Surya is portrayed with two lotuses held in both his
hand, and is occasionally shown with the hood of the mythical serpent Adi Sesha
spread over his head. At the base of his image are shown his gatekeepers Pingala
(Agni) and Danda (Skanda). Surya is portrayed riding a seven horse
chariot driven by Aruna or Anoora. Aruna
(a charioteer devoid of legs) is said to be the son of Kasyapa muni and Vinata
and brother of Garuda.
The Indian system of beliefs regards sunlight as the
greatest of disinfectants, hence the sun is associated with healing
power.
Legend has it that Samba the son of Krishna was
cured of leprosy by his worship of the sun god. It is still believed by many that sun
worship offered at several of the sun temples all over
India, is a cure for leprosy and other skin ailments, blindness and
infertility.
The Vedas refer to sun worship. Vishnu
is also described as being seated in the midst of the disk of the sun; over time Vishnu
worship merged with sun worship (in some instances), and Surya is also referred to as Suryanarayana.
Interestingly, Buddhism refers to Marichi
as an incarnation of Dhyan-Buddha-Vairochana, and is depicted with three faces symbolic of
morning, noon and evening, on a chariot drawn by seven boars, driven by a Goddes without
legs.
