The above is an image of a painting of the Sun-God (Surya) being driven in the Seven horse by Aruna, (the Charioteer) made by Paromita
Some interesting representations of the Sun Chariot over several centuries:
The Rig-Veda, a Hindu text mentions the Sun God’s “Surya’s” chariot passing through the heavens, with seven
horses (representing the seven colours of the rainbow or the seven chakras in
the human body), yoked to his chariot named – “Gayatri”, “Brhati”,
“Usnik”,
“Jagati”,
“Tristup”,
“Anustup”
and “Pankti”,
driven by the charioteer Aruna.
The Sun God has been described as traversing a distance
of 95,100,000 yojanas or 760,800,000 miles in his orbit around the “Bhu-Mandala” in his horse-driven chariot
at a speed of 2,000 yojanas and two kosas (16,004 kms) in a moment.
Surya temples exist all over India, the most
famous being the Sun Temple, at Konark, Orissa. Surya is also described as
“Mitra” (meaning “friend” for his Life nourishing qualities.
In Norse Mythology, a reference to the sun being drawn by a
chariot is found.
The Nordic myths were
preserved orally for several thousands of years, similar to the oral traditions
of the Hindu Mythology (“Shruti” – meaning “heard” and passed on
through generations through oral traditions till they were written down in the
Vedic texts).
In Norse Mythology, the Sun Goddess “Sol” personifies
the Sun, who rode through the sky on her chariot
pulled by two horses – “Arvak” and “Alsvid”.
The Trundholm Sun chariot may represent an even earlier form of the Sun which
predated the Sun Goddess, Sol.
Similarly in Celtic Mythology, the Sky God Taranis is typically
depicted with the attribute of the spoked wheel.
The Trundholm Sun Chariot:
The Trundholm Sun Chariot (in Danish “Solvognen”) is a late Nordic Bronze age
artefact discovered in Denmark. It is a representation of the Sun chariot, a
bronze statue of a horse and a large bronze disk which are placed on a device
with spoked wheels. The Trundholm Sun
Chariot dates back to around 1800 to 1600 BC.
It was discovered in 1902 in a peat bog
on the Trundholm moor in West Zealand County on the Northwest coast of the
island of Sealand (Sjaelland) Denmark.
The two sides of the disk
have been interpreted as an indication of the Sun drawn across the heavens from
East to West during the day, presenting its bright side to the earth and
returning from the West to East during the night, when the dark side is presented
to the Earth. It is believed that a
chariot similar to the artefact was pulled around during religious rituals to
demonstrate the movement of the Sun in the heavens.
The above is an image of
the Trundholm Sun Chariot, which is brightly lit/polished representing the Sun’s
rays falling on the planet Earth as it traverses through the Sky during the day
on his horse-driven chariot.
The above is an image of
the Trundholm Sun Chariot, which is dull/unpolished, representing darkness of
the night as the Sun’s chariot has traversed beyond this face of the Earth and
night/darkness has fallen.
