Let me tell you the sacred story as revealed in these verses, honoring their order and meaning. The Sun, radiant and resplendent, shines forth in the sky, drinking water with his countless rays. He is revered as the divine and pure one, his essence mingled with the terrestrial fire. This fire, associated with the Sun, is described as having a thousand feet and a shape like a round pot, drawing in water from all directions through a thousand channels. These channels encompass the sources of water in our world: the ocean, wells, clouds, both stationary and moving waters, tanks, streams, and others. Through his thousand rays, the Sun emits cold, rain, and heat; among these, four hundred channels pour forth rain, each with a wondrous form. These forms are known as vessels, garlands, banners, and falling streams. All rays that bring rain are called ‘nectar.’ Three hundred channels carry snow, manifesting as threads, clouds, and showers that cool and produce snow. These rays are collectively named ‘moon-rays,’ and among them are the yellowish rays, the white ones, the directions themselves, and the cows that sustain the universe. All the white rays are counted as three hundred, producing heat; through these, the moon nourishes humans, ancestors, and gods. In this way, the Sun satisfies humans with herbs, ancestors with oblations, and all the gods with nectar, by means of these three kinds of rays. In the spring and summer, the Sun burns brightly with three hundred rays; during the rainy season and autumn, he pours forth with four hundred rays. In winter and late winter, he releases frost through three rays, each associated with the deities: Indra, Dhātā, Bhaga, Pūṣā, Mitra, Varuṇa, and Aryaman. Aṃśu, Vivasvān, Tvaṣṭā, Parjanya, Viṣṇu, Varuṇa in the month of Māgha, and Sūrya in Phālguna are all connected to the Sun’s rays. In Caitra, it is Aṃśu; in Vaiśākha, Dhātā, the heat-giver; in Jyeṣṭha, Indra; in Āṣāḍha, Aryaman and Ravi. Vivasvān is honored in Śrāvaṇa; Bhaga in Prauṣṭhapada; Parjanya in Āśvayuja; Tvaṣṭā and Ravi in Kārtika. Mitra shines in Mārgaśīrṣa; Viṣṇu, the eternal, in Pauṣa; and Varuṇa’s solar work is accomplished through five thousand rays. Pūṣā, the god Aṃśu, shines with six thousand rays; Dhātā with seven thousand; Śatakratu with eight thousand. Vivasvān moves with ten rays; Bhaga with eleven; Mitra burns with seven; Tvaṣṭā is remembered with eight. Aryaman moves with ten rays; Parjanya with nine; Viṣṇu heats the earth with six thousand rays. The Sun’s color changes with the seasons: in spring, he is tawny; in summer, golden; in the rainy season, white; in autumn, pale; in winter, coppery; and in late winter, red. Thus, the colors arising from the Sun are revealed. Through his rays, the Sun imparts strength to herbs, oblations to ancestors, and nectar to the gods, placing these three gifts in the three realms. This thousand-rayed solar force fulfills the purpose of the worlds, dividing and reaching them, releasing cold and heat through water. The radiant orb of the Sun is the foundation and origin of stars, planets, and the Moon. All lunar, stellar, and planetary bodies arise from the Sun; Soma, lord of the stars, is the left eye of the ruler, while the Sun himself is the right eye. Their vision guides all beings in this world. The remaining five planets are sovereigns, moving as they wish. Fire, the Sun, Water, and the Moon are also recited among them. Now hear of the nature of the other planets: Skanda, commander of the gods, is called Aṅgāraka among the planets. Those who possess wisdom declare Budha to be Nārāyaṇa, the god; Yama, lord of all worlds, is directly the lord of beings. Śanaiścara, the great and slow-moving planet, is the teacher of gods and demons; and the two shining ones, Śukra and Bṛhaspati, are said to be the sons of Prajāpati. All three worlds have the Sun as their root—there is no doubt. From him arises the entire universe, including gods, demons, humans, Rudra, Indra, Upendra, the Moon, the best of Brahmins, Agni, and the dwellers in heaven. The radiance of all radiant ones, all worldly brilliance, the soul of all, the lord of all worlds—Mahādeva, the lord of creatures—is encompassed in the Sun. The Sun alone is the lord of the three worlds, the supreme and original deity; from him everything arises, and into him all dissolves. The coming into being and passing away of worlds proceed from the Sun. The planet Ravi, radiant and resplendent, is not easily known. Moments, instants, days, nights, and fortnights all come to an end and are born again, over and over, because of the Sun. Months, years, seasons, and ages—all these reckonings of time exist only through the Sun. Without time, there is no order, no initiation, no daily sequence; nor is there division of seasons, nor flower, root, or fruit. Without the Sun, crops cannot ripen, nor can the multitude of grasses and herbs flourish. Without him, there is no existence for living beings, either here or in heaven. Without Bhāskara, the Sun who is the form of Rudra and who heats the world, there is no shining; he is time, fire, the twelvefold lord of creatures. He burns, O best of twice-born, the three worlds, both moving and unmoving; he is the total mass of all brilliance, pervading all the worlds. Such is the story of the Sun, the eternal source of light, life, and time, the root of all existence, from whom everything arises and into whom everything returns.