Surya Ashtakam
॥ श्री सूर्याष्टकम् ॥
What is the Surya Ashtakam?
Surya Ashtakam is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn to Surya, the Sun God, drawn from the Samba Purana and traditionally linked to the sage Samba, who is said to have cured his own illness through devotion to the sun. Chanted at sunrise facing east, it praises Surya’s radiance, his power to dissolve serious wrongdoing, and his role as source of health and vitality. Three closing phalashruti verses spell out the rewards of regular recitation, from relief from planetary affliction to freedom from poverty.
The Surya Ashtakam is a short, direct address to the sun rather than an elaborate ritual text. Tradition places its origin with Samba, son of Krishna, who is said to have chanted these eight verses to Surya and been freed from a long illness. Each verse builds a fuller picture of the sun: his chariot, his seven horses, his link to Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara, and his power to burn away serious wrongdoing. Three phalashruti verses close the hymn, promising health, prosperity and release from planetary distress to anyone who recites it with sincerity at sunrise.
Surya Ashtakam Lyrics
Roman transliteration on top, Devanagari below. Tap Meaning under any verse, or use A / A+ / A++ to resize.
adideva namastubhyam prasida mama bhaskara
divakara namastubhyam prabhakara namostute
आदिदेव नमस्तुभ्यं प्रसीद मम भास्कर
दिवाकर नमस्तुभ्यं प्रभाकर नमोऽस्तुते
Meaning
This opening verse addresses Surya as Adideva, the primal god, and asks him directly for grace. The three names Bhaskara, Divakara and Prabhakara all point to different shades of his light: the one who makes things shine, the one who brings the day, the one who creates radiance itself.
saptashvarathamarudham pracandam kashyapatmajam
shvetapadmadharam devam tam suryam pranamamyaham
सप्ताश्वरथमारूढं प्रचण्डं कश्यपात्मजम्
श्वेतपद्मधरं देवं तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
Surya is pictured driving his chariot pulled by seven horses, blazing with fierce brilliance. He is named as the son of the sage Kashyapa and shown holding a white lotus, a detail that softens the image of pure fire with a note of purity and calm.
lohitam rathamarudham sarvalokapitamaham
mahapapaharam devam tam suryam pranamamyaham
लोहितं रथमारूढं सर्वलोकपितामहम्
महापापहरं देवं तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
Here Surya’s chariot is reddish in hue, echoing the color of dawn. He is called the grandfather of all worlds, the source from which every realm ultimately descends, and is praised for lifting away the heaviest of sins from those who bow to him.
traigunyam ca mahashuram brahmavishnumaheshvaram
mahapapaharam devam tam suryam pranamamyaham
त्रैगुण्यं च महाशूरं ब्रह्माविष्णुमहेश्वरम्
महापापहरं देवं तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
This verse folds Surya into the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – and identifies him with Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara together. The sun is not just one deity among many here; he is presented as the single force containing the whole trinity.
brmhitam tejahpunjam ca vayumakashameva ca
prabhum ca sarvalokanam tam suryam pranamamyaham
बृंहितं तेजःपुञ्जं च वायुमाकाशमेव च
प्रभुं च सर्वलोकानां तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
Surya is described as an immense mass of light, inseparable from wind and open sky. He is named lord of every world, suggesting that his rule is not confined to fire or heat alone but reaches into the very elements that sustain life.
bandhukapushpasankasham harakundalabhushitam
ekacakradharam devam tam suryam pranamamyaham
बन्धूकपुष्पसङ्काशं हारकुण्डलभूषितम्
एकचक्रधरं देवं तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
The color of the Bandhuka flower, a deep glowing red, is used to picture Surya’s complexion. He wears garlands and earrings and carries a single wheel, the emblem that marks him apart from every other deity in the pantheon.
tam suryam jagatkartaram mahatejahpradipanam
mahapapaharam devam tam suryam pranamamyaham
तं सूर्यं जगत्कर्तारं महातेजःप्रदीपनम्
महापापहरं देवं तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
Surya is honored as the one who set the world in motion and who lights it with immense splendor. The refrain returns to his power to dissolve grave sin, repeated almost as a plea for release rather than a mere description.
tam suryam jagatam natham jnanavijnanamokshadam
mahapapaharam devam tam suryam pranamamyaham
तं सूर्यं जगतां नाथं ज्ञानविज्ञानमोक्षदम्
महापापहरं देवं तं सूर्यं प्रणमाम्यहम्
Meaning
The final core verse names Surya as protector of the worlds and giver of jnana, vijnana and moksha – ordinary knowledge, deeper wisdom and final liberation. It closes the eightfold praise on the note that his light reaches all the way to freedom itself.
Phalashruti 1
suryashtakam pathennityam grahapidapranashanam
aputro labhate putram daridro dhanavanbhavet
सूर्याष्टकं पठेन्नित्यं ग्रहपीडाप्रणाशनम्
अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रं दरिद्रो धनवान्भवेत्
Meaning
This phalashruti promises that daily recitation dissolves grahapida, the distress caused by afflicted planets. It adds two concrete blessings: children for the childless and prosperity for those in want, framing the hymn as practical as well as devotional.
Phalashruti 2
amisham madhupanam ca yah karoti raverdine
saptajanma bhavedrogi pratijanma daridrata
आमिशं मधुपानं च यः करोति रवेर्दिने
सप्तजन्म भवेद्रोगी प्रतिजन्म दरिद्रता
Meaning
A caution follows: eating meat or drinking intoxicants on a Sunday, Surya’s own day, is said to invite illness across seven lifetimes and poverty in each one. The verse is less a threat than a reminder to keep the Sun’s day physically clean.
Phalashruti 3
stritailamadhumamsani yastyajettu raverdine
na vyadhih shokadaridryam suryalokam sa gacchati
स्त्रीतैलमधुमांसानि यस्त्यजेत्तु रवेर्दिने
न व्याधिः शोकदारिद्र्यं सूर्यलोकं स गच्छति
Meaning
The closing verse flips the warning into a promise: whoever keeps away from these indulgences on Sunday is freed from disease, grief and poverty and, in time, reaches Suryaloka, the sun’s own world. It rounds the hymn off with a vision of the reward for restraint.
Meaning and Significance
Surya Ashtakam is built as eight repeated bows to the sun, each one adding a new facet: chariot and horses, ancestry, elemental power, ornament and finally wisdom. Read together, the eight verses move from Surya’s outward form toward his inward gifts of knowledge and release.
The hymn treats the sun less as a distant star and more as a living presence that a devotee can face directly at sunrise. Its language keeps returning to the phrase “mahapapaharam” – destroyer of great sin – which gives the whole text a tone of confession as much as praise. For readers wanting the fuller mythology and iconography behind this deity, the Surya Dev profile covers his family, symbols and the stories behind his worship in more depth.
Why Samba is central to the hymn
The Samba Purana frames these verses as the words of Samba, Krishna’s son, composed while he sought a cure for leprosy through sun worship. That origin story matters because it sets the hymn’s purpose from the start: not abstract praise but a specific plea for bodily healing, later widened into a general prayer for health and the removal of obstacles.
How to Chant the Surya Ashtakam
- Bathe and dress simply – Take a bath before sunrise and wear clean clothes, ideally red or yellow, before beginning.
- Face east – Stand or sit facing the direction of sunrise so you are looking directly at Surya as he rises.
- Offer arghya – Fill a copper vessel with water, add a little kumkum and a few red flowers, and pour it slowly toward the sun while reciting.
- Recite all eleven verses – Chant the eight praise verses followed by the three phalashruti verses with steady, unhurried pronunciation.
- Keep the day simple – Especially on Sundays, avoid meat and alcohol, in keeping with the discipline the phalashruti verses describe.
What Are the Benefits of Chanting?
The phalashruti verses and the wider Samba Purana tradition attribute several benefits to regular recitation of the Surya Ashtakam, most of them tied to health, prosperity and freedom from planetary distress.
- Supports health and vitality: Surya is treated as the source of bodily energy, and the hymn is traditionally chanted for relief from chronic illness and low vitality.
- Eases planetary affliction: The phalashruti specifically names grahapida, distress from difficult planetary periods, as something regular recitation is said to dissolve.
- Said to help the eyes: Since Surya is linked to vision in Vedic astrology, sunrise recitation is associated with protecting and improving eyesight.
- Addresses poverty and childlessness: Verse 9 promises wealth to the poor and children to the childless, framing the hymn as a prayer for practical, worldly relief.
- Believed to lighten serious wrongdoing: The refrain ’mahapapaharam’ recurs across four of the eight verses, making the removal of grave sin one of the hymn’s central themes.
- Sharpens focus and clarity: Daily sunrise practice is also credited with steadying concentration and easing mental heaviness over time.
Who Composed the Surya Ashtakam?
The Surya Ashtakam comes from the Samba Purana, one of the minor Puranas devoted entirely to Surya worship. Its verses are attributed to Samba, who is said to have composed and chanted them while doing penance for a long illness.
Because the hymn is anchored in a healing story, it has long been paired with sun-facing rituals rather than treated as a purely literary text. Devotees who chant the Surya Chalisa alongside it often use the two together, one for extended praise in Hindi and this Sanskrit ashtakam for the concentrated daily recitation at dawn – see the Surya Chalisa for that companion prayer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Surya Ashtakam?
Surya Ashtakam is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn to Surya, the Sun God, drawn from the Samba Purana and traditionally linked to the sage Samba, who is said to have cured his own illness through devotion to the sun. Chanted at sunrise facing east, it praises Surya’s radiance, his power to dissolve serious wrongdoing, and his role as source of health and vitality. Three closing phalashruti verses spell out the rewards of regular recitation, from relief from planetary affliction to freedom from poverty.
Why does the Surya Ashtakam have 11 verses if it is called an Ashtakam?
An ashtakam technically means eight verses, and the Surya Ashtakam’s core praise does end at verse 8. Verses 9 to 11 are a separate phalashruti section, added afterward to describe what reciting the hymn is believed to bring rather than to praise Surya further.
What is the Samba Purana?
The Samba Purana is one of the Upapuranas, a secondary Purana focused entirely on Surya. It preserves the story of Samba, Krishna’s son, who according to tradition was cured of leprosy after prolonged worship of the sun, and it is the source text for this hymn.
When is the best time to chant the Surya Ashtakam?
The traditional time is sunrise, ideally facing east while the sun is still low on the horizon. Sundays carry extra significance since the day itself is associated with Surya.
Why does the hymn warn against meat and alcohol on Sundays?
Sunday is treated as Surya’s day, and solar worship in this tradition calls for a body kept in a relatively pure, undisturbed state. The warning verses frame meat and alcohol on that day as breaking the discipline the practice asks for, rather than as a moral judgment in general.
Can women recite the Surya Ashtakam?
Yes. Sun worship in Hindu practice is generally open to all devotees, and there is no restriction in the text itself limiting recitation by gender.
Does the Surya Ashtakam help with eyesight problems?
Vedic astrology associates Surya with the eyes, and this hymn is one of the texts recited by people hoping to protect or improve their vision, usually alongside medical care rather than in place of it.
What does ’mahapapaharam’ mean?
It translates to ’destroyer of great sin’ and appears as a refrain in four of the eight core verses, underlining the hymn’s repeated request for release from serious wrongdoing.
Is the Surya Ashtakam the same as the Surya Chalisa?
No. The Surya Ashtakam is a short Sanskrit hymn from the Samba Purana, while the Surya Chalisa is a separate, longer Hindi devotional composition. Many devotees recite both, but they are different texts with different histories.
॥ इति श्री साम्बपुराणे श्री सूर्याष्टकं सम्पूर्णम् ॥