Indian culture lays great emphasis on worshiping the five gods. Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and His incarnations, Lord Ganesha, Ma Shakti and Surya (Sun-god). This article describes the Sun,in a human form rather than a divine being. He is the “pratyakshadaiva” – the only God visible to us every day.
The main deity of the Navagrahas or the Nine Planets of Hindu Astrology, he is also considered as one of the Navagrahas. Surya is often portrayed as riding a chariot driven by 7 horses or alternatively, by 1 horse with 7 heads. These 7 horses represent the colors of the rainbow and the 7 chakras in the subtle human body as well. Surya is sometimes shown with 2 hands, holding one lotus in each and sometimes with 4 hands, or a red man with three eyes and four arms holding a lotus, Sankha (conch), Chakra (discus) and Gada (mace).
Surya Devata in Hinduism, is considered to be an eye of the of Lord Sri Krishna himself.
SURYA is one of the three chief gods of the Vedas
Surya is worshipped by people, saints and even asuras or demons.Surya Devata is regarded as the Supreme Being among the followers of the Saura sect, which has now become very small and is almost endangered. The Sauras worship him as one of the five major forms of God.
Surya is worshipped in many forms. But two of the most common forms of the deity are Arka and Mitra.
Surya in the form of Arka is worshipped mostly in North and Eastern India. The very grand and elaborate Konark Temple in Orissa, the Uttararka and Lolarka in Uttar Pradesh, the Balarka temple in Rajasthan and the Sun Temple at Modhera, Gujarat, are all dedicated to his form of Arka. Yet another temple, the Balarka Surya Mandir built in Uttar Pradesh in the 10th Century, was destroyed in the 14th Century, during the Turkish invasion.
The other most common form of Surya, namely, Mitra, is found mostly in Gujarat. “Mitra” literally means “friend”.
Surya, also called as Vivasvata, had 3 queens, namely, Sharanya (also called Saraniya, Saranyu, Sanjana or Sangya), Ragyi and Prabha. Sharanya was the mother of Vaivasvata Manu (or Satyavrata, the present Manu) and the twins Yama (the God of Death) and his sister Yami. Later, she also gave birth to the Ashvin twins, who were the divine horsemen and physicians to the Devas. Being unable to bear the extreme radiance emitted by Surya, Sharanya created a superficial shadow of herself, called Chhaya. She asked her to act as Surya’s wife. In due course of time, Chhaya gave birth to 2 sons, namely, Savarni Manu and Shani (Planet Saturn) and 2 daughters, namely, Tapti and Vishti. Surya’s other wife, Ragyi, gave birth to their son, Revanta or Raivata.
Surya Deva’s sons, Shani and Yama, are the judges of human life and karma. While Shani Deva bestows positive or negative results for one’s deeds committed during one’s lifetime, Yama Deva grants these results after one’s death.
Surya bears great significance in the Mahabharata as well. According to this epic, Kunti receives the diksha for a mantra from the short-tempered sage, Durvasa. She was given the boon that whenever she chanted this mantra, she would be able to summon a Deva and also bear a child by him.
Without realizing its seriousness, Kunti tested the mantra, summoning Surya. As Surya was forced to fulfill the obligation of the mantra, she miraculously begot a child from him, while actually retaining her virginity. Not able to bear the thought of becoming an unwed mother, princess Kunti was compelled to abandon her son, Karna, who later grew up to be one of the greatest ever warriors and a central character in the battle of Kurukshetra.
Surya Deva is known to be strong, powerful and invincible. However, he too was once subdued by Hanuman, the greatest devotee and also the humble sevak (servant) of Lord Rama. He had an interesting episode with Surya during his childhood. A rather playful and mischievous monkey in his baalyaavastha (childhood), Hanuman leapt up to the skies and started chasing Surya, mistaking him to be a ripe mango! He kept pursuing the Sun, wanting to eat what he thought was the delicious fruit.
Later, when he realized that Surya was the all-knowing teacher, Hanuman raised his body and positioned himself to orbit around the Sun, also requesting him to accept him as a disciple. Surya refused, saying that he could never be in one place, as he had to constantly traverse around the world. An undeterred Hanuman continued to pursue Surya and kept pleading persistently. Surya then agreed and passed on his knowledge to Hanuman.
In this way, Surya emerged as a Karma Saakshi, the Eternal Witness of all deeds. So beware. HE IS WATCHING.
The Sun is the symbol of the Self-god. As the Self-god illuminates the mind, the intellect and the body, the Sun illuminates the world.But the Sun too is illuminated by the Atman. Who is the apprehender of the existence or non-existence of the Sun? It is your real ‘I’, your Real Self. Your real ‘I’ is blazing in the form of the Sun. In Yoga and other forms of energy transference ( e.g. Reiki) this “real self” or “Aura”, displays various forms of colours depending on the individuals’ mood and inner feeling. These colours are the seven colours of the rainbow, each depicting different mood.
Note1:
The Navagraha :
Ravi(Surya),
Chandra(Moon),
Mangal(Mars),
Budh(Mercury),
Guru/Bruhaspati( Guru of Devas )(Jupiter),
Shukra (Guru of Asuras)/(Venus)
Shani(Saturn)
Rahu,
Ketu
Interesting part of Indian Mythology is, Earth is not considered as a planet, since “she” is considered one of the three major worlds to live, Iha lok.The word “Iha”, means”to live here” The others being Swarga lok(Heaven) and Patal lok(Hell)
Note 2: The chants of the Navagraha are composed by Rushi(sage) Vyas (one of the rivers in India “Bias in Himalayas” is named after him.)
Note 3 :
Sahastra Chakra
Adnya Chakra
Vishudhha Chakra
Anahat
Manipura
Swadishhthan
Muladhar
