The many names of Surya The Gods are Adithya, Bhanu, Ravi and even PhraAthit, and he is the chief of the Navagraha which the nine planets and also taken to be the most important elements in and around which the whole philosophy of Hindu astrology revolves. If you see the idol of the pictures of Surya Deva, he will be often seen riding a chariot which is drawn by seven horses, which is believed to be representing the seven colours of rainbow, or even the seven chakras in one’s body. As per the Hindu Yogic tradition, it is believed that Chakras are the energy points in a human body, or more precisely the subtle body which is taken to be one of the series of psycho-spiritual constituents of the living beings which are based on the ethos of esoteric, occult and mystical teachings. There are Saura sect who regard Surya Deva as their supreme deity, Sauras are basically one of the denominations of the Hindu religion, but at present are found in very small denomination as compared to the Vaishnavism or Shaivism. Surya is also worshipped by the Smarta which is believed to be one of the orthodox family traditions, which had been composed by the Brahmins, and these are the Brahmins who are believed to be the followers of Panchayatna, which is a system of worship that was introduced by AdiShankara. There are two major forms in which Surya Deva is depicted and they are as follows: · The Arka Form: This form of Surya Deva is mostly found as well as worshipped in the Northern and the Eastern parts of India, one of the very good examples of the temples that are dedicated to the ‘Arka’ form of Surya are the Konark Temple which is found in Orissa, and also as Uttararka and Lolarka in Uttar Pradesh, and in the form of Balarka in the state of Rajasthan. · The Mitra Form: The meaning of Mitra is Friend, and so is Surya, who is worshipped because he is the Mitra of the nourishing properties of life itself. This form of Surya Deva is seen being worshipped in Gujarat, where it was believed that a clan of Suryawanshi kings who were known as the clan of Mitrawanshi Kshatriyas were known after him and as his followers. As per the mythological believes, Surya Deva is supposed to be wed to three wives, and their names are: o Saranyu o Ragyi o Prabha Among them Saranyu is depicted as per the holy books as the mother of Vaivasvata Manu who is one of the fourteen Manus, and is considered as the ancestor of the current Manvantara, which is considered as the seventh of the fourteen that make up the current Kalpa which is basically age, and it is said that each of the Kalpa makes up a day of Brahma. Saranyu is also said to be the mother of the twins Yama who is the Lord of Death and Yami which stands for the sacred river Yamuna and is one of the holiest river of Hindu religion. When Saranyu was unable to bear the radiance of Surya Deva she created a superficial entity called Chhaya which means the Shadow and gave her the instructions to act as Surya Deva’s wife when she was absent. Chhaya then mothered two sons namely Savarni Manu and Shani Deva and also bore two daughters to Surya Deva with the names Tapti and Vishti. Surya Deva also has two more sons with his wives Ragyi and Prabha and they are named Revanta and Prabhata respectively. It is Surya Deva’s two sons Shani Deva and Yama Deva who are the ones responsible for the judgement of the life of a human.
