Samba Purana

The Samba Purana is one of the Saura Upapuranas. This text is dedicated to Surya. The recension of the text found in the printed editions has 84 chapters. Chapters 53-68 of this text are also divided into 15 Paṭalas. After the customary beginning in Chapter 1, the text consists the narrative of Krishna's son Samba's getting infected by leprosy, after being cursed by sage Durvasa and consequently getting cured by worshipping Surya in the temple constructed by him in Mitravana on the banks of the Chandrabhaga at what was Multan Sun Temple. The whole narrative is presented as a conversation between the king Brihadbala of Ikshvaku Dynasty and the sage Vashishtha. Chapters 26-27 of this text narrate the story of bringing the eighteen Maga Brahmins from Śākadvīpa by Samba and appointing them as the priests of the Surya temple in Mitravana. This text comprises a number of narratives dealing with creation, details of solar system, eclipses, geography of the earth, description of Surya and his attendants, construction of images of these deities, details of yoga, manners and customs, rites and rituals, dissertations of mantras and dana (gift).