Surya
Surya is the Sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to realise Brahman. Throughout Indian literature, Surya has been given multiple epitaphs such as Ravi, Vaivasvat, Bhāskara, etc. Furthermore, Surya has been described through aspects of itself which are identified as the Ādityas; including Savitr, Pushan, Mārtanda, Bhaga, etc.
The iconography of Surya is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by horses, often seven in number which represent the seven colours of visible light, and the seven days of the week. During the medieval period, Surya was worshipped in tandem with Brahma during the day, Shiva at noon, and Vishnu in the evening. In some ancient texts and art, Surya is presented syncretically with Indra, Ganesha, and others. Surya as a deity is also found in the arts and literature of Buddhism and Jainism. Surya is also regarded as the father of Sugriva and Karna, who play important roles in the two Hindu epics—the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, respectively. Surya was a primary deity in veneration by the characters of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Surya is depicted with a Chakra, also interpreted as Dharmachakra. Surya is the lord of Simha, one of the twelve constellations in the zodiac system of Hindu astrology. Surya or Ravi is the basis of Ravivara, or Sunday, in the Hindu calendar. Major festivals and pilgrimages in reverence for Surya include Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Samba Dashami, Ratha Saptami, Chath puja, and Kumbha Mela.
He is particularly venerated in the Saura and Smarta traditions found in Indian states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
Having survived as a primary deity in Hinduism longer than most of the original Vedic deities, the worship of Surya declined greatly around the 13th century, perhaps as a result of the Muslim destruction of Sun temples in North India. New Sun temples virtually ceased to be built, and some were later repurposed to a different deity. A number of important Surya temples remain, but most are no longer in worship. In certain aspects, Surya has tended to be merged with the prominent deities of Vishnu or Shiva, or seen as subsidiary to them.
Texts and history
Vedic
The oldest surviving Vedic hymns, such as the hymn 1.115 of the Rigveda, mention Sūrya with particular reverence for the "rising sun" and its symbolism as dispeller of darkness, one who empowers knowledge, the good and all life. However, the usage is context specific. In some hymns, the word Surya simply means Sun as an inanimate object, a stone or a gem in the sky ; while in others it refers to a personified deity.Surya is prominently associated with the dawn goddess Ushas and sometimes, he is mentioned as her son or her husband.
Surya's origin differs heavily in the Rigveda, with him being stated to have been born, risen, or established by a number of deities, including the Ādityas, Aditi, Dyaush, Mitra-Varuna, Agni, Indra, Soma, Indra-Soma, Indra-Varuna, Indra-Vishnu, Purusha, Dhatri, the Angirases, and the gods in general. The Atharvaveda also mentions that Surya originated from Vritra.
The Vedas assert Sun to be the creator of the material universe. In the layers of Vedic texts, Surya is one of the several trinities along with Agni and either Vayu or Indra, which are presented as an equivalent icon and aspect of the Hindu metaphysical concept called the Brahman.
In the Brahmanas layer of Vedic literature, Surya appears with Agni in the same hymns. Surya is revered for the day, while Agni for its role during the night. The idea evolves, states Kapila Vatsyayan, where Surya is stated to be Agni as the first principle and the seed of the universe. It is in the Brahmanas layer of the Vedas, and the Upanishads that Surya is explicitly linked to the power of sight, to visual perception and knowledge. He is then interiorized to be the eye as ancient Hindu sages suggested abandonment of external rituals to gods in favor of internal reflections and meditation of gods within, in one's journey to realize the Atman within, in texts such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad and others.
Conflation with other solar deities
Surya in Indian literature is referred to by various names, which typically represent different aspects or phenomenological characteristics of the Sun. The figure of Surya as we know him today is an amalgamation of various different Rigvedic deities. Thus, Savitr refers to one that rises and sets, Aditya means one with splendor, Mitra refers to Sun as "the great luminous friend of all mankind", while Pushan refers to Sun as illuminator that helped the Devas win over Asuras who use darkness. Arka, Mitra, Vivasvat, Aditya, Tapan, Ravi and Surya have different characteristics in early mythologies, but by the time of the epics they are synonymous.The term "Arka" is found more commonly in temple names of north India and in the eastern parts of India. The 11th century Konark Temple in Odisha is named after a composite word "Kona and Arka", or "Arka in the corner".
Other Surya temples named after Arka include Devarka and Ularka in Bihar, Uttararka and Lolarka in Uttar Pradesh, and Balarka in Rajasthan. Another 10th-century sun temple ruin is in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh named Balarka Surya Mandir, which was destroyed in the 14th century during the Turkish invasions.
Vivasvat, also known as Vivasvant, is also one such of these deities. His wife is Saranyu, daughter of Tvashtar. His sons include the Ashvins, Yama, and Manu. Through Manu, Vivasvat is considered an ancestor of humanity. Vivasvat is affiliated with Agni and Matarishvan, with Agni being stated to have been first revealed to those two. Vivasvat is also variously related to Indra, Soma, and Varuna. Vivasvant is also used as an adjective of Agni and Ushas to mean "brilliant". Already by the time of his earliest appearance, Vivasvat had declined in importance. He was likely a solar deity, but scholars debate his specific role as one. In the Rigveda, Indra drinks Soma alongside Manu Vivasvat and Trita. In post-Vedic literature, Vivasvat further declines in importance, and is merely another name for the sun. He is cognate to the Avestan Vivanhvant, who is the father of Yima and Manu. Taittiriya Aranyaka, in Prapataka 6, provides the methods of meditating on Surya.
Epics
As per the Ramayana's Yuddha Kanda, Rama was taught the Ādityahṛdayam stotra before his war against Ravana, the king of the rakshasas. The stotra was composed in Anushtup Chanda in praise of Surya, who is described as the embodiment of all gods and the origin of everything in the universe.The Mahabharata epic opens its chapter on Surya that reverentially calls him as the "eye of the universe, soul of all existence, origin of all life, goal of the Samkhyas and Yogis, and symbolism for freedom and spiritual emancipation.
In the Mahabharata, Karna is the son of Surya and unmarried princess Kunti. The epic describes Kunti's trauma as an unmarried mother, then abandonment of Karna, followed by her lifelong grief. Baby Karna is found and adopted by a charioteer but he grows up to become the greatest warrior and one of the central heroes of the great war of Kurukshetra.
Iconography
Buddhism and Jainism
Earliest representations of Surya riding a chariot occur in the Buddhist railings of the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, in the Bhaja Caves, and the Jain cave of Ananta Gumpha in Khandagiri. They follow similar depiction of the chariot-riding god Helios of Hellenistic mythology, as appearing for example on the coinage of Greco-Bactrian kings, such as Plato I.The iconography of Surya has varied over time. In some ancient arts, particularly from the early centuries of the common era, his iconography is similar to those found in Persia and Greece suggesting likely adoption of Greek, Iranian and Scythian influences.
After the Greek and Kushan influences arrived in ancient India, some Surya icons of the period that followed show him wearing a cloak and high boots.
In some Buddhist artwork, his chariot is shown as being pulled by four horses. The doors of Buddhist monasteries of Nepal show him, along with the Chandra, symbolically with Surya depicted as a red circle with rays.
Hinduism
In Hindu context, the sun-god only appears at a later period, as in the Virūpākṣa temple in Paṭṭadakal. The iconography of Surya in Hinduism varies with its texts. He is typically shown as a resplendent standing person holding a lotus flower in both hands, riding a chariot pulled by one or more horses typically seven.The seven horses are named after the seven meters of Sanskrit prosody: Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnih, Jagati, Trishtubha, Anushtubha and Pankti.
The Brihat Samhita of Varaha Mihira, a Hindu text that describes architecture, iconography and design guidelines, states that Surya should be shown with two hands and wearing a crown. It specifically describes his dress to be Northern.
In contrast, the Vishnudharmottara, another Hindu text on architecture, states Surya iconography should show him with four hands, with flowers in two hands, a staff in third, and in fourth he should be shown to be holding writing equipment. His chariot driver in both books is stated to be Aruṇa who is seated. Two females typically flank him, who represent the dawn goddesses named Usha and Pratyusha. The goddesses are shown to be shooting arrows, a symbolism for their initiative to challenge darkness. In other representations, these goddesses are Surya's two wives, Samjna and Chhaya. He had two other wives according to some texts, Rajni and Prabha.
Aniconic symbols of Surya include the Swastika and the ring-stone. In various texts including Mahabharata, Suryasataka, or Prasasti of Vatsabhatti, Surya is depicted as being worshipped by a host of semi-divine beings. These beings, namely Siddhas, Charanas, Gandharvas, Yaksas, Guhyakas, and the Nagas, desirous of obtaining boons, follow the course of Surya's chariot through the sky.