Surya – The Sun God

In Other Cultures

The Sun God enjoys great importance in Greek and Egyptian mythology. Surya’s Greek counterpart is Helios and the Egyptian Sun God is Ra.

In Zoroastrianism, which is based on the worship of Fire, the Sun is described as the “Eye of Ahura Mazda”. This bears resemblance to Hinduism, which considers Surya to be one eye of Sri Maha Vishnu.

In Vedic Astrology

In Vedic astrology, Surya is regarded as slightly volatile, due to his nature of being too radiant and emitting too much heat. The Sun thus represents the soul, vitality, courage, willpower, authority, royalty and so on. His position is exalted in Mesha or Aries and takes a backward position in Tula or Libra. In Hindu horoscopes, the best location for Surya is considered to be right overhead, on the 10th house and on the 1st, 5th and 9th houses.

Surya is the Lord of Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha. He is often associated with reds, coppers and metallic colors and his gemstone is ruby.

Surya Blesses Bala Hanuman

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. The former also gave Hanuman 2 siddhis, namely, laghima and garima, which enabled him to take the smallest form and the largest form, respectively, at will.

Surya Namaskara or the “Sun Salutation”

Many devout Hindus regularly perform the Surya Namaskara, literally meaning, “Sun salutation”. This mode of worship is essentially made up of 11 asanas or yogic postures, which are assumed in successive movements, along with breath control, to form a flowing series of one complete namaskara. 12 mantras are chanted for each of these namaskaras. The Surya Namaskara is not only considered auspicious, but is also very beneficial for all-round health and wellness, both physical and mental.
Suryopasana or Sun Worship
Many Hindus perform regular Suryopasana, that is, offering worship to the Sun God. The period from April 12th to 23rd is considered most auspicious for the worship of Surya. Surya is believed to be the giver of intelligence, confidence, good health, courage, strength, leadership qualities, independence, fame, success, power and much more. While an ill-placed position of the Sun in a person’s horoscope could indicate low self-esteem, lack of confidence, ill health and dependency; an overly strong placement of the Sun could also trigger many negative qualities in the person concerned.

After having a bath early morning, the seeker has to offer jal or water to Surya, looking in his direction, paying salutations to the Lord. Surya is regarded as a manifestation of the Brahman and so he is often referred to as Surya Narayana.

One can chant the Vedic mantra of Surya, which is mentioned right at the very beginning of this article.

The puranic mantra of Surya is as follows:

“Japa Kusuma Sankasham Kashyapeyam Mahadyuthim
Thamognam Sarvapapagnam Pranathosmi Divakaram”

Surya’s Beeja mantra is “Om hran hrin hron sah suryay namah”

The mantra, “Om ghrini suryay nama:”, is commonly used as well.

Adityahridayam

Adityahridayam is a sloka or hymn in praise of Aditya, the Sun God. It was originally recited by Sage Agastya to Rama on the battlefield, before the latter went to fight the demon king, Ravana. Belonging to the Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana, this hymn starts at the beginning of the Rama-Ravana duel. Rama was exhausted after a long day’s fight with the army of Lanka and so, Agasya taught him the mantra in order to gain the courage and strength to face the enemy. The hymn was later compiled by Sage Valmiki.

The Adityahridayam comprises a total of 30 slokas, which contain the whole episode of Agastya telling Rama about the greatness of Lord Surya; relating the benefits of reciting the hymn; the sloka itself; and how the Lord pervades the Consciousness and is actually one with the jeevatma.
The Adityas
The word “Aditya” in Sanskrit refers to something “that comes from Aditi”. In other words, it refers to “the offspring of Aditi”. Aditya also means the Sun.
In the Rigveda
According to the Rigveda, the Adityas are the 7 sons of Aditi. These celestial beings are Varuna, Mitra (or Surya), Aryaman, Bhaga, Amsa, Dhatri and Indra. Aditi had an eighth Aditya as well, called Martanda, who she rejected and disowned.

The Yajurveda records the existence of 8 Adityas, the last one being, Vivasvan. Some believe that this entity was actually Martanda, who was revived and then became Vivasvan.

The Rigveda describes the Adityas as akin to pure streams of water, free from all guile, falsehood and negativity. They have also been attributed as being completely Dharmic or righteous. They are benevolent divine beings, who protect all beings and also guard the world of the spirits.