Surya Chalisa — Benefits & How to Chant
सूर्य चालीसा
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Surya Chalisa
The Surya Chalisa invokes Lord Surya, the Sun God, for health, vitality, energy, confidence and success.
Recites the twelve sacred names (Dvadasa Aditya) of the Sun, whose chanting is said to wipe away the sins of a thousand births.
Includes a body-part 'kavach' invoking the Sun's protection over head, eyes, ears, limbs and the whole body.
Traditionally chanted to strengthen a weak Sun in the horoscope and to relieve skin ailments and eye troubles.
Most powerful at sunrise on Sunday (Ravivar), while offering water (Arghya) to the rising sun.
Bestows the eight siddhis, nine treasures, and the four aims of life upon the devoted.
How to Chant Surya Chalisa
Instructions
At sunrise after bathing, face east and offer water (Arghya) to the sun from a copper vessel while reciting. Then recite the Surya Chalisa with devotion, ideally chanting the twelve names and bowing twelve times. Sunday is most auspicious; observing it with a single meal (and avoiding salt) deepens the practice.
Spiritual Significance
The Chalisa promises that singing the Sun's twelve names destroys the sins of a thousand births, that his ray-armour shields every limb so 'no fear remains anywhere in the world', and that even ringworm and leprosy never touch the devoted reciter — echoing the Aditya Hridaya, by which Sage Agastya armed Rama to vanquish Ravana.
Origin & History
Source: Traditional Hindi devotional hymn
Author: Traditional
The Surya Chalisa, also called the Bhanu Chalisa, is a forty-verse Hindi hymn to the Sun God — the visible deity (pratyaksha devata) worshipped since Vedic times as the source of life, light and health. It garlands Surya's twelve names and forms, sets a protective shield of his rays over every limb, and promises vitality and the washing-away of sin to all who greet the rising sun with its verses.