Essay name: Studies in the Upapuranas
Author: R. C. Hazra
This book studies the Upapuranas: a vast category of (often Sanskrit) literature representing significant historical, religious, and cultural insights of the ancient Indian civilization. These texts provide rich information, especially on Hinduism covering theology, mythology, rituals, and dynastic genealogies.
Page 46 of: Studies in the Upapuranas
46 (of 417)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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1
CHAPTER II
THE SAURA UPAPUR膧峁咥S
The Sun has been, under different names, an object of great
adoration from the early Vedic period, and it is possible that there
arose quite early a fairly extensive literature, both Puranic and other-
wise, on the praise and worship of this god, who appears in the Vedic
works as one of the most prominent deities; but of the numerous
Pur膩峁噄c works now extant it is only the Samba-p. which deals princi-
pally with the cult of the Sun. Chapters and extracts on the method
and praise of Sun-worship occur in some of the other Pur膩峁嘺s also, viz.,
Bhavi峁a-p., Brahma-p., Skanda-p., Var膩ha-p., Matsya-p., Agni-p.,
Garuda-p., Visnudharmottara, Bhavi峁ottara, K膩lik膩-p., and so on.
The M盲rkandeya-p. contains a few chapters on the praise of and
stories about the Sun.
The Vedic, epic and Sanskrit literatures abound in evidences
regarding the early beginning and spread of the worship of the
atmospheric sun as a god, but the conception of the Sun as an imaginary
god of light and the practice of his worship in images came into vogue
at a comparatively late period. That this later phase of Sun-worship
was due to Magian influence is amply evidenced by the Scythian
coins, the Puranic works, the B峁沨at-samhita (chaps. 58 and 60), and
I
2 For instance, in Bhavi峁a-p. I. 4. 89 we find mention of an ancient work
dealing with the Saura Dharmas as declared by N膩rada (saur膩 dharm膩艣 ca
r膩jendra n膩radokt膩 mahipate). According to the Bhavisya, this work (most
probably called 'Saura-dharma') as well as the Mah膩bh膩rata, R膩m膩ya峁嘺, etc.
was designated technically by the term 'Jaya' (see Bhavisya-p. I. 4. 87b-89).
The above line of the Bhavisya-p. is found quoted in Lak峁idhara's K峁泃ya-
kalpataru (I, p. 25), Can岣峞艣vara's K峁泃ya-ratn膩kara (p. 30), and Narasimha
V膩japeyin's Nity膩c膩ra-pradipa (I, p. 22) with the reading 'm膩navokt膩岣�' for
'苍腻谤补诲辞办迟腻岣�'.
It should be mentioned here that the Saura work spoken out by N膩rada
(or M盲nava) has become extinct.
2 Ind. Ant., 1888, pp. 89ff.; Gardner, Coins of Greek and Scythian
Kings of Bactria and India in the British Museum, pp. 131, 134, 141-3, 155,
