| Surya | |
|---|---|
| Member of Navagraha | |
 Sculpture of Surya with attendants, c. 11th century | |
| Other names |
|
| Affiliation | Deva, Adityas, Navagraha |
| Abode | Suryaloka |
| Planet | Sun |
| Mantra |
|
| Weapon | Suryastra, Astras, Wand, Trisula, Chakra, Gada and Conch Shell |
| Day | Sunday |
| Number | 1 |
| Mount | Chariot drawn by seven horses Charioteer: Aruṇa[2] |
| Festivals | Pongal, Sankranti,[3] Chhath |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Adityas including |
| Consorts | Sanjna and Chhaya[note 1] |
| Children | |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Helios[7] |
| Indo-European | Sehul |
| Norse | Sól |
| Roman | Sol |
| Egyptian | Ra[8] |
| Part of a series on |
| Hinduism |
|---|
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Surya (/ˈsuːrjə/;[9]Sanskrit: सूर्य, IAST: Sūrya) is the Sun[10] as well as the solar deity in Hinduism.[10] 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.[11] Other names of Surya in ancient Indian literature include Aditya, Arka, Bhanu, Savitr, Pushan, Ravi, Martanda, Mitra, Bhaskara, Prabhakara, Kathiravan, and Vivasvan.[12][13][14]
The iconography of Surya is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by horses, often seven in number[2] which represent the seven colours of visible light, and the seven days of the week.[12][15] During the medieval period, Surya was worshipped in tandem with Brahma during the day, Shiva at noon, and Vishnu in the evening.[12][16] In some ancient texts and art, Surya is presented syncretically with Indra, Ganesha, and others.[12][15] 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 epic—the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, respectively. Surya was a primary deity in veneration by the characters of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.[17][18]
Surya is depicted with a Chakra, also interpreted as Dharmachakra. Surya is the lord of Simha (Leo), 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.[19] Major festivals and pilgrimages in reverence for Surya include Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Samba Dashami, Ratha Saptami, Chath puja, and Kumbha Mela.[20][21][22]
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 any 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.[23]
- ^ Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. Sarup & Sons. 1999. ISBN 9788176250641.
- ^ a b Jansen, Eva Rudy. The Book of Hindu Imagery: Gods, manifestations, and their meaning. p. 65.
- ^ South Indian Hindu Festivals and Traditions. Abhinav Publications. 2005. ISBN 9788170174158.
- ^ Pāṇḍeya, Lālatā Prasāda (1971). "Sun-worship in Ancient India".
- ^ Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-396-7.
- ^ Bhattacharyya, Asoke Kumar (1995). A Pageant of Indian Culture: Art and Archaeology. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-273-4.
- ^ Pande, Govind Chandra (2007). A golden chain of civilizations: Indic, Iranic, Semitic, and Hellenic up to c. 600 BC (1st ed.). New Delhi, India: Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy, and Culture. p. 572. ISBN 978-818758628-9.
- ^ Redwood, Soleil (22 August 2019). "Gods of the Sun". www.horniman.ac.uk. Horniman Museum & Gardens.
24 September 2023
- ^ "Surya". Oxford Dictionaries (en.oxforddictionaries.com). Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ a b Dalal, p. 399
- ^ Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521438780.
- ^ a b c d Dalal, pp. 5, 311
- ^ van der Geer, Alexandra Anna Enrica (2008). Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured Through Time. BRILL. pp. 236–. ISBN 978-90-04-16819-0.
- ^ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 76.
- ^ a b Shimkhada, Deepak (1984). "The Masquerading Sun: A Unique Syncretic Image in Nepal". Artibus Asiae. 45 (2/3): 223–229. doi:10.2307/3249732. JSTOR 3249732.
- ^ Blurton, T. Richard (1993). Hindu Art. Harvard University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-674-39189-5.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
kumarkumarwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Vyas, R. T.; Shah, Umakant Premanand (1995). Studies in Jaina Art and Iconography and Allied Subjects. Abhinav Publications. pp. 23–24. ISBN 978-81-7017-316-8.
- ^ Dalal, p. 89
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon (2011). Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations. ABC-CLIO. pp. 547–548. ISBN 978-1-59884-205-0., Quote: "Makar Sankranti is a festival held across India, under a variety of names, to honour the god of the sun, Surya."
- ^ Eck, Diana L. (2013). India: A Sacred Geography. Random House. pp. 152–154. ISBN 978-0-385-53192-4.
- ^ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Vol. N–Z. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 514. ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
- ^ Pathak, Ratnesh K., Humes, Cynthia Ann (1993) "Lolark Kund: Sun and Shiva Worship in the City of Light", [in] Living Banaras: Hindu Religion in Cultural Context, Bradley R. Hertel, Cynthia Ann Humes, [eds] pp. 206–211, SUNY Press, ISBN 0791413314
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