॥ दोहा ॥
कनक बदन कुंडल मकर, मुक्ता माला अंग।
पद्मासन स्थित ध्याइए, शंख चक्र के संग।।
॥ चौपाई ॥
जय सविता जय जयति दिवाकर, सहस्रांशु सप्ताश्व तिमिरहर।
भानु, पतंग, मरीची, भास्कर, सविता, हंस, सुनूर, विभाकर।
विवस्वान, आदित्य, विकर्तन, मार्तण्ड, हरिरूप, विरोचन।
अंबरमणि, खग, रवि कहलाते, वेद हिरण्यगर्भ कह गाते।।
सहस्रांशु, प्रद्योतन, कहि कहि, मुनिगन होत प्रसन्न मोदलहि।
अरुण सदृश सारथी मनोहर, हांकत हय साता चढ़ि रथ पर।
मंडल की महिमा अति न्यारी, तेज रूप केरी बलिहारी।
उच्चैश्रवा सदृश हय जोते, देखि पुरन्दर लज्जित होते।।
मित्र, मरीचि, भानु, अरुण, भास्कर, सविता, सूर्य, अर्क, खग, कलिहर।
पूषा, रवि, आदित्य, नाम लै, हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः कहिकै।
द्वादस नाम प्रेम सो गावैं, मस्तक बारह बार नवावै।
चार पदारथ सो जन पावै, दुख दारिद्र अघ पुंज नसावै।।
नमस्कार को चमत्कार यह, विधि हरिहर कौ कृपासार यह।
सेवै भानु तुमहिं मन लाई, अष्टसिद्धि नवनिधि तेहिं पाई।
बारह नाम उच्चारन करते, सहस जनम के पातक टरते।
उपाख्यान जो करते तवजन, रिपु सों जमलहते सोतेहि छन।।
छन सुत जुत परिवार बढ़तु है, प्रबलमोह को फंद कटतु है।
अर्क शीश को रक्षा करते, रवि ललाट पर नित्य बिहरते।
सूर्य नेत्र पर नित्य विराजत, कर्ण देश पर दिनकर छाजत।
भानु नासिका वास करहु नित, भास्कर करत सदा मुख कौ हित।।
ओठ रहैं पर्जन्य हमारे, रसना बीच तीक्ष्ण बस प्यारे।
कंठ सुवर्ण रेत की शोभा, तिग्मतेजसः कांधे लोभा।
पूषा बाहु मित्र पीठहिं पर, त्वष्टा-वरुण रहत सुउष्णकर।
युगल हाथ पर रक्षा कारन, भानुमान उरसर्मं सुउदरचन।।
बसत नाभि आदित्य मनोहर, कटि मंह हंस, रहत मन मुदभर।
जंघा गोपति, सविता बासा, गुप्त दिवाकर करत हुलासा।
विवस्वान पद की रखवारी, बाहर बसते नित तम हारी।
सहस्रांशु, सर्वांग सम्हारै, रक्षा कवच विचित्र विचारे।।
अस जोजन अपने मन माहीं, भय जग बीच करहुं तेहि नाहीं।
दरिद्र कुष्ट तेहिं कबहुं न व्यापै, जोजन याको मन मंह जापै।
अंधकार जग का जो हरता, नव प्रकाश से आनन्द भरता।
ग्रह गन ग्रसि न मिटावत जाही, कोटि बार मैं प्रनवौं ताही।।
मंद सदृश सुत जग में जाके, धर्मराज सम अद्भुत बांके।
धन्य-धन्य तुम दिनमनि देवा, किया करत सुरमुनि नर सेवा।
भक्ति भावयुत पूर्ण नियम सों, दूर हटत सो भव के भ्रम सों।
परम धन्य सो नर तनधारी, हैं प्रसन्न जेहि पर तम हारी।।
अरुण माघ महं सूर्य फाल्गुन, मध वेदांग नाम रवि उदय।
भानु उदय वैसाख गिनावै, ज्येष्ठ इन्द्र आषाढ़ रवि गावै।
यम भादों आश्विन हिमरेता, कातिक होत दिवाकर नेता।
अगहन भिन्न विष्णु हैं पूसहिं, पुरुष नाम रवि हैं मलमासहिं।।
॥ दोहा ॥
भानु चालीसा प्रेम युत, गावहिं जे नर नित्य।
सुख संपत्ति लहै विविध, होंहि सदा कृतकृत्य।।
Doha:
Kanaka Badana Kundala Makara, Mukta Mala Anga.
Padmasana Sthita Dhyaiye, Shankha Chakra Ke Sanga.
Chaupai:
Jay Savita Jay Jayati Divakara, Sahastranshu Saptashva Timirahara.
Bhanu, Patanga, Marichi, Bhaskara, Savita, Hansa, Sunura, Vibhakara.
Vivaswana, Aditya, Vikartana, Martanda, Harirupa, Virochana.
Ambaramani, Khaga, Ravi Kahalate, Veda Hiranyagarbha Kaha Gate.
Dwadasa Nama Prema So Gavain, Mastaka Baraha Bara Navavain.
Chara Padaratha Jana So Pavai, Dukha Daridra Agha Punja Nasavai.
Namaskara Ko Chamatkara Yaha, Vidhi Harihara Ko Kripasara Yaha.
Bhanu Chalisa Prema Yuta, Gavahin Je Nara Nitya.
Sukha Sampatti Lahai Vividha, Honhi Sada Kritakritya.
The Surya Chalisa, also known as the Bhanu Chalisa, is a forty-verse devotional hymn in praise of Surya Deva, the solar deity and one of the five principal deities (Panchayatana) of the Smarta tradition. The opening doha describes Surya as golden-faced, wearing makara-shaped earrings and a pearl garland, seated in the lotus posture and accompanied by the conch and disc—an iconography that places Surya within the Vaishnava theological orbit while acknowledging his unique solar identity. The chaupais systematically present Surya's twelve sacred names (dvadasha namas) that correspond to the twelve solar months—Mitra, Marichi, Bhanu, Aruna, Bhaskara, Savita, Surya, Arka, Khaga, Pusha, Ravi, and Aditya—a feature unique to Surya worship and linked to the ancient Aditya-Hridayam tradition. The text then presents an elaborate body-armour (kavacha) motif: each of Surya's twelve names is assigned protection over a different part of the human body, from the head (Arka) to the feet (Vivasvana). The closing doha promises abundant happiness and prosperity to those who recite the chalisa daily with devotion.
Surya Deva is the solar deity of Hinduism and one of the most ancient objects of Vedic veneration. The Rigveda contains numerous hymns addressed to Surya and his related forms Mitra, Savitar, and Pushan. He is depicted riding a golden chariot drawn by seven horses (representing the seven colours of sunlight or the seven days of the week), driven by his charioteer Aruna (the dawn). Surya is the father of Karna (in the Mahabharata) and Yama and Yamuna, and his son Shani (Saturn) is also his offspring by Chaya (shadow). Surya worship is central to the Chhath Puja festival observed in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, where devotees stand in water at sunrise and sunset to offer arghya (water offering) to the sun. The Suryashtakam and Aditya Hridayam are among the most ancient solar hymns, while the Surya Chalisa represents the medieval bhakti tradition's contribution to solar devotion.
Sunday (Ravivara) is the day of the week dedicated to Surya Deva, and weekly worship with the chalisa is a traditional practice for those seeking to strengthen the Sun in their lives. Ratha Saptami (the seventh day of the bright fortnight of Magha), Chhath Puja (Kartik Shukla Shashthi and Saptami), and Makar Sankranti are the most auspicious annual occasions for Surya worship. Within the day, the precise moment of sunrise—particularly when the sun is just visible above the horizon—is the supreme time for recitation. The chalisa itself embeds the twelve solar months into its verses, making it seasonally relevant throughout the year.
The Surya Chalisa names Surya's twelve sacred forms as: Mitra, Marichi, Bhanu, Aruna, Bhaskara, Savita, Surya, Arka, Khaga, Pusha, Ravi, and Aditya. Each name corresponds to one of the twelve solar months and represents a specific quality of the sun's energy as it moves through the year. The tradition of meditating on these twelve names is ancient, rooted in the Aditya Hridayam of the Valmiki Ramayana and the twelve-Aditya concept of the Puranas.
Copper (tamba) is considered in Ayurveda and Vedic metallurgy to be the metal most closely resonant with solar energy. When water is stored in a copper vessel and offered to the sun, the refracted light passing through the water-stream creates a natural prism effect (the rainbow), which is seen as a visible manifestation of Surya's seven-hued chariot horses. Additionally, copper-charged water is believed to have health-promoting properties. The act of offering arghya while reciting Surya's names is one of the oldest continuous ritual practices in Hinduism.
In Vedic astrology, a debilitated or afflicted Sun (Ravi) in the birth chart can manifest as lack of confidence, poor health, difficult relationships with authority figures, and obstacles to career advancement. Devotees traditionally approach the Surya Chalisa as a means of propitiating the solar energy and strengthening their connection to Surya's blessings. The practice is seen as a form of Graha Shanti (planetary pacification). Whether approaching it astrologically or purely devotionally, regular, sincere recitation is the key.
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Surya Chalisa — saluting the sun across his twelve sacred names
The Surya Chalisa — sometimes called the Bhanu Chalisa — is a forty-verse devotional salutation to the Sun, the only deity of the Navagrahas visible to the naked eye and therefore uniquely placed as a bridge between the cosmic and the immediate. The rasa of this hymn is one of luminous gratitude and aspiring clarity: the devotee faces the risen sun and rehearses, through verse, the understanding that the same light sustaining the physical world is a symbol of the inner light of consciousness that the spiritual path seeks to uncover. Recitation is most traditional at dawn on Sundays, the day belonging to Surya, and is associated with the Chhath Puja tradition which celebrates the sun's life-giving power across several days in the Kartika month. Many practitioners also integrate it into their daily Surya Namaskar practice as an accompaniment to the physical salutation.
The distinctive richness of the Surya Chalisa lies in its engagement with Surya's twelve names — the Dwadasha Adityas — each representing a different quality of solar energy across the months of the year. Moving through these names in verse is understood as a way of internalising those qualities: vitality, sovereignty, generosity, discernment. In the Jyotish tradition, Surya is the karaka of the soul, of authority, and of self-realisation, and reciting the Surya Chalisa is considered one of the most direct and accessible solar remedies available to a devotee, particularly beneficial for those with a weakened or afflicted Sun in the natal chart. The enduring invitation of this hymn is to begin each day already grateful, already awake.