In the beginning, there was profound darkness, and within that cosmic night, I, Vishnu, and Maheshvara dwelled together, our minds veiled by the obscurity, all of us absorbed in deep meditation upon the Supreme Lord. It was then that a being of immeasurable brilliance appeared before us, his radiance dispelling the gloom that enveloped everything. Through the power of meditation and yoga, we perceived that this effulgent presence was none other than Savita, the Sun. Upon realizing the true nature of the Supreme Self, each of us—Vishnu, Maheshvara, and I—offered our praises to that Lord with divine hymns, extolling His glory. We declared, “You are the primordial god among the gods, the sovereign Lord of all. You are the original creator of beings, O God of gods, O radiant Sun. You are the very life force within all creatures—gods, gandharvas, rakshasas, sages, kinnaras, siddhas, serpents, and birds alike. You are Brahma, Mahadeva, Vishnu, and Prajapati; you are Vayu, Indra, Soma, Vivasvan, and Varuna as well. “You are Time itself—the creator, the destroyer, the sustainer, and the master of all. The rivers, oceans, mountains, lightning, and rainbows are your manifestations. You are both dissolution and creation, the manifest and the unmanifest, the eternal. From you, O Lord, arises all knowledge, and beyond knowledge is Shiva. Beyond Shiva, you alone exist, O Supreme Lord, with hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and faces in all directions. “You are the thousand-rayed, thousand-faced, thousand-footed, and thousand-eyed One, the source of all beings—earth, atmosphere, heaven, the great, truth, austerity, and the world of the progenitors. Salutations to that blazing, luminous, and divine form of yours, which illumines all the worlds and is difficult even for the lords of gods to behold. Salutations to that form attended by hosts of gods and siddhas, praised by sages like Bhrigu, Atri, Pulaha, and others, supreme and unmanifest. Salutations to that form ever known by the knowers of the Veda, endowed with all knowledge, belonging to the God who is above all gods. “Salutations to that form which is the creator of the universe, the essence of all beings, worshipped by Vaiśvānara and the gods, pervading the universe, and inconceivable. Salutations to that form which is beyond sacrifice, beyond the Veda, beyond the worlds, beyond heaven, known as the Supreme Self. Salutations to that form which cannot be known or perceived, which is attained only through meditation, imperishable, without beginning or end. “Salutations, 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, having been praised with these sacred words, the Blessed Lord, assuming a radiant and auspicious form, spoke to us, saying, “What boon shall I grant you? Ask, and it shall be given.” In response, we said, “O Lord, no one is able to endure your supremely radiant form. For the welfare of the world, may it become endurable.” “So be it,” replied the Lord, the Primal Creator. For the sake of the world’s welfare, He became the giver of heat, rain, and cold, sustaining all existence. From then on, those who follow the paths of Sāṅkhya and Yoga, as well as others who seek liberation, meditate upon this god, the Sun, who abides within the heart. Even one who is devoid of all marks or afflicted by every sin can cross beyond all sin by taking refuge in Arka, the Sun. Neither the Agnihotra sacrifice, nor the Vedas, nor sacrifices with abundant gifts can equal even a sixteenth part of the devotion and salutations offered to Bhānu, the Sun. Of all sacred fords, He is the supreme ford; of all auspicious things, the most auspicious; of all that is pure, the purest—men take refuge in the Sun. Those who worship Bhāskara, praised by Indra and the other gods, are freed from all sins and attain the world of the Sun. O Brahman, for a long time I have wished to hear the eight hundred names you once spoke of the Sun. Now, listen as I recite the one hundred and eight names of Bhāskara, most secret, bestowing heaven and liberation, O twice-born ones. Om. He is the Sun, Aryaman, Bhaga, Tvashta, Pusha, Arka, Savita, Ravi, Gabhastiman, Aja, Kala, Mrityu, Dhata, and Prabhakara. He is the earth, water, fire, space, wind, the supreme goal, Soma, Brihaspati, Shukra, Budha, and Angaraka. He is Indra, Vivasvan, the radiant one, the pure one, Sauri, Shanaishchara, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Skanda, Vaishravana, and Yama. He is the lightning, the digestive fire, the fire fed by fuel, the lord of energies, the banner of righteousness, the maker of the Vedas, the limbs of the Vedas, and the vehicle of the Vedas. He is Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali; the refuge of all the gods; the divisions of time such as kāla, kashtha, muhurta, the nights, the watches, and the moments. He is the maker of the year, the Ashvattha tree, the wheel of time, fire, the eternal person, the yogi, the manifest and unmanifest, the ancient one. He is the overseer of time, the overseer of beings, the maker of the universe, the dispeller of darkness, Varuna, the ocean, the portion, the rain cloud, the giver of life, and the destroyer of enemies. He is the support of beings, the lord of beings, honored by all worlds, the creator, the destroyer, fire, the origin of all, and free from greed. He is Ananta, Kapila, Bhanu, the giver of desires, facing all directions, victorious, vast, the bestower of boons, and served by all beings. He is mind, Suparna, the origin of beings, swift-moving, the sustainer of breath, Dhanvantari, Dhūmaketu, the primeval god, and the son of Aditi. He is of twelve forms, Ravi, Daksha, father, mother, grandfather, the gate to heaven, the gate to progeny, the gate to liberation, and the highest heaven. He is the maker of bodies, of tranquil soul, the soul of the universe, facing all directions, the soul of the moving and unmoving, the subtle soul, Maitreya, and full of compassion. Thus is the glory of the Sun, the Supreme Lord, who is the essence and support of all that exists.