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SN 2.10PTS (1st ed) SN 1.511 min read

The Sun

Sūriyasutta

In a parable of a solar eclipse, the sun god Suriya is swallowed by the demon lord Rāhu. Suriya appeals to the Buddha, who tells Rāhu to let go. This sutta is recited as a protection verse.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.10Linked Discourses 2.10
  • 0.21. PaṭhamavaggaChapter One

0.3SūriyasuttaThe Sun

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Tena kho pana samayena sūriyo devaputto rāhunā asurindena gahito hoti.Now at that time the Sun God had been seized by Rāhu, lord of titans.11.3Atha kho sūriyo devaputto bhagavantaṁ anussaramāno tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Then the Sun God, recollecting the Buddha, at that time spoke this verse:

2.1“Namo te buddha vīratthu,“Homage to you, Buddha, hero!2.2vippamuttosi sabbadhi;You’re free in every way.2.3Sambādhapaṭipannosmi,I’ve wandered into confinement:2.4tassa me saraṇaṁ bhavā”ti.be my refuge!”

3.1Atha kho bhagavā sūriyaṁ devaputtaṁ ārabbha rāhuṁ asurindaṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsi:Then the Buddha addressed Rāhu in verse concerning the Sun God:

4.1“Tathāgataṁ arahantaṁ,“The Sun God has gone for refuge4.2sūriyo saraṇaṁ gato;to the Realized One, the perfected one.4.3Rāhu sūriyaṁ pamuñcassu,The Buddhas have compassion for the world—4.4buddhā lokānukampakā.so Rāhu, release the Sun!

5.1Yo andhakāre tamasi pabhaṅkaro,He is a beacon in the darkness,25.2Verocano maṇḍalī uggatejo;the dazzling sun, circle of awesome might.5.3Mā rāhu gilī caramantalikkhe,Rāhu, do not swallow him as he traverses the sky.35.4Pajaṁ mamaṁ rāhu pamuñca sūriyan”ti.Rāhu, release my offspring, the Sun!”4

6.1Atha kho rāhu asurindo sūriyaṁ devaputtaṁ muñcitvā taramānarūpo yena vepacitti asurindo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā saṁviggo lomahaṭṭhajāto ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi.Then Rāhu, having released the Sun, rushed to see Vepacitti, lord of titans and stood to one side, shocked and awestruck.6.2Ekamantaṁ ṭhitaṁ kho rāhuṁ asurindaṁ vepacitti asurindo gāthāya ajjhabhāsi:Vepacitti addressed him in verse:

7.1“Kiṁ nu santaramānova,“Why the rush?7.2rāhu sūriyaṁ pamuñcasi;Rāhu, you released the Sun7.3Saṁviggarūpo āgamma,and came here looking like you’re in shock:7.4kiṁ nu bhītova tiṭṭhasī”ti.why do you stand there so scared?”

8.1“Sattadhā me phale muddhā,“My head would have exploded in seven pieces,8.2jīvanto na sukhaṁ labhe;I would have found no joy in life,8.3Buddhagāthābhigītomhi,if, when enchanted by the Buddha’s verse,8.4no ce muñceyya sūriyan”ti.I had not released the Sun.”

8.5Paṭhamo vaggo.

9.0Tassuddānaṁ

9.1Dve kassapā ca māgho ca,9.2Māgadho dāmali kāmado;9.3Pañcālacaṇḍo tāyano,9.4Candimasūriyena te dasāti.

Translator’s notes

  1. Suriya, the sun, is one of the most prominent deities of the Vedas, appearing under many names and aspects as both celestial body and deity.

    ↩ sn2.10:1.2

  2. The Buddha offers an extra verse to the Sun as compared to the Moon.

    ↩ sn2.10:5.1

  3. The mention of “swallow” here confirms this detail of the mythology, which is also implied in the existence of a torture called “Rāhu’s mouth” (MN 13:14.3).

    ↩ sn2.10:5.3

  4. The Buddha is the “kinsman of the sun” as he is a scion of the royal Solar Lineage traced back to the sun himself. Both Sun and Moon attended the Mahāsamayasutta (DN 20:14.3) where, according to the commentary, they became stream-enterers and hence the Buddha’s spiritual “sons”. Symbolically the Buddha, by enabling the Sun’s “release” from the “confined space”, becomes the father of light and wisdom.

    ↩ sn2.10:5.4