May there always be peace for us who walk on two legs, and peace for those with four. With this prayer, tranquility was invoked for all creatures. Then, the hosts of Vidyādharas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and serpents—celestial, earthly, and subterranean beings—assembled together. With hands joined in reverence and their heads bowed low, they offered salutations to the radiant Sun, speaking words that delighted the heart and soothed the ear. They prayed, "May your radiance be gentle upon the beings you have brought forth." At that moment, Hāhā, Hūhū, Nārada, and Tumburu, all masters of Gandharva music, began to sing to the Sun. Their voices, skilled in the three modes—Ṣaḍja, Madhyama, and Gāndhāra—rose in melodious praise. Their songs, filled with graceful modulations, intricate rhythms, and harmonious combinations, brought joy to all who listened. As the music filled the air, Viśvācī, Ghṛtācī, Urvaśī, and Tilottamā—joined by Menakā, Sahajanyā, and Rambhā, foremost among the Apsarases—began to dance before the Lord of the worlds. Their movements were expressive, filled with emotion, mood, and grace, and they sang as they danced. Lutes, flutes, and many other instruments joined in, their sounds mingling with the music and song. Drums, cymbals, mridangas, paṭahas, and anakas—divine kettledrums and conches—resounded by the hundreds and thousands. The Gandharvas sang, the Apsarases danced, and the celestial orchestra played, filling all space with a joyous tumult. In the midst of this celebration, all the gods, with hands joined and bodies bowed in devotion, offered their reverence to the thousand-rayed Sun as his image was being depicted. Amid this great assembly and the vibrant sounds, Viśvakarman, the divine architect, gradually diminished the Sun's overwhelming radiance. As the image of the Sun, skillfully crafted by Viśvakarman, reached down to the knees, the Sun himself did not approve of the depiction and so was made to descend. Yet, even as the radiance was lessened, the form that emerged was not diminished. Instead, a beauty greater than beauty itself shone forth. Thus, due to the interplay of cold, water, heat, and time—as praised by Hara, Kamala, and Vishnu—the Sun, hearing the sacred inscription, proceeds to the realm of daylight at the end of his lifespan. In this way, O best of sages, the birth of the Sun occurred in ancient times, and thus have I described his supreme form in full. Hearing this, the sages were not satisfied. They said, "Once again, tell us the story connected with the Sun; listening to this auspicious tale never brings us weariness. This radiant, mighty, blazing one—whose brilliance is like a mass of fire—we wish to know the source of his power, O Lord." Then the narration continued: When the worlds were shrouded in darkness, and all that is movable and immovable was lost, it was then, by the qualities of nature, that intellect arose first. From intellect was born ego, which set the great elements in motion. Then came air, fire, water, space, and earth, and from these the cosmic egg was born. Within that cosmic egg, the seven worlds were established, and the earth with its seven continents and seven seas. There, I, Vishnu, and Maheshvara resided, all enveloped in darkness, meditating upon the Supreme Lord. Then, a being of immense radiance appeared, dispelling the darkness. Through meditation and yoga, we recognized Savita, the Sun, at that moment. Having known the Supreme Self, each of us—Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara—praised that Lord with divine hymns. We said: "You are the primordial god among the gods, and by your sovereignty you are the Lord. You are the original creator of beings, O god of gods, O Sun. You are the life of all beings—of gods, gandharvas, rakshasas, sages, kinnaras, siddhas, as well as serpents and birds. You are Brahma, you are Mahadeva, you are Vishnu, you are Prajapati. You are Vayu, Indra, Soma, Vivasvan, and Varuna as well. You are Time, the creator, the destroyer, the sustainer, and the master; rivers, oceans, mountains, lightning, and rainbows are yours. You are dissolution and creation, manifest and unmanifest, eternal. From you, O Lord, comes knowledge, and beyond knowledge is Shiva. Beyond Shiva is you alone, O Supreme Lord, with hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and faces everywhere. A thousand-rayed, a thousand-faced, a thousand-footed, and thousand-eyed, you are the origin of all beings—earth, atmosphere, heaven, the great, truth, austerity, and the world of progenitors. Salutations to your form, blazing, luminous, divine, illuminating all the worlds, difficult even for the lords of gods to behold. Salutations to that form attended by hosts of gods and siddhas, praised by Bhrigu, Atri, Pulaha, and others—supreme, unmanifest. Salutations to the form ever to be known by the knowers of the Veda, endowed with all knowledge, belonging to the God above all gods. Salutations to your form, creator of the universe, essence of all beings, worshipped by Vaiśvānara and the gods, pervading the universe, inconceivable. Salutations to your form beyond sacrifice, beyond the Veda, beyond the worlds, beyond heaven, known as the Supreme Self. Salutations to that form which cannot be known, cannot be perceived, attained only through meditation—imperishable, without beginning or end. Salutations to the cause of all causes; salutations to the liberator from sin; salutations to the destroyer of the offspring of Diti; salutations to the remover of disease. Salutations to the bestower of all boons, to the giver of all happiness, to the giver of all wealth, to the giver of all wisdom." Thus praised, the Blessed Lord, assuming a radiant form, spoke with auspicious words: "What boon shall I grant you? Let it be given." The gods replied, "No one is able to endure your supremely radiant form. Let it become endurable, O Lord, for the welfare of the world." Thus, the glory and compassion of the Sun were revealed, and the story of his origin and his supreme form was told, bringing peace and welfare to all beings.