6TH FEBRUARY RATHA SAPTHAMI

 6^th February 2014 Ratha sapthami is a very auspicious day in the Hindu calendar as God Surya was born to sage Kashyapa & Adithi and hence it is celebrated as Surya Jayanti. Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season. It is symbolically represented in the form of Sun God turning his Ratha (Chariot) drawn by seven horses (representing seven colours) towards the northern hemisphere, in a north-east direction. In Hindu mythology, the sun is called the soul of the universe. Through practical perspective, the brightness of the sun gives knowledge, speedy action in work, lessons to choose the right path and direction along with being disciplined.  

In 2010 I shared a historical background story of worship on surya.Now I am sharing an another story which i read while I am searching an Astrological website for malefic effects of sun in horoscope. 

STORY OF SURYA AS WITNESS:-

In those days, there was a system of putting a (*) mark on the particular page of the account book in token of repayment of money. Farmers used to put this mark while repaying the loan. That mark was missing in this case. Nevertheless, the farmer’s claim was weighty. The voice of a truthful man has its own strength. On the other hand, the moneylender too was adamant on his stand that he had not been repaid. His arguments too were solid, “I have not been repaid. Had the farmer repaid, he would have put the relevant mark in the account book. And why should I demand repayment of the money twice?”    

Now, it was a big problem for Desalji. On one hand the farmer appeared to be speaking the truth, but on the other, there was no witness or document to prove the repayment being made to the moneylender; and there was no relevant mark in the account book either. The king was in a fix as to how to do justice in the matter. Suddenly, his mind went to the phrase ‘Sun god being the witness’ and he had an intuition.

It was summer and the time was around noon. So the sun was really scorching. The king placed the documents before the blazing Sun and prayed, “O Sun god! It is written in the book that the transaction took place in the presence of Sun god. Now, kindly tell me what the truth is. The giving of loan is recorded in the book, but the repayment is not mentioned. Did the repayment take place in your presence? You alone can help in this matter. O Lord! You are the only witness. Put your seal of judgement as to who is speaking the truth – the farmer or the moneylender. If the farmer has repaid the loan, the mark should have been there. Kindly do something…”

After thus praying to Sun god, the king became silent for a while. Then as he opened his eyes and looked at the documents, he found the mark of repayment inscribed thereon. The king’s eyes sparkled. He was delighted to the core and a broad smile descended on his face.

Then the king moved towards the farmer and said, “You have got written on the document, ‘Sun god being the witness’; so does any god ever give a testimony? What gave you this idea?”

The farmer said, “Your Majesty, gods do give testimony. If I am truthful, Sun god will give testimony.”

The king then spoke sternly to the moneylender, “Now come out with the truth, otherwise…”

“Your Majesty! It is a plain truth that he has not repaid the money. Had he repaid it, he would have put the relevant mark as well.”

Then the king thundered, “Look, the mark is there.”

The moneylender looked at the documents and he too found the mark.

The king harshly admonished him, “Tell me the truth. How did you erase the mark?”

The dishonest moneylender said, trembling with fear, “Your Majesty! The farmer had duly put the mark, but immediately after he left, I sprinkled sugar powder on the wet ink. Ants ate away the sugar and the mark was thereby erased. I have cheated the farmer.”

Hardly had he finished these words when hailing shouts of ‘Desal is the Lord’ rent the atmosphere from all directions. In this way the king of Kutch established an exemplary ideal before the world through his divine verdict.

So let us worship the sun god and pray for welfare of all farmers and to bless all  with peace, good health, long life and prosperity.