The sage Agastya saw Rama standing on the battlefield absorbed in thought and exhausted from fighting, with Ravana facing Him ready to fight. Approaching Rama with the demigods who had come to watch the conflict, the blessed sage Agastya said: “O Rama! O Rama! O strong-armed one! Hear this eternal secret by which you will conquer all your enemies in battle, my dear prince. The chanting of this eternal and most holy hymn called Aditya-hridaya destroys all enemies. It brings victory. It is the most auspicious of all auspicious things. It destroys all sins. It allays all anxiety and sorrow and is the most efficacious means to prolong one’s life.
“Worship the splendorous sun, the ruler of the worlds clothed in rays and risen on the horizon. He is honored by all the gods and demons and illuminates the world. He is indeed the embodiment of all the gods. He is resplendent. By his rays he creates and maintains the hordes of gods and demons and their worlds. He is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda, Prajapati, Indra, Kuvera, time, Yamaraja, Soma, Varuna, the forefathers, the Vasus, the saadhyas, the Ashvins, the Maruts, Manu, Vayu, Agni, the creatures, life, the controller of the seasons, the brilliant one, the son of Aditi, the vivifier, the sun, the courser in the sky, the nourisher, the splendorous one, the golden one, the golden seed and the maker of the day.
“He has seven dark green horses hitched to his chariot. He has thousands of rays. He destroys darkness. He is Shambhu, Tvastha, Martanda, Anshuman, Hiranya-garbha, the source of heat during the winter, the effulgent sun, the womb of fire, the son of Aditi, the conch shell, the destroyer of cold, lord of the sky, the splitter of darkness, the pervader of the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas, the giver of heavy showers of rain, the friend, the swift courser along his own path, the warmer, the orb, death itself, yellowish, warming all, all-knowing, most splendid, red and the source of all existence. He is the lord of the asterisms, the planets and the stars. He is the source of everything. Of splendor, he is the splendid one. I offer my prostrated respects to him who has twelve forms.
“The hymn is as follows:
śrī āditya hrudaya stotram ||
om asya śrī āditya hrudaya stotra mahāmantrasya
agastya ruśihi anuśṭup cchandaha
āditya hrudaya bhūto bhagavan nirastā śeśa vighnataya
sarvatra jaya siddhau viniyogaha
asya śaḍangaṇya raśnimate namaha
ityanena
tato yuddhapariśrāntam samare cintayā sthitam |
rāvaṇam cāgrato druśṭvā yuddhāya samupasthitam || 1 ||
daivataiśca samāgamya draśṭumabhyāgato raṇam |
upāgamyā bravīdrāma agastyo bhagavān ruśihi || 2 ||
rāma rāma mahābāho śruṇu guhyam sanātanam |
yena sarvānarīn vatsa samare vijayiśyasi || 3 ||
āditya hrudayam puṇyam sarva śatru vināśanam |
jayāvaham japennityam akśayam paramam śivam || 4 ||
sarvamangala māngalyam sarva papa praṇāśanam |
cintā śoka - praśamanam āyurvardhanam uttamam || 5 ||
raśmimantam samudyantam devāsura namaskrutam |
pūjayasva vivasvantam bhāskaram bhuvaneśvaram || 6 ||
sarvadevātmako hyeśa tejasvī raśmibhāvanaha |
eśa devāsuragaṇān lokān pāti gabhastibhihi || 7 ||
eśa brahmā ca viśṇuśca śivah skandah prajāpatihi |
mahendro dhanadah kālo yamah somo hyapāmpatihi || 8 ||
pitaro vasavah sādhyā hyaśvinau maruto manuhu |
vāyurvahnih prajāprāṇa rutukartā prabhākaraha || 9 ||
ādityah savitā sūryah khagah pūśā gabhastimān |
suvarṇasadruśo bhānu rhiraṇyaretā divākaraha || 10 ||
haridaśvah sahasrārcih saptasapti - rmarīcimān |
timironmathanah śambhustvaśṭā mārtānḍa anśumān || 11 ||
hiraṇyagarbhah śiśirastapano bhāskaro ravihi |
agnigarbho aditeh putrah śankha śiśiranāśanaha || 12 ||
vyomanāthastamobhedī rug yajuh sāma pāragaha |
ghana vruśṭirapām mitro vindhya vīthī plavangamaha || 13 ||
ātapī manḍalī mrutyuh pingalah sarvatāpanaha |
kavirviśvo mahātejāh raktah sarva bhavodbhavaha || 14 ||
nakśatra grahatārāṇām adhipo viśva bhāvanaha |
tejasāmapi tejasvī dvādaśātman namostute || 15 ||
namah pūrvāya giraye paścimāyādraye namaha |
jyotirgaṇānām pataye dinādhipataye namaha || 16 ||
jayāya jayabhadrāya haryaśyāya namo namaha |
namo namah sahasrāmśo ādityāya namo namaha || 17 ||
namah ugrāya vīrāya sārangāya namo namaha |
namah padma prabodhāya mārtānḍāya namo namaha || 18 ||
brahmeśāna acyuteśāya sūryāya ādityavarcase |
bhāsvate sarvabhakśāya raudrāya vapuśe namaha || 19 ||
tamoghnāya himaghnāya śatrughnāya amitātmane |
krutaghnaghnāya devāya jyotiśām pataye nama: || 20 ||
tapta cāmīkarābhāya vahnaye viśvakarmaṇe |
namastamo abhinighnāya rucaye lokasākśiṇe || 21 ||
nāśayatyeśa vai bhūtam tadeva srujati prabhuhu |
pāyatyeśa tapatyeśa varśatyeśa gabhastibhihi || 22 ||
eśa supteśu jāgarti bhūteśu pariniśṭhita: |
eśa evāgnihotranca phalam caivāgnihotriṇām || 23 ||
vedāśca rutavaścaiva rutūnām phalameva ca |
yāni krutyāni lokeśu sarva eśu ravih prabhuhu || 24 ||
phala śrutihi
ena-māpatsu krucchreśu kāntāreśu bhayeśu ca |
kīrtayan puruśah kaścin nāvasīdati rāghava || 25 ||
pūjayasvainam ekāgro devadevam jagatpatim |
etat triguṇitam japtvā yuddheśu vijayiśyasi || 26 ||
asmin kśaṇe mahābāho rāvaṇam tvam vadhiśyasi |
evamuktavā tadāgastyo jagāma ca yathāgatam || 27 ||
etacchrutvā mahātejā naśṭaśoko abhavattadā |
dhārayāmāsa suprīto rāghavah prayatātmavān || 28 ||
ādityam prekśya japtvā tu param harśamavāptavān |
trirācamya śucirbhūtvā dhanurādāya vīryavān || 29 ||
rāvaṇam prekśya hruśṭātmā yuddhāya samupāgamat |
sarva yatnena mahatā vadhe tasya dhruto abhavat || 30 ||
atha ravi-ravada-nnirīkśya rāmam
muditamanā: paramam prahruśyamāṇaha |
niśicarapati sankśayam viditvā
suragaṇa madhyagato vacastvareti || 31 ||
|| iti śrī rāmāyaṇe yuddhakānḍe āditya hrudaya stotram sampūrṇam ||
“‘I offer my respects to you who are the eastern mountain and the western mountain, the lord of the hosts of luminaries and the lord of the day. I offer my respects to you who are victory, the giver of victory and the owner of the green horses. I offer my respects to you who have a thousand rays, the son of Aditi. I offer my respects to you who are fearsome, valiant and speckled. I offer my respects to you who are the awakener of the lotus, the fierce one. I offer my respects to you who are the lord of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, the resplendent sun itself, effulgent all-illuminating and having a fierce body. I offer my respects to you who are the destroyer of darkness, the destroyer of ice, the destroyer of enemies, the unlimited Soul, the destroyer of the ungrateful, the lord of all lights. I offer my respects to you who are as brilliant as molten gold, fire itself, the creator of this universe. I offer my respects to you who are the destroyer of darkness, the shining one, the witness of the world.’
“That lord certainly creates, maintains and destroys whatever exists. By his rays he heats and showers down rain. He is the one who remains awake when the living beings have fallen asleep. He is the oblations offered in the sacrificial fire and the fruit enjoyed by those who perform sacrifice. He is all the gods, the sacrifices and the fruit of sacrifices. He is the Supreme Lord of all the activities in all the worlds. The person who glorifies him when in difficulties or danger never comes to grief, O Rama. Worship that God of gods, the Lord of the world with concentration. By chanting this hymn three times, one will be victorious in battles. This very moment You will kill Ravana, O strong-armed one.”
Having said this, Agastya left the same way he had come. When Rama heard this advice, His sorrow immediately vanished. Controlling Himself, he maintained the feeling of delight in His mind. Rama sipped water three times with appropriate prayers to purify Himself and then experienced great pleasure by reciting the hymn while looking at the sun. Grabbing His bow and staring at Ravana, the valiant Rama joyfully proceeded to the battlefield to achieve victory. He became determined to kill Ravana with all His effort. Pleased to see Rama offering prayers and understanding that Ravana would soon be killed, the sun-god, who was in the midst of hosts of gods, said to Rama: “Hurry!”
Thus completes 105th Chapter of Yuddha Kanda of the glorious Ramayana of Valmiki, the work of a sage and the oldest epic.
Sriman Moola Rama Vijayate
