Surya Satakam is a 7th-century

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

verses created in praise of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Sun God, Lord

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

Mayurbhatta Mayurbhatta was a 7th-century Sanskrit poet and scholar, who was brother-in-law of Banabhatta, the court poet of Harshavardhana, who is noted for having written Surya Satakam. Mayurbhatta was suffering from leprosy. He performed penance at fam ...

. Mayurbhatta was suffering from

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. He performed penance at famous

Deo Surya Mandir Deo Surya Mandir is a Hindu temple in Bihar, India. The temple is a solar shrine, dedicated to Surya, the sun god, for Chhath Puja. The temple is located in Deo Town, Aurangabad in the Indian State of Bihar. The Temple is unique as it faces west ...

located at Deo in present-day

Aurangabad district, Bihar Aurangabad district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Aurangabad played a major role in the Indian independence struggle, and is also the birthplace of eminent nationalist ...

. He composed one hundred verses in praise of Lord

- the Sun God, and was cured of leprosy. While he was composing the verses, he was troubled by

Brahmarakṣasa Brahmarakshasas (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मराक्षस) are fierce demons in Hindu Itihasa. Explanation A Brahma Rakshasa is actually the reference to curse of Brahma, to those, who has done evil things in his life or has misused his kno ...

but he was able to defeat him and please the Sun God. The hundred verses he composed in praise of Lord Surya became famous as ''Surya Satakam''.Suryasatakam of Mayur Bhatta (with Sanskrit, Hindi, English Commentary
/ref>''Satakam'' in Sanskrit means hundred. The first two verse of ''Surya Satakam'' are as follows. Due to famous first stanza of verse, Surya Satakam is also commonly known as ''Aadidev Namastubhyam Shloka'':-

References

{{Reflist Hindu texts Sanskrit texts History of Bihar

See also

References