Rathasaptami

  The Sun Begins His Sacred Journey

On the seventh dawn of Magha bright,

The sky awakens bathed in light,

The golden chariot starts to roll,

Seven horses stir the cosmic soul.

Aruna stands with folded hands,

The dawn obeys his gentle command,

From eastern gates the Surya rides,

Dispelling fear where darkness hides.

This is the day the wheels first turned,

When time itself began and learned

To measure life in breath and flame,

In rising hope, in setting pain.

O Surya Deva, eye of Truth,

Guardian of age and youth,

You ripen grain, you warm the heart,

From you all rhythms take their start.

Seven horses—days, the chakras seven,

Seven colours bridge earth and heaven,

Your chariot moves through inner skies,

Where ignorance before you dies.

With erukku leaves upon the head,

We bow where ancient seers once tread,

Not for the body alone we pray,

But for the light to show the way.

May sluggish minds awaken rise,

May frozen will begin to fly,

As Rathasaptami proclaims:

Today, the Sun resumes His reign.

So let us turn, like Him, once more,

From night-bound ways to truth’s bright shore—

For when the Sun decides to move,

Even fate itself must choose to improve.