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The Story of Surya, the Sun God

Surya, the Sun-God, has always existed and is beyond what we can see or touch. Through his own magic, he becomes visible and real. He is also called Aaditya because he has been around since the very beginning. The word ‘Aadi’ means “the very beginning”.

Surya was born to Aditi, the mother of gods, which is why he is called Aaditya. In ancient times, when Lord Brahma, the Creator, was organizing the universe, Lord Surya was born to sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi.

The Birth of the Sun-God

A long time ago, there were many fights between the gods and the demons. In one of these fights, the demons won, and the gods had to run away for safety. Aditi, the daughter of Daksha and wife of sage Kashyapa, was very worried about her children, the gods. She prayed to Lord Surya, asking him to be born as her son to help protect his brothers, the gods.

Lord Surya was pleased with Aditi’s devotion. He said to her:

“Mother, I will fulfill your wish. With a small part of myself, I will be born as your son to protect the gods.”

Sage Kashyapa was happy to know that the Sun-God would be his son. In time, Surya was born to Kashyapa and Aditi. The gods were happy to have Lord Surya as their brother.

Surya’s Role in the Universe

It is said in the Puranas that Lord Brahma, the Creator, came from the lotus that grew from the navel of Lord Vishnu, the eternal god. From Brahma came his son, the sage Marichi. From Marichi was born sage Kashyapa, and from Kashyapa was born Surya, the Sun-God. With his powerful looks, Lord Surya defeated his enemies and brought back the path of spirituality.

In astrology, the Sun is a strong planet that stands for discipline, dignity, and leadership. It is also a sign of the soul of a person. The strength or weakness of the Sun in a horoscope shows the overall strength or weakness of a person.

After the gods and demons churned the ocean and got the Amrita, the elixir of life, the Sun pointed out the disguised demon Rahu among the gods. Rahu got angry with the Sun and started eclipsing him periodically. The Sun-God, upset, shone brightly to burn everything. The gods, along with Lord Brahma, asked Aruna, another son of Sage Kashyapa, to help cool down the Sun.

Aruna became the Sun’s charioteer and protected the three worlds from being burned by the angry Sun-God.

Surya’s Family and Challenges

Lord Surya, the son of Sage Kashyapa, could scorch the three worlds. He married Sanjna, the daughter of Vishwakarma, the divine architect. They had children named Vaivasvata Manu, the lawgiver, and twins Yama, the god of Death, and Yamuna. Sanjna found it hard to bear the heat and brightness of Surya and decided to leave him.

Sanjna created her duplicate, Chhaya, from her shadow to replace her. Chhaya agreed to stay and take care of Sanjna’s children but promised to keep it a secret unless forced to tell the truth.

Surya, not knowing the truth, thought Chhaya was Sanjna and had two more sons, Savarni Manu and Shanaishchara (Saturn or Shani), with her. Chhaya favored her children, ignoring Sanjna’s, which made Yama angry. He insulted Chhaya, and she cursed him, making one of his feet fall off. Surya found out the truth using his powers and forgave Chhaya.

Surya then went to Vishwakarma, who explained why Sanjna left. Vishwakarma made Surya’s appearance more charming and beautiful. Surya changed into a horse to match Sanjna’s new form and went to her. She accepted him, and they had twins, Ashwini-Kumaras, who are the physicians of the gods.

 Surya in the Mahabharata

In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, prayed to the Sun-God during their exile. The Sun-God gave him the ‘Akshaya Patra’, a vessel that never runs out of food, which fed them until Draupadi had her share.