‘Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’

We have been listening to this phrase since our childhood. But are you aware of the reason behind it? Ever wondered why our grandparents always expect us to wake up early in the morning and offer water to the Sun?

Human body is made up of 5 elements Jal (water), Vayu (Air), Agni (Fire), Prithvi (Earth) and Aakaash (Sky) and sun is one of these 5 elements. At the time of sunrise, the cosmic rays of the Sun are believed to be extremely pure and good for the human health.

As per Hindu mythology, Sun (king of planets) is regarded as ‘Surya Dev’ and is also believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Ancient Vedas regarded Surya Naryana as one of the living deities who could be seen and worshipped. Gayatri Mantra, one of the oldest and the most powerful mantras, is recited in the conjuration of The Sun.

The Sun in Hindu Mythology:

  • The Chariot and seven horses or one horse with seven heads, namely Gayatri, Usnik, Jagati, Tritsup, Brhati, Anustup and Pankti, steered by Arun, often represents the Sun. These seven horses symbolize the seven colors of Rainbow.
  • Lord Sun is manifested with four hands; holding a lotus, sankh, chakra in each of the hand while the fourth hand is to shower blessing on his devotees.
  • There is an interesting story of the Sun marrying two wives, Sanjana and Chhaya:

Sanjana, the Sun’s wife, was the daughter of Vishvakarama (the celestial architect). They had three children: Vaivasvata Manu (present Manu) and two twins Yama, (the god of death) and Yami.

Sanjana was having tough time with her husband due to his florid and luminous intensity, so she decided to abscond to the mountains and made the clone of her, Chhaya (shadow) to take care of her husband in the absence of her. Chayya started living with the Sun and gave birth to three children Savarni, Shani (regarded as Shanidev, later became planet Saturn) and Taapti. Later when the Sun learned about the whole incident, he went to the mountains in search of his wife. He found out that his wife adapted herself into a mare and consequently, he turned himself into a horse and approached her vehemently. They gave birth to the horse, Ashwini Kumara, the celestial physician.

  • In Ramayan, Lord Rama was regarded as descendant of The Sun God, and was called ‘Suryavanshi’; Iskwakoo being the first ruler of this dynasty.
  • Also, Sugriva is believed to be the son of Surya, who helped Lord Rama to defeat the evil Ravana.
  • Surya dev also played an important role in the longest epic, The Mahabharata. Karan, the greatest warrior of this epic, was the son of the Sun God, which was abnegated by Mata Kunti to prevent herself from the abashment of being called the ‘unwed mother’.

Effects of the Sun in Kundlis:

  • The Sun symbolizes stability and dynamism and enjoys the status of King among all planets. Natives with a strong Sun in their birth-chart possess stupendous qualities and are born leaders.
  • Besides this, presence of The Sun is beneficial for other Zodiac signs as well. There are twelve houses of horoscope and each of this house elucidate some meaning in one’s life under Sun’s influence. For instance: People born under Leo enjoy advantages over other zodiac signs as the Sun rules the sign of Leo. Its exaltation sign is Aries, determent sign is Aquarius and debilitation sign is Libra.
  • The Sun is beneficial if placed in houses 1,2,3,4,5,8,9.
  • The perfect positioning of the Sun in a person’s horoscope brings name and fame. In contrast to this, it can also bring arrogance, pessimism and may cause mental illness.

The Sun is religiously worshipped in Hindu culture for kind blessings of this Almighty. The Sun is gifted with curing diseases of the humans and is also a great source of Vitamin-D. Several festivals in India are solely dedicated to Surya Dev:

  • Makar Sakranti
  • Chhath pooja
  • Samba Dashami
  • Ratha Saptami

Offering water to the Sun is considered one of the most sacred religious rituals in Hindu culture. It is believed that when water is offered to the Sun with ‘kalash’ or copper pot from a certain height, the thick layers of water form seven colors of spectrum through refraction. If a person tries to see through it, it is believed that it vitalizes human soul and purifies the mind and is very beneficial for the eyes as well.

Procedure of offering water to The Sun:

  • Add roli, moli, sugar, and some rice in the copper vessel (pot) containing water.
  • Stand in front of the Sun, and start reciting mantras with full devotion five times:

    Om su suray namah!

    Om pitra devai namah!

  • Stretch out your hands, start pouring water from a certain height towards the Sun, and recite same mantras.
  • Try to look at the rays formed by the flowing water.
  • After this, touch the water spread on the Earth with both hands, and then touch your eyes and throat.
  • Revolve 360 degrees at one place.
  • Leave that place without placing foot on that scared water.