductory verses talks mostly about the
auspiciousness, as ditya Hdayam is full of auspiciousness. Parakti has this kind of
auspiciousness. r Dev Mhatmyam (Chapter 11: verse 10) says:

sarvamagala mgalye ive sarvrtha sdhike |

araye trayambake gauri nryai nam'ostute ||
If we look at this verse, words used by Agastya are used as the opening words of this
verse. Again, this verse conveys auspiciousness one more time by using ive. This is
similar to what Agastya has used in ditya Hdayam. Agastya concluded the fourth
verse by saying, parama ivam and began the next verse by saying, sarvamagala
mgalya. In Devi Dev Mhatmyam too the auspiciousness is conveyed without any
words in between. Here the verse opens with sarvamagala mgalye ive. This
attribute also proves that Viu and Devi are brother and sister.
Verse 4 says, sarvaatru vinanam. Contextually, atru (enemy) refers to Rvaa.
This means that by reciting ditya Hdayam, not only Rvaa be killed, but also his
entire entourage. But in generalsarvaatru vinanam subtly conveys the destruction of
all internal enemies such as desire, attachment, ego, etc that work from within. This part
of the verse subtly conveys that, by recitingditya Hdayam, all types of mental
afflictions will be removed. This prepares the aspirant for higher spiritual attainments.
Akaya is the most important quality of the sun. Akaya means nourishment. But for
the sun, the worldly activities cannot happen. When all mental afflictions are removed
and if the body is well prepared with the help of suns nourishment, victory is attained.
Victory refers to conquering mind after the war within the mind. Agastya says that if one
recites ditya Hdayam he can conquer all his internal and external enemies. External
enemies are sensory organs. Therefore, conquering sensory organs and the mind leads
to victory over enemies, who wage battle against the Descent of Divine Grace (akti
pta). On the grosser side, this refers to the war between r Rma and Rvaa and on
the subtler side, it refers to realisation of the Self.

Fifth verse explains further benefits of reciting ditya Hdayam. It annihilates all types of
sins (sarvappa praanam). The question is how sun god can annihilate all types of
sins, which is in violation of Law of Karma. This is not a violation, because when mind
is purified of all types of afflictions and when individual consciousness becomes one
with Supreme Consciousness, no further karmas are accrued. By reciting ditya
Hdayam daily, mind gets fixed on Brahman and the aspirant is elevated in his spiritual
level to ultimately become one with the Self. He moves up in the spiritual ladder by
reaching the stage of sthitapraja (firm in judgment and wisdom, calm, contented).
Once the stage of sthitapraja is reached, further progress in spiritual path will happen
automatically. He is now freed of all his mental disturbances, which is conveyed by
cintoka praamana. When mind is purified and body is nourished, one gets a
longer and healthier life, which is meant by yurvardhana uttamam at the end of the
fifth verse.
Thus, ditya Hdayam has both gross and subtler meanings. In fact, it is a revelation to
humanity, as r Rma does not need a hymn to annihilate Rvaa. As already
discussed, having born as a human being, and as an incarnation, he lays down the
ethical principles of living. Contextually, He listens to Agastya and by reciting ditya
Hdayam thrice, He kills Rvaa.