Surya-Namaskar

Published on 3rd March, 2019, in Mid-day. Surya, the sun god, plays an important role in Indian mythology. In some of the earliest images of Hindu and Buddhist mythology, Surya rides on a chariot with his wives or female archers, who shoot arrows, driving away the darkness of the night. In Vedic mythology, he is not just the god of light but also the god of knowledge. He is invoked with the Gayatri mantra. In Upanishads, he is the teacher of Yajnavalkya. Every morning people worship him by facing him and pouring water as offering, perhaps to quench his fiery thirst. He is visualised as ..