Listen, then, to the sacred account of worshipping the Sun, as revealed in the ancient teaching. At sunrise, a devotee should offer arghya—a libation of water with all its proper components—doing so with faith and reverence. Such an act, performed with sincerity, washes away all sins. When the arghya is accompanied by gifts of gold, a cow, a bull, land, and garments, the giver obtains merit that endures for seven lifetimes. This arghya should be offered with care—whether into fire, into pure water, into the open sky, upon sanctified ground, before an image, or even on a ball of rice or similar substance. One must always offer, facing straight ahead, never turning to left or right, using ghee or even fragrant guggul, and present it to the Sun with devotion. At that very moment, all sins are destroyed without doubt, especially if the offering is made in a square vessel or one fashioned from devadāru wood. By offering camphor and the incense of agarwood to the Sun, the devotee secures the path to heaven, regardless of whether the Sun is in its northern or southern course. Particularly during the sacred moments of solstices, lunar eclipses, and the beginnings of the sixty-eight divisions of time, special worship removes every sin. Indeed, at all such auspicious times—and always—one should worship the Sun in this way. Those who worship the Sun with devotion are honored in his world, receiving offerings of 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 attains accomplishment in every aim. When milk is offered, the mind is freed from distress; when curds are used, success in undertakings is assured. Whoever, with a concentrated mind, draws water for bathing the Sun at a sacred place and with purity, attains the highest state. By giving the Sun an umbrella, a banner, a canopy, a flag, or a fly-whisk with faith, the devotee achieves the desired goal. Whatever substance is offered to the Sun with devotion is returned a hundred thousand-fold by the Sun’s grace. All misdeeds—whether of mind, speech, or body—are completely removed by the Sun’s compassion. Even the merit gained from worshipping the Sun for a single day, with the prescribed gifts to Brahmins, surpasses the fruit of a hundred sacrifices. Hearing this, the assembled sages and seekers marveled at the greatness of the Sun god. They addressed the divine teacher: “O Lord of the world! What you have spoken is most rare and wondrous. Please, tell us more, for our curiosity is immense. Whether one is a householder, a student, a forest-dweller, or a mendicant, whoever seeks liberation must worship a deity. How, then, can one attain everlasting heaven? What is the highest good? And, having reached heaven, how can one avoid falling again? Who among the gods is supreme, and who among the ancestors is the highest? Speak to us of that from which nothing is higher. From where was this universe—moving and unmoving—created, and into whom does it dissolve at the end? You alone are worthy to reveal this.” In response, the teacher declared: “As the Sun rises, he dispels the world’s darkness with his rays. There is no deity higher than the Sun, O best of the twice-born. He is without beginning or end—eternal, imperishable. With his fierce rays, he scorches the three worlds. He is the essence of all the gods, the foremost among those who shine. He is the lord of the whole world, the witness of all, the master of the universe. “He contracts all beings and then creates them anew; he shines, he heats, he sends down rain with his beams. He is the creator and the ordainer, the origin and sustainer of all beings. He never perishes; his orb is eternal and undecaying. Truly, he is the ancestor of the ancestors, the deity of the deities. His world is the firm place, for from there there is no return. “At the time of creation, the entire world is born from the Sun; at dissolution, all returns to him, the radiant illuminator. Countless yogis, having left their mortal bodies, become like the wind and enter into this mass of light, the Sun. Thousands of his rays, like branches and birds, are the refuge of accomplished sages who dwell there together with the gods. “Householders like Janaka and other kings established in yoga, sages like the Vālakhilyas—speakers of Brahman—forest-dwellers, Vyāsa, and mendicants, all having taken up yoga, have entered the solar orb. Śuka, the illustrious son of Vyāsa, attained the path of yoga, reached the rays of the Sun, and established himself in the state of non-return. “Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and others are known only through words and hearsay; but this supreme god, the Sun, destroyer of darkness, is directly visible. Therefore, one who desires auspiciousness should direct devotion nowhere else, for those gods led by Viṣṇu are inaccessible to sight. “Always, therefore, worship the blessed Sun. He is the mother, the father, and the teacher of the entire world. He, the lord of the worlds, without beginning, adorned with rays, is the master of the universe; abiding as a friend to all, he performed austerities. “Brahmā, too, is without beginning or end, eternal and imperishable. Having created the continents with their oceans and the fourteen worlds, for the welfare of all beings, he abides on the banks of the lunar river, having brought forth all the lords of creatures and the various beings.” Thus is revealed the glory and supremacy of the Sun, the visible deity, the source, sustainer, and final refuge of all that exists.