Today is Ratha Saptami. Worshipping Sun, in general, is considered auspicious. Doing so today is highly auspicious. On the saptami (seventh) day of sukla paksha (bright fortnight) in the month of Magha (Jan-Feb) Lord Surya diverts his celestial chariot northwards (Take a look at the ecliptic map at earth near Feb 21. Sun appears in the the aquarius constellation). That is, Sun starts moving towards north/northeast symbolizing longer daylight hours and the arrival of spring. Note here Daylight saving adjustment happens in less than a month (March 10th).
Here is the shloka for the day…
सप्ताश्व रथमारूढम् प्रचंडम् कश्यपात्मजम् |
श्वेत पद्मधरम् देवम् तम् सूर्यम् प्रणमाम्यहम् ||
Saptāśva rathamārūḍham pracaṁḍam kaśyapātmajam |
śvēta padmadharam dēvam tam sūryam praṇamāmyaham ||
Meaning:
I pray to you Lord Surya, the brilliant son of Kashyapa, one who is mounted on the chariot ridden by seven horses and the one who holds a white lotus in his hands.
The Sun’s chariot is massive and ridden by seven horses. The seven horses are: Gayatri, Brhati, Usnik, Jagati, Tristup, Anustup and Pankti. They are tethered to the chariot by squirmy serpents. They represent the seven colors of the light (VIBGYOR). Aruna is his charioteer(sarathi). He has no legs. And, although Aruna sits in front, engaged in driving the chariot he looks backward toward the sun god. The chariot has only one wheel. It is called the Samvatsara. The entire Kaalachakra (the wheel of time) is established on this wheel. The wheel has 12 spokes which represent the 12 divisions of the sky (signs of the zodiac) and the rim of the spokes represent the changing seasons. So seasonal changes are also part of this wheel (and the chariot).
Note how beautifully the ecliptic matches with the Samvatsara. Ecliptic is the specific line that the Sun seems to trace among the fixed stars on the celestial sphere as a result of Earth’s orbit about the Sun (as seen in this map)
Now, switching gears, by now I think it is apparent to you already – my son took the name Surya Narayanan because of my love for Lord Surya. So, by that logic, the c(h)ar(iot) he rides has to be ……….. Yup you are right!!! the ‘Saptashwa’ 😉😉
