Surya Deva

Surya is unique because he is worshipped in his actual physical form — the sun itself — making him the most directly perceptible of all deities. While other deities require temples, idols, and rituals to be approached, Surya rises every single day and offers his light and warmth equally to every living being without discrimination. The Vedic rishis considered this direct perceptibility to be the highest form of divine expression.

The Gayatri Mantra is the most sacred verse in the Rig Veda — addressed to Savitr, the solar deity who is one aspect of Surya. It translates roughly as: We meditate on the divine light of that adorable solar deity — may it illuminate and inspire our intellect. While addressed specifically to the solar aspect of the divine, it is considered the mother of all mantras and is universally applicable across all Hindu traditions.

Chhath Puja is a four-day sun worship festival primarily observed in Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh — though now practised worldwide by the diaspora from these regions. It involves rigorous fasting without water, and offering arghya (water) to both the setting sun (Sandhya Arghya) and the rising sun (Usha Arghya) while standing waist-deep in a river. It has no priest — the devotee faces the sun directly. It is believed to be one of the oldest surviving forms of Vedic sun worship.

Surya s chariot is drawn by seven horses, each representing one colour of the visible light spectrum (VIBGYOR) — Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. The seven horses also represent the seven days of the week, the seven notes of music (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni), and the seven chakras of the human body. The single wheel of the chariot represents the year, and the twelve spokes represent the twelve months.

The most auspicious time is within the first 30 minutes after sunrise — when the sun is just above the horizon and its rays are at a low angle. At this time, the infrared and ultraviolet components of sunlight that are harmful are filtered by the atmosphere, while the beneficial frequencies reach the Earth. The water poured slowly from a copper vessel refracts the early morning light through a spectrum, and combined with mantra vibration, creates a powerful devotional and scientifically beneficial practice.

Copper is the metal of Surya in Vedic tradition — its warm reddish-gold colour mirrors the sun, and its properties of heat conduction and natural antimicrobial quality connect it to the sun s purifying, life-giving nature. Water stored in copper vessels overnight absorbs trace minerals and has documented health benefits. In Vedic astrology, wearing a copper ring on Sunday or drinking copper-vessel water is a standard recommendation to strengthen a weak Sun in the birth chart.

The twelve names are: (1) Mitra — the friend, (2) Ravi — the shining one, (3) Surya — the supreme light, (4) Bhanu — the luminous, (5) Khaga — the sky-traveller, (6) Pushan — the nourisher, (7) Hiranyagarbha — the golden womb, (8) Maricha — the ray of light, (9) Aditya — son of Aditi, (10) Savitr — the vivifier, (11) Arka — the radiant, (12) Bhaskara — the one who shines. Each name is chanted with one posture of Surya Namaskar.