Surya

Surya is the name for the Sun and also a important god in Hinduism. People call him by many names such as Ravi, Vaivasvat, and Bhāskara. Surya is one of the main gods in the Smarta tradition and is thought to help people understand Brahman, the universal spirit.

Surya is often shown in art riding a chariot pulled by seven horses. These horses stand for the seven colours of light and the seven days of the week. In old stories and art, Surya is sometimes shown together with other gods like Indra and Ganesha. Surya is also important in Buddhism and Jainism.

In the famous Hindu stories the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Surya is the father of important characters like Sugriva and Karna. People worship Surya especially in states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Some big festivals like Makar Sankranti and Pongal are celebrated to honour him. Although Surya was once a very important god, his worship lessened after the 13th century, especially when many Sun temples were destroyed.

Texts and history

The oldest surviving Vedic hymns, such as those in the Rigveda, speak about Sūrya with great respect, especially for the "rising sun." The sun is seen as a bringer of light and knowledge. In some parts, Surya is just described as the sun in the sky, while in others, it is seen as a god. Surya is often linked with the dawn goddess Ushas.

In the Vedas, Surya is seen as a creator of the world. In later texts like the Upanishads, Surya is connected to sight and inner knowledge. People were encouraged to look inside themselves for truth.

Surya is known by many names, each showing a different part of the sun. By the time of later stories, these names all referred to the same sun god. One famous example is the Konark Temple in Odisha, built in honor of the sun.

In the Mahabharata, Karna is described as the son of Surya and a princess named Kunti. Karna grows up to be a great warrior in the story of Kurukshetra.

Iconography

Buddhism and Jainism

Some of the earliest pictures of Surya come from Buddhist and Jain places of worship. In these pictures, Surya is often shown riding a chariot pulled by horses. This style of showing Surya looks similar to how the ancient Greek sun god Helios was pictured. These pictures show that ideas from Greece and other places influenced how Surya was shown in art.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, Surya is usually shown as a bright, standing figure riding a chariot with horses. He often holds a lotus flower in each hand. The chariot is usually pulled by seven horses, each named after a type of poetic meter in Sanskrit. Different Hindu books describe Surya differently—one says he should have two hands and wear a crown, while another says he should have four hands holding different things. In many pictures, two women stand beside him, representing the dawn. These women are sometimes called the dawn goddesses or Surya's wives. Surya is also shown with a driver named Aruna seated beside him.

Astronomy

Surya, the Sun, is an important part of Indian astronomy. Ancient Indian books written in Sanskrit, like the Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata and the Surya Siddhanta, talk about Surya and the planets. These books help us learn about how the planets move.

These books have different versions, showing that they were updated over time. For example, they tried to figure out the length of a year, and they got slightly different answers.

The oldest of these books is likely the Surya Siddhanta, and the most accurate is the Siddhanta Shiromani.

Zodiac and astrology

Surya has another name, Ravi, which is where the word "Sunday" comes from. Sunday is a day for the Sun in both Indian and ancient Greek calendars.

Surya is one of the Navagraha in Hindu astrology. People have believed in the Sun's importance since very old times, even in the Vedic period. One of the earliest astrology books from India is the Vedanga Jyotisha, which started around 1400 BCE. It was influenced by other places, like Babylonian astrology.

The Navagraha grew over time with ideas from places like Western Asia, including Zoroastrian and Hellenistic traditions. A book called the Yavanajataka helped standardize Indian astrology. The Hindu calendar is a special calendar that tracks both the Moon and the Sun.

Temples and worship

Surya temples are found in many parts of India. You can see artwork about Surya in many different kinds of Hindu temples, like those for Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, and Shakti. The walls, doors, and artwork in these temples often show pictures of Surya.

Some of the oldest Surya artwork is from the first part of the first millennium BCE. Temples from the 800s and 900s CE, like the one in Kadwaha, Madhya Pradesh, also show Surya. Many of these temples show many gods together, giving each one equal importance.

In India, many cave temples also show Surya. For example, the Ellora Caves in Maharashtra have carvings of Surya from the 600s CE.

Hindu temples usually face east toward the sunrise, honoring Surya. This idea is also used in Buddhist and Jaina temples.

Dedicated temples

One important Surya temple is in Arasavalli, in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. This temple’s design lines up with special moon positions. It is one of the easternmost sun temples in India.

Another well-known Surya temple is Deo Surya Mandir in Deo, Bihar. It is famous for a special worship called chhath puja and was built in the 800s CE. In the Mithila region of Bihar, there are several Surya temples, such as Kandaha Surya Mandir and others in Sitamarhi and Madhubani districts.

In Tamil Nadu, the Suryanar kovil in Tanjore district is one of the Navagraha temples and is dedicated to Surya. It is called Sivasurya Perumal.

The most famous Surya temple is the Konark Sun Temple in Orissa. Built in the 1200s CE, it looks like a big chariot with wheels and horses. It shows Surya in different forms.

There are many other Surya temples across India, in places like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam, Kerala, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Surya temples outside India

In Multan, now in Pakistan, there was an important Surya temple. It was damaged over time due to conflicts between different groups.

In Southeast Asia, such as Cambodia and Thailand, Surya was also part of the early religious ideas, even after Buddhism became more common.

In Kabul, Afghanistan, there is a temple dedicated to Surya with important statues discovered there.

In Nepal, many Surya temples and artworks date back to the medieval period.

Artifacts from the Sanxingdui culture in China, around 1600 BCE, show that people there also worshipped a sun deity similar to Surya.

In cultures, arts and other religions

Various festivals celebrate Surya, the Sun deity, across India. Pongal or Makara Sankaranti is the most famous festival dedicated to Surya, marking a good harvest. Other festivals include Chhath in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Samba Dashami, and Ratha Saptami. Chhath is celebrated right after Diwali with three days of fasting, followed by bathing in rivers while remembering the Sun. In Goa, Aytar Puja is celebrated, known as Aditya Ranubai in Maharashtra.

Classical Indian dances like Bharatanatyam include poses that represent rays of light shining out to the universe, showing respect to Surya. Sūrya namaskāra, or sun salutation, is a Yoga warm-up routine created in the 20th century. It connects a series of gentle postures, symbolizing the Sun as the source of all life. The Gayatri Mantra from the Rigveda is linked to Surya.

Surya is also honored in Buddhism. Ancient artworks linked to Ashoka show Surya in a chariot pulled by four horses. In Chinese Buddhism, Surya, called 日天 (Rìtiān), is one of the Twenty-Four Devas, protective spirits found in temples. In Japanese Buddhism, Surya is one of the Twelve Devas, known as "Nit-ten." In the Mount Meru Buddhist system, Surya is seen as a female deity, unlike the male lunar god.

Outside the Indian subcontinent

Indonesia

In Indonesia, Surya is known as Batara Surya and is the god of the sun. He is famous for giving special gifts to people he chooses and is said to have many children from different women. One of his famous children is Adipati Karna, born to Dewi Kunti in the story of the Mahabharata.

Batara Surya had three queens: Saranyu, Ragyi, and Prabha. Saranyu is the mother of important figures like Yama, the god of death, and the twins Aswin. In the Ramayana, Surya is the father of King Sugriva and is Hanoman's teacher. In the Mahabharata, Kunti accidentally summons Surya, and he helps her have a child, Karna, while keeping her unmarried status protected.

Worshiping Shiva Raditya in Bali

In Bali, Surya is seen as the most intelligent student of Shiva, earning the title Surya Raditya. There are special places and rituals in Bali to honor Surya, showing his importance in their traditions.