Canto 2: Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa ()Chapter 6: The Residents of Kosala Prepare to Celebrate Rāma’s CoronationText 2.6.6
Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 6: The Residents of Kosala Prepare to Celebrate Rāma’s Coronation
Text 2.6.6
तत्र शृण्वन्सुखा वाचः सूतमागधवन्दिनाम्।
पूर्वां सन्ध्यामुपासीनो जजाप यतमानसः॥
tataḥ śṛṇvan sukhā vācaḥ sūta-māgadha-vandinām
pūrvāṁ sandhyām upāsīno jajāpa yata-mānasaḥ
tataḥ = after; śṛṇvan = hearing; sukhāḥ = pleasant; vācaḥ = words; sūta-māgadha-vandinām = of the sūtas, māgadhas and vandīs; pūrvām sandhyām = on the sun, the presiding deity of dawn; upāsīnaḥ = He meditated; jajāpa = by chanting the Gāyatrī; yata-mānasaḥ = with a fixed mind.
After hearing the pleasant words of the sūtas, māgadhas and vandīs, He meditated on the sun, the presiding deity of dawn, by chanting the Gāyatrī with a fixed mind.
1 This translation is by Śrī Gopīparāṇadhana Prabhu.
The sūtas here are those born in sūta families and engaged in glorifying deities worthy of being glorified through pious verses. The māgadhas here are those who had taken birth in Magadha and glorify [pious] dynasties. The vandīs recite verses of praise.
NOTE. Lord Rāma’s meditation on the sun while chanting the Gāyatrī refers to His meditation on Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supersoul of the presiding deity of sun. That this is the highest and intended method of “meditation on the sun” is noted in the Agni Purāṇa (216.3, 7-8) that states:
taj jyotiḥ paramaṁ brahma bhargas tejo yataḥ smṛtaḥ...
taj jyotir bhagavān viṣṇur jagaj-janmādi-kāraṇam
śivaṁ kecit paṭhanti sma śakti-rūpaṁ vadanti ca
kecit sūryaṁ kecid agniṁ daivatāny agni-hotriṇaḥ
agny-ādi-rūpī viṣṇur hi vedādau brahma gīyate
“That supreme light is Brahman, because in the smṛti scriptures the word ‘bhargas’ means ‘light.’... “That light is the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, who is the cause of the birth and so on of the created universe. Some have interpreted this light to be Lord Śiva, and others say it is a form of Lord Śiva’s śakti. Some worshipers of the sacrificial fire say the light is the sun god, some the fire god, and others various other demigods. Actually, however, Lord Viṣṇu Himself is glorified in the Vedas and subsequent scriptures as assuming the forms of the fire god and all the others.”1
In this regard, Śrīla Prabhupāda has noted:
As the Supersoul, the Lord enters the hearts of all living entities. As stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35), aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham: “He enters the universe and the atom as well.” In the Ṛg Veda, the predominating Deity of the sun is worshiped by this mantra: dhyeyaḥ sadā savitṛ-maṇḍala-madhya-varti nārāyaṇaḥ sarasijāsana-sanniviṣṭaḥ. Nārāyaṇa sits on His lotus flower within the sun. By reciting this mantra, every living entity should take shelter of Nārāyaṇa just as the sun rises.... Actually Nārāyaṇa within the sun is
1. This translation is by Śrī Gopīparāṇadhana Prabhu.
maintaining the entire universe; therefore Nārāyaṇa should be worshiped by the Gāyatrī mantra or the Ṛg mantra.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.7.14 purport)
Interested readers are requested to consult Appendix 2 of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust edition of Tattva-sandarbha that contain an excerpt from Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī demonstrating how Gāyatrī meditation is actually intended to be a meditation on Lord Viṣṇu.