Visual astronomy in the mythology and ritual of India: The Sun temples of Varanasi

Abstract

We use Varanasi, the paradigmatic holy city of India, as an illustration of the incorporation of visual astronomy into Hindu culture. In the city the Sun is honored in three ways: at morning worship, during pilgrimage, and as an icon in temples. Specific attributes of the Sun are symbolized by the adityas, represented by fourteen temples which were destroyed during the years of Mughal occupation of the city after A.D. 1192. According to local tradition the locations of these temples remained in the communal memory of the city and are marked today by Sun disks, lotus-form stones or images of Surya, that are set into the walls of houses or installed in shrines or temples. Many of the sites are included in pilgrimage routes of the city. With the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) we have mapped the positions of the adityas and find that most lie along the sides of a triangle which surrounded the original center of the city. The major text that deals with Varanasi and its spiritual traditions, the Kashi Khanda, gives the myths, stories and rituals associated with each of the former Sun temples and reveals the significance of the Sun for inhabitants and pilgrims. The Sun is understood to be a caring and protective deity, providing relief from life's ordinary problems such as skin disease, infertility, hunger and the problems of old age and death. The Kashi Khanda also includes references to probable observations of naked-eye sunspots, meteor showers, and the total solar eclipse of A.D. 1054.