Puranic Origins
Aditya Hridayam is another ancient practice which involves surya namaskar. It is a procedure of saluting The Sun, taught to Sri Rama by Sage Agastya, before his fight with Ravana. It is described in the "Yuddha Khanda" Canto 107 of Ramayana.
There are in total 124 names praising the Sun in the whole procedure. The names in verses 10 - 13 are given below:
" Aditya, Savita, Surya, Khaga, Pushan, Gabhastiman, Suvarnasadrisa, Bhanu, Hiranyaretas, Divakara, Haridasva, Sahasrarchish, Saptasapti, Marichiman, Timironmathana, Sambhu, Twashta, Martanda, Ansuman, Hiranyagarbha, Sisira, Tapana, Bhaskara, Ravi, Agnigarbha, Aditiputra, Sankha, Sisiranasana ".
The names in bold are the names used in the present day popular Surya Namaskar are present in these four verses.
In 15 - 20 verses, salutations to Sun are described. An example from the 15th verse is: "the resplendent among the splendid. Oh! God, appearing in twelve forms (in the shape of twelve months of the year) salutations to you".
Read more about this topic: Surya Namaskar Origins
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