Surya

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Surya

In Hinduism

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, Surya (Devanagari

Devanagari

, or 'Nagari', is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together....
: ?????, surya, lit "the Supreme Light" ; Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has Official language in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore....
: Suriya; ; ) is the chief solar deity

Solar deity

A Solar Deity , is a deity who represents the sun, or an aspect of it. People have worshiped these for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs have formed around this worship, such as the "missing sun" found in many cultures ....
, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives Aditi

Aditi

Indra

Indra is the god of War and Weather, also the King of the gods or Deva and Lord of Heaven or Swarga in Hinduism. Mentioned first as the chief deity in the sacred Hindu text of Rig Veda, Indra is bestowed with a heroic and almost brash and amorous character....
, or of Dyaus Pitar (depending by the versions). The term "Surya" also refers to the Sun

Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
, in general. God Surya has hair

Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
and arm

Arm

In anatomy, an arm is one of the upper limbs of an animal. The term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired upper limbs of a four-legged animal, or the cephalopod arm....
s of gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
. Surya drives through the heaven in his triumphal chariot

Chariot

The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Chariots were built in Mesopotamia by the Mesopotamians as early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd millennium BC....
harnessed by seven horse

Horse

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In Hinduism

Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, Surya (Devanagari

Devanagari

Tamil language

Solar deity

Aditi

Indra

Sun

Hair

Arm

Gold

Chariot

Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s or one horse with seven heads , which represent the seven colours of the rainbow or the seven chakras. He presides over "Ravi-waar" or Sunday.

In Hindu religious literature, Surya is notably mentioned as the visible form of God that one can see every day. Furthermore, Shaivites

Shaivism

Shaivism,names the oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being....
and Vaishnava

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
s often regard Surya as an aspect of Shiva

Shiva

Shiva: is a major Hinduism god, and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of panchadeva....
and Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of panchadeva, and his supreme status is declared in the Hindu sacred texts like Yajurveda, the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita....
, respectively. For example, the sun is called Surya Narayana
Narayana

Narayana or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha....
by Vaishnavas. In Shaivite theology, Surya is said to be one of eight forms of Shiva

Shiva

Shiva: is a major Hinduism god, and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of panchadeva....
, named the Astamurti.

His other names include Vivasvat (Sanskrit: ???????) (also Visvakarma or Vivasvan), Ravi (lit. "the Fire Bird" ), Aditya (lit. the son of Aditi

Aditi

Aditi [from a without + diti bound from the verbal root da to bind] boundless, free; as a noun, infinite and shoreless expanse. In the Vedas, Aditi is Devamatri as from and in her cosmic matrix all the heavenly bodies were born....
) , Pusha (the best Purifier), Divakar (the maker of the day), Savita
Savitr

In Historical Vedic religion, Savitr , Savita is a solar deity and one of the Adityas. His name is in Vedic Sanskrit meanings "impeller, rouser, vivifier"....
(the vivifier), Arka (the ray), Mitra
Mitra

*mitra [Hn-In ????? ] was an important Indo-Iranian divinity. Following the prehistoric cultural split of Indian and Iranian cultures, names descended from *mitra were used for the following religious entities:...
(friend) , Bhanu (light), Bhaskar (maker of Light) and Grahapati (the Lord of Grahas) .

Depictions

Sometimes Surya has two hands with a lotus in both; sometimes four with a lotus, chakra

Chakra

Chakra is a Sanskrit word that translates as wheel or disc.Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric double of man....
, a conch and the fourth hand makes the gesture of protection.

Surya Namaskara, or the "Sun salutation"

A well-known Hindu mode of worship of the devotional movements of Surya is done at the rising of the Sun, known as Surya namaskara

Surya Namaskara

Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutation , is a common sequence of Hatha yoga asanas. Its origins lie in a worship of Surya, the Hindu solar deity....
(Sun Salutation). Ten yogic postures are assumed in successive flowing movements to complete one namaskar. Twelve sacred Hindu mantras uttered and for each mantra one complete namaskar is done. Ancient practice is to do 108 namaskaras a day. It is considered most auspicious by Hindus to do this.

The 12 mantras for surya namaskara:

? ??????? ??? aum mitraya namah
? ???? ??? aum ravayé namah
? ??????? ??? aum suryaya namah
? ????? ??? aum bhanavé namah
? ??? ??? aum khagaya namah
? ?????? ??? aum pushné namah
? ???????????? ??? aum hiranyagarbhaya namah
? ???????? ??? aum marichayé namah
? ???????? ??? aum adityaya namah
? ???????? ??? aum savitré namah
? ?????? ??? aum arkaya namah
? ???????? ??? aum bhaskaraya namah

The mantra frequently recited to praise the Surya comes from the Rig Veda, Book 1 Hymn 35:

? ???????? ???? ???????? ????????? ????? ??????? ? ?

????????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?

Throughout the dusky firmament advancing, laying to rest the immortal and the mortal,

Borne in his golden chariot he cometh, Savitar, God who looks on every creature.

The Gayatri Mantra

Gayatri Mantra

This is an article dedicated to Gayatri Mantra or sacred religious chant common to Hinduism and Brahmoism.The Gayatri, considered to be the holiest verse of the Vedas, has been paraphrased in different ways....
is also associated with Surya. Another hymn associated with Surya is the Aditya Hridayam

Aditya Hridayam

Aditya Hridayam, is a hymn associated with the Sun or Surya and was recited by the great sage Agastya to Rama on the battlefield before fighting with Ravana....
, recited by the great sage Agastya

Agastya

Agastya was a Historical Vedic religion sage or rishi. Agastya and his clan are also credited to have "authored" many mantras of the Rig Veda, the earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme Brahman....
to Rama

RAMA

Rama is a first-person adventure game developed and published by Sierra Entertainment in 1996. The game is based on Arthur C. Clarke's books Rendezvous with Rama and Rama II and supports both DOS and Microsoft Windows 95....
on the warfield before the fight with Ravana

Ravana

Ravana, also transliterated as Raavana, Ravan or Raavan, was a mythical king of rakshasas , with great supernatural power, who is said to have ruled Lanka about 6000 years ago....
.

Surya's religious role and mythic relationships

Vivasvat (Surya) had three queens - Saranya (also called Sanjna or Sangya), Ragyi and Prabha. Ragyi had a son named Revanta

Revanta

Revanta or Raivata is a minor Hinduism deity. According to the Rig-Veda, Revanta is the youngest son of the sun-god Surya, and his wife Sanjna ....
or Raivata while Sangya was the mother of Vaivasvata Manu or Sraddhadeva Manu (the seventh, i.e. present Manu

Manu (Hinduism)

In Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the First man or woman, and also the very first king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the universal flood....
), the twins Yama Dev

Yama

Yama , also known as Yamaraja in India, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, and Enma in Japan, is the lord of death, first recorded in the Vedas....
(the Lord of Death) and his sister Yami

Yami

In Historical Vedic religion beliefs, Yami is the first woman, along with her twin brother, Yama . The Rig-Veda, in the tenth Mandala, contains a hymn in which they sing to each other....
(associated with the river Yamuna

Yamuna

The Yamuna is a major tributary river of the Ganges in northern India. With a total length of around , it is the largest tributary of the Ganges....
). Surya is the father of the twins known as the Ashwins

Ashvins

The Ashvins or Ashwini Kumaras are divine twin horsemen in the Rigveda, sons of Saranya, a goddess of the clouds and wife of either Surya in his form as Vivasvat....
, divine horsemen and physicians to the Deva

Deva (Hinduism)

Deva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a god, spirit, demi-god, Celestial, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence....
s, from Sanranya. Once, Sangya, being unable to bear the extreme radiance of Surya, created a superficial entity from her shadow called Chhaya and instructed her to act as Surya's wife in her absence. Chhaya mothered two sons - Savarni Manu

Savarni Manu

Sarvabhauma comes as Savarni Manu, a son born to the sun-god and wife named Chaya. Savarni's sons are headed by Nirmoka, and among the demigods are the Sutapas....
(the eighth, i.e. next Manu

Manu (Hinduism)

In Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the First man or woman, and also the very first king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the universal flood....
) and Shani Dev

Shani

Shani is one of the Navagraha which are the nine primary celestial beings in Hindu astrology, or Jyoti?a. Shani is embodied in the planet Saturn....
(the planet Saturn), and two daughters - Tapti (goddess of river Tapti) and Vishti.

In Ramayana, Surya is described as father of the Monkey King Sugriva

Sugriva

In Hinduism mythology, Sugriva...
, who helped Rama

RAMA

Lakshmana

Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana. Within a number of Hinduism traditions Lakshmana is considered to be an avatara, in a secondary form to Rama's main appearance....
defeat the demon king Ravana

Ravana

Ravana, also transliterated as Raavana, Ravan or Raavan, was a mythical king of rakshasas , with great supernatural power, who is said to have ruled Lanka about 6000 years ago....
. He also trains Hanuman

Hanuman

Hanuman , , known also as 'Anjaneya' or Maruti , is one of the most popular concepts of devotees of God in Hinduism and one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic poetry, the Ramayana....
as his guru. The Suryavanshi

Suryavanshi

The Sun Dynasty or Solar Dynasty or Suryavansha is one of the most prominent dynasties in the history of Hinduism, along with the "Chandravansha" or Lunar Dynasty....
dynasty of kings, Rama being one of them, also claims descent from him.

In the Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetrys of History of India, the other being the '. The epic is part of the Hindu itihasa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
, princess Kunti receives instruction for a mantra

Mantra

A mantra can be defined as a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation. Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra....
from the sage

Sage

Sage or SAGE may refer to one of the following:...
Durvasa

Durvasa

In Hinduism, Durvasa is an ancient Rishi, son of Atri and Anasuya. He is supposed to be an incaranation of Shiva. He is supposed to be the only rishi whose penance goes up whenever he curses somebody....
; by reciting the mantra, she is able to summon any god and bear a child with him. Unable to believe the power of this mantra, Kunti tries to summon Surya. When Surya appears, she is overawed and requests him to go back, but Surya is compelled to fulfil the mantra before returning. Surya magically causes Kunti to bear a child immediately so that she, an unmarried princess, would not be subject to questions from the king or his court. Kunti discards this child, Karna

Karna

Karna is one of the central characters of the Mahabharata. He was born to Kunti, much before her marriage with Pandu. He is described a close friend of Duryodhana....
, who grows up to become one of the central characters in the great battle of Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra war

The Kurukshetra War is the war between the kauravas and pandavas. It forms an essential component of the Indian epic poetry Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, a dynastic struggle between sibling clans of Kauravas and the Pandavas for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in a battle in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated...
.

In astrology

In Vedic astrology

Jyotisha

is the Hindu system of astrology .Traditionally, it has three branches:* 'Siddhanta': , which is traditional Indian astronomy.* 'Samhita': also known as Medini Jyotisha , predicting important events based on analysis of astrological dynamics in a country's horoscope or general transit events such as war, earthquakes, poli...
Surya is considered a mild malefic

Malefic

Malefic may refer to:*Malefic planet*Malefic ...
on account of his hot, dry nature. Surya represents soul, will-power, fame, the eyes, general vitality, courage, kingship, father, highly placed persons and authority. He is exalted in the sign Mesha (Aries) and is in decline in the sign Tula (Libra). The strongest placement for Surya is directly overhead in the 10th house, and on the angles (the 1st, 4th and 7th houses). Surya is lord of three nakshatra

Nakshatra

A nakshatra or lunar mansion is one of the 27 or 28 divisions of the sky, identified by the prominent star in them, that the Moon passes through during its monthly cycle, as used in Hindu astronomy and Jyotisha....
s or lunar mansions: Krittika

Krittika

The star cluster , sometimes known as Kartika, corresponds to the open cluster Pleiades in Indian astronomy and . The name literally translates to "the cutters"....
, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha. Surya has the following associations: the colors - copper or red, the metals - gold or brass, the gemstone - ruby, the direction - east and the season of summer. The food grain associated with him (one of Nava Dhanyas) is wheat.

Temples

There are Surya temples all across India. The most famous is the World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
of the Sun Temple, Konark

Konark

Konark is a small town in Puri district of the state of Orissa, India, on the Bay of Bengal, sixty-five kilometres from Bhubaneswar.It is the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple , built in black granite by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty....
, Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , is a states and territories of India located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It was established on 1 April 1936 as a province in British India, and consists, predominantly of Oriya language speakers....
. Besides Konark, there is another sun temple in Orissa called Biranchi khetra (Biranchi Narayan Temple) in Buguda

Buguda

Buguda is a town and a notified area committee in Ganjam district in the state of Orissa, India. It is also situated in Ghumusara province....
, Ganjam District. There are sun temples in Modhera

Sun Temple, Modhera

The Sun Temple, Modhera was built in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty and is dedicated to Lord Surya, the Sun God of Hinduism. It is akin to the Konark Temple of Orissa....
, Gujarat, created by king Bhimdev of the Solanki

Solanki

The Solanki are a Hindu clan who ruled parts of western and central India between the 10th and 13th centuries. The Solanki are a branch of the Chalukya dynasty of whose oldest known area of residence was in present-day Karnataka....
dynasty, in Arasavalli

Arasavalli

Arasavalli is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to the Sun god Surya, located near Srikakulam town of Andhra Pradesh, India. The original name Harshavalli means abode of joy....
, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , abbreviated A.P.,is a state situated on eastern coast of India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
and in clusters of Navagraha temples

Navagraha temples

Navagraha temples are temples devoted to the nine major celestial bodies of Hindu astronomy. These celestial bodies are named Surya , Chandra , Chevaai/Mangal, Budhan , Guru/Brihaspati , Shukra , Shani , Rahu and Ketu ....
in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 States and territories of India of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai . Tamil Nadu lies in the southern most part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh....
and Assam

Assam

Assam ) is a North-East India state of India with its capital at Dispur, in the outskirts of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak River river valleys and the Karbi Anglong District and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles ....
.

External links

- from the Rig Veda

Surya

Depictions

Surya Namaskara, or the "Sun salutation"

Surya's religious role and mythic relationships

In astrology

Temples

See also

External links