On the seventh day of the bright fortnight, a person devoted to fasting approaches the worship of Bhāskara, the radiant Sun, with offerings that are pure and sincere. Through this dedicated practice, the devotee is cleansed of all sins and, upon leaving this world, ascends to the very realm of the Sun. During worship, it is prescribed that water be offered in a vessel associated with the Sun, and as the observance continues, the devotee increases the count of the days in order, omitting each twenty-fourth day. After two years of this discipline, the vow is considered complete. This sacred observance is known as Arkasaptami, and it is celebrated as a bestower of all desires. Particularly auspicious is the seventh day of the bright fortnight when it falls on a Sunday, the day of the Sun. This day is called Vijaya, the victorious one, and any offerings made then—be it bathing, charity, austerity, fire offerings, or fasting—yield immense spiritual fruit. Every act performed on Vijaya Saptami, especially those dedicated to the ancestors on the Sun’s day, has the power to destroy even the gravest of sins. Those who worship the great white form of the Sun on this day, and make offerings with white, red, or yellow clay, find that all their righteous actions are ever dedicated to Bhāskara. In their families, poverty and disease are unknown. The devotee who applies the sacred unguent as prescribed attains the very results they wish for, and Citrabhanu, the Sun, is to be worshipped with a variety of fragrant flowers. Fasting while worshipping the Sun ensures the fulfillment of all desires. Lighting a lamp with ghee or sesame oil as an offering brings further blessings. The one who worships Āditya, the Sun, with their own eyes never suffers loss, and those who regularly offer lamps are illuminated by the lamp of knowledge itself. Gifts of sesame seeds, pure oil, or even a symbolic sesame cow, whether in fire rituals or as offerings in lamps, are powerful means to eradicate great sins. Those who always give lamps in temples, at crossroads, and along the streets become radiant and blessed with good fortune. The first lamp should be offered with pure offerings, the second with herbal juices, but never with marrow, fat, or bone extract. A lamp always rises upward, never downward, and so too does the giver’s spirit—never falling to a lower state. It is forbidden to steal or extinguish a lamp that is always burning, for the thief of a lamp is bound for bondage, ruin, anger, and darkness. Conversely, the giver of lamps shines resplendently in the world of the gods. Those who anoint the lamp with saffron, aloe, and sandalwood earn wealth, fame, and prosperity after death. Especially when one is pure and offers red sandalwood and red flowers, the blessings are magnified. By consistently offering arghya—the sacred libation—to the Sun at sunrise, success is assured within a year. From sunrise to sunset, this observance should be maintained. Even the recitation of a single mantra or hymn while facing the Sun destroys great sins. The arghya must be offered with all its proper components; doing so at sunrise with faith frees one from all sin. Those who offer arghya, accompanied by gifts of gold, a cow, a bull, land, and garments, attain the fruits of such merit for seven lifetimes. Arghya should be thoughtfully presented—in fire, in water, in the sky, upon pure ground, on an image, or even on a ball of rice. The offering should always be made directly forward, never to the left or right, with ghee or even with guggul, and always with devotion to the Sun. At the very moment of such offering, all sins are destroyed—of this there is no doubt—especially if a square vessel or one made of devadāru wood is used. By offering camphor and agarwood incense, the devotee secures the path to heaven, whether during the Sun’s northern or southern course. Special worship during solstices, lunar eclipses, and at the beginnings of the sixty-eight divisions, brings complete liberation from all sins. Thus, at all such sacred times and always, one should worship the Sun with devotion. Whoever worships the Sun with faith is honored in the Sun’s own realm, especially when the offerings include rice, milk, cakes, fruits, roots, ghee, and cooked food. By making a bali-offering to the Sun, all desires are fulfilled; by offering libations of ghee, one becomes accomplished in all aims. By offering with milk, the mind is freed from distress, and by offering with curds, success in all undertakings is achieved. With concentration and purity, if one draws water for bathing the Sun at a sacred place, the highest state is attained. Gifts to the Sun of an umbrella, banner, canopy, flag, or fly-whisk, when made with faith, bring about the fulfillment of all desires. Whatever is offered to the Sun with devotion, the Sun multiplies a hundred thousandfold for the devotee. By the Sun’s grace, all misdeeds—whether of thought, word, or deed—are utterly removed. The merit gained from worshipping the Sun, even for a single day and with the prescribed gifts to Brahmins, far surpasses that obtained from performing a hundred grand sacrifices. Upon hearing of the greatness of the Sun god, the assembled sages and devotees were filled with wonder. They addressed the Lord, saying, “O Lord of the world, what you have revealed is rare even among the gods. Please, O Lord of gods, speak further to us, for our curiosity is great.” They inquired, “Whether one is a householder, a student, a forest-dweller, or a mendicant, whoever wishes to attain liberation must worship some deity. How can such a person attain everlasting heaven? How can one reach the highest good? And, having reached heaven, what should one do so as never to fall from that state?