Shloka 53
Sūrya-stava: Dhaumya’s Counsel and the Aṣṭaśata-nāma of Sūrya
तव यद्युदयो न स्यादन्ध॑ जगदिदं भवेत् | न च धर्मार्थकामेषु प्रवर्तेरनू मनीषिण:,यदि आपका उदय न हो तो यह सारा जगत् अंधा हो जाय और मनीषी पुरुष धर्म, अर्थ एवं कामसम्बन्धी क्मोंमें प्रवृत्त ही न हों
tava yady udayo na syād andhaṃ jagad idaṃ bhavet | na ca dharmārthakāmeṣu pravarteranū manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “If your rising did not occur, this entire world would become blind; and wise people would not set themselves in motion toward the pursuits of dharma, artha, and kāma.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links cosmic regularity (the ‘rising’) with moral and social orientation: without a guiding light, the world becomes ‘blind,’ and even the wise would not properly pursue dharma, artha, and kāma. It underscores that ethical life depends on clarity, order, and reliable guidance—both literal (light) and figurative (right leadership or divine order).
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered ‘you’ (implicitly a luminous guiding power, commonly understood as the Sun or a sun-like authority) and praises its indispensable role. He argues that the world’s functioning and the wise pursuit of life’s aims depend upon that presence and its daily ‘rising.’