There are 18 Mahapuranas and 18 Upapuranas.

Aditya Purana is the 15th among Upapuranas.

It is also called Bhaskara Purana and Saura Purana.

Contents of Aditya Purana

• Goddess Gayatri
• Geography of earth
• The seven worlds below
• The seven worlds above
• Cycle of time
• Rituals
• Purity and impurity
• Righteous conduct
• How to do charity
• Vratas
• Festivals
• Nature of Gods

Knowledge Bank

Is Agastya muni mentioned in Ramayana?

In the Balakanda of Valmiki Ramayana it is mentioned that Tataka became a rakshasi due to the curse of Agastya rishi. Yuddhakanda talks about Agastya giving upadesha of Aditya-hridaya-stotra to Lord Rama when he was fatigued in the battle to rejuvenate and motivate him. Uttara Ramayana also mentions a Gandharva offering a golden bangle to Agastya as penance and Agastya giving Lord Rama a special arrow which would pierce the enemy, come out from the other side, take bath in the sea, and come back to the quiver.

Aditya Hridayam often misinterpreted

The first two verses of Aditya Hridaya Stotram are often misinterpreted. It is portrayed that Sri Rama was tired and worried on the battlefield and that was when Agastya gave him upadesha of Aditya Hridayam. Agastya had come to the battlefield to watch the Rama - Ravana yuddha along with other Devas. What did he see? Yuddha parishrantam Ravanam - Ravana who was exhausted completely. Samare chintaya sthitam Ravanam - It was Ravana who was worried. He had enough reason to be wrorried because his defeat had by then become certain. This is clear because just before that, his charioteer had managed to take him away from the battlefield to save him from Sri Rama. Then Ravana insisted that he should be taken back to the battlefield to save his reputation.