Surya Ji

Surya is the Hindu solar deity, one of the principal gods of the Vedas and, as one of the Navagraha, the ruler of Sunday. He is worshipped both as the visible sun itself and as the source of light, life and royal authority.

He is called Aditya, "son of Aditi," and Bhaskara, "maker of light." In his Vedic aspect as Savitr, the one who impels all motion, he is counted among the twelve Adityas alongside Mitra, Varuna and Indra.

He is shown standing on a blooming lotus or riding a chariot drawn by seven horses, or by a single horse with seven heads, representing the colours of light. Unusually among major gods he is typically two-armed, holding lotuses, crowned, and haloed, a form that art historians trace in part to Iranian and Central Asian influence on his cult.

He fathers major figures across the epics: Yama, god of death; Manu, progenitor of humanity; Karna in the Mahabharata, born through a boon to Kunti; and, in some traditions, Sugriva in the Ramayana. Persistent motifs around his household concern his wife Sanjna's shadow-double Chhaya and his charioteer Aruna, who together account for the sun's complicated family and for the birth of his son Shani.

Son of the sage Kashyapa and the goddess Aditi. His wife is Sanjna (Saranyu); Shani (Saturn) is his son by her shadow-form Chhaya, and the Ashvins and Revanta are also named among his children in various texts.

Though dedicated Surya temples declined sharply after the twelfth century, his worship continues vigorously through practices such as Surya Namaskar, Ratha Saptami and Chhath Puja. Astrologically the Sun retains central importance as the graha governing vitality, authority and the soul (atma-karaka).

His most celebrated historical temples stand at Konark in Odisha and Modhera in Gujarat. Chhath Puja, his most widespread living festival, is concentrated in Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai region of Nepal, distinct in character from the temple-centred worship of earlier centuries.