Reply To: Satta Sūriya Sutta

#50961
taryal
Participant

Since people were unaware of such details then, the Buddha probably provided that analogy with the appearance of “seven Suns.”

Or could it be that the Buddha was referring to visible expansions of the nearest stars? From modern science, we know that stars expand over long periods of time, right? And there are stars nearby our solar system that are a lot more massive than our sun. So it would make sense to look like new suns are appearing in the sky as those stars expand and increase in size.

It is interesting because there is a Hindu text which also refers to the seven suns. For example, in the Vishnu Purana: Book VI: Chapter III:

Thus fed, through his intervention, with abundant moisture, the seven solar rays dilate to seven suns 6, whose radiance glows above, below, and on every side, and sets the three worlds and Pátála on fire. The three worlds, consumed by these suns, become rugged and deformed throughout the whole extent of their mountains, rivers, and seas; and the earth, bare of verdure, and destitute of moisture, alone remains, resembling in appearance the back of a tortoise.

The date of composition of this text is disputed but estimated around 400–900 CE. So it is possible that they copied it from Gautam Buddha but I’m not really sure. There were yogis before him that could recall past lives and see the formations and destructions of the world according to suttas.