Page:South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses.djvu/256

 horses and be driven by the charioteer Aruna who is repre- sented without legs. The Sun is supposed to be a Kshatriya (sometimes, a Brahmana) born of the sage Kasyapa. He is the lord of the Kalinga country, 1 wears a mail armour (kavacha) and robes in the northern fashion. 3 According to the Matsya- Purana, he is represented seated (or standing) on a lotus seat, holding lotus flowers in his hands and is ever engaged in going round and round the mountain Meru (fig. 143). His banner is the lion. This is the description of the Sun as the chief of Planets. But within the flaming Orb is recognized the god Narayana (Vishnu) whose body is golden, who assumes the forms of Brahma in the morning, Mahesvara (Siva) * in the midday and Vishnu in the evening. In this composite form he is seated on a lotus pedestal with crocodile ear-rings ( makara-kundala) and a crown and exhibits in his hands the conch and discus and all the characteristic weapons of the Trimurti. An illustration from Chidambaram (fig. 144) evi- dently represents Surya as composed of Brahma, Mahesvara and Vishnu, though the symbols held in the hands do not clearly indicate the same. On the pedestal are shown seven horses driven by Aruna, who, though believed to be without legs, is here represented with them.

Surya is also supposed to be the manifest form of the three Vedas, 4 the sole supporter of universal space, resplendent in his car, surrounded by his consorts, Planets and the celestial damsels. Twelve different forms of the Sun (and sometimes thirty-two) are described, one having red light, another white light and so on. Hemadri says that on the right and left sides of the Sun respectively, are represented the attendant gods Danda-Pingala and Ati-Pingala worshipping him, with pen and paper in their hands. His sons Revanta, 5 Yama and the two Manus and his four wives Rajni, Svarna, Chhaya and Suvarchasa also stand on either side of him. It may be noted

1 It may be noted thai a famous temple of the Sun is at Konarir in ths Kalinga country.

2 Varahamihira's description of the images of the Sun is given by Dr. Hhan- darkar on page 54 of his treatise on V'aisknavism, Saivism t etc. It is inferred from this that the dress worn by him must be non- Indian in its origin. Tht Avyanga which is also stated to encircle the Sun round his waist is identified with the Aivyaonghen of the Avesta language and is taken to signify the kusti worn by the Parsees of the present day.

3 In the Frayogaratf.a the Sun is invoked along with the gods Agni and Rudra. The former is described as the presiding deity of the Sun-god while the latter is the chief source of his energy.

4 The seven horses of the Sun are accordingly interpreted to be the seven metres (chhandas) of the Vedas.

5 In inscriptions Revanta is quoted as the model of a superior horseman.