Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 1.25
॥
Devanāgarī
मध्यन्दिने माध्यन्दिनं कृत्वोपस्थानान्तं ध्यायमान आदित्याभिमुखोऽधीयानः सुरापानात्पूतो भवति । स्वर्णस्तेयात्पूतो भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
madhyandine mādhyandinaṃ kṛtvopasthānāntaṃ dhyāyamāna ādityābhimukho'dhīyānaḥ surāpānātpūto bhavati | svarṇasteyātpūto bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मध्यन्दिने माध्यन्दिनं कृत्वाmadhyandine mādhyandinaṃ kṛtvāat midday, having performed the midday rite
उपस्थान-अन्तं ध्यायमानःupasthāna-antaṃ dhyāyamānaḥmeditating, until the end of the standing-service
आदित्य-अभिमुखः अधीयानःāditya-abhimukhaḥ adhīyānaḥreciting facing the sun
सुरा-पानात् पूतः भवतिsurā-pānāt pūtaḥ bhavatibecomes pure of drinking liquor
Translation
«At midday, having performed the midday [service] to the end of the standing-service, meditating, reciting facing the sun — becomes pure of drinking liquor; becomes pure of theft of gold».
Version
2035898cd655 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The promise continues, and the great sins are enumerated. Worth pausing on a detail of the rite: āditya-abhimukhaḥ, «facing the sun». The midday service is performed standing facing the sun and looking at it; and there is that physicality here found throughout the Vedic rite.
Worth noting too the word upasthāna, «standing-service», literally «standing near». So the part of the service is called in which one stands before the luminary and recites verses addressed to it. This word, to my mind, is among the most precise in ritual language. Not «contemplation», not «reflection», but — standing near; that is, the person is described by his position in space relative to the one addressed.
The Vaishnava side calls its own practice by the same word, and in its usage upasthāna is standing before the image. And the basis is the same: worship is not a thought but a posture; and so in its temples one stands, not sits, while the service goes on. Worth adding that looking directly at the sun at midday harms the eyes, and this custom was probably meant more gently: one faces it, but does not stare fixedly. This qualification is worth making, for literal performance here damages sight — and this is a case where precision does harm.