In this posting, I will quote the text of a paper that I wrote for a course
on archaeology of South India. I took this course at the University of Texas at
Austin. The title is "The Solar Element in Hinduism".

The Hindu religion has been quite often given representation in terms of art
in India. The various deities of the faith have been personified in sculpture
and painting and nowhere more expressively than in the temples. Not only are
gods and goddesses represented, but also important principles of Hinduism are
implied in the art and architecture.
The particular item to be examined here is the solar element in Hinduism and
how it is manifested in the temples of South India. It should be pointed out
that the issue being dealt with is not to distinguish southern temples from
northern ones.
T.V. Sairam (p.56) makes the following point about Hindu temples in general:
"The direction that a temple faces is often considered very significant.
Usually, a temple faces the east, the place of the rising sun."
The Hindus often personified the sun as the god Suraya. Sculptures of him
have been found in a number of Hindu temples in South India, notably those of
the Chola period.
R. Nagaswamy (pp.140-143) gives three examples along with photographs. The
first is from the early Chola period and was made between 975 and 1000 A.D. It
was found in the Malai Isvara temple and is 65. in height.
The second one shown is 42 cm. high and is dated to about 1150 A.D. in the
later Chola period. It is from the Vardhamanesvarar temple in Sekhal.
The third example is from about 110 A.D. and was found in the Virattana
temple in Korukkai village and is 44 cm. in height.
But there were limitations on the prominence given to Suraya as a deity. He
was not venerated as highly as some other members of the Hindu pantheon. Vishnu,
Shiva, and Brahma are certainly given more importance. However, there was a
dynasty called the Gahadavalas who emphasized sun worship. They had close
contacts with the Cholas and Balasubrahmanyan (p.256) makes the following point
about them:
"The Gahadavalas were great patrons of sun worship and their influence may
be read into the setting up, during the reign of Kulottunga I, of the only known
Sun temple in the Chola country, at Suryanar-Koyil."
The solar principle continued to manifest itself in Hindu art, as is evident
from a painting of Vishnu in the palace muralsat Padmanabhapuram. Mary Beth
Coffman Heston (p.123) makes the following point about it in A Pot-Pourri of
Indian Art:
"It is interesting to consider the painted image of the reclining Vishnu,
such as might have been used in the procession, at the lower centre of the
composition. The depictions of the sun and moon at the upper left and right,
while appropriate to many forms of the recumbent Vishnu, may also refer to the
solstice when the ceremony took place. The fact that the sun here has been
elevated to a form of Vishnu himself is significant in the light of the
description of the ceremony as a kind of sun-worship."
So the solar principle is important in Hinduism, even though it is
manifested in different ways at different times and places. The paintings at
Padmanabhapuram are dated to about 1700. Since they were made at a much later
time period than the art forms mentioned earlier, the solar principle thus shows
durability in keeping its status as an important element in Hindu doctrine.

Neal Robbins

P.S. This is the bibliography of the paper:

Balasubrahmanyam, S.R. Middle Chola Temples Thomson Press (India) Limited
Faridabad, Haryana 1975

Nagaswamy, R. Masterpieces of Early South Indian Bronzes Department of Culture,
National Museum New Delhi, India 1983

Pal, Pratapaditya A Pot-Pourri of Indian Art Marg Publications Bombay, India
1988

Sairam, T.V. Indian Temple Forms and Foundations Agam Kala Prakashan Delhi,
India 1982





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