Suryanar (Sun)

Per the Hindu legend, sage Kalava was suffering from serious ailments along with leprosy. He prayed to the Navagrahas, the nine planet deities. The planets were pleased by his devotion and offered cure to the sage. Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, was angered as he felt that the planets have no powers to provide boons to humans. He cursed the nine planets to suffer from leprosy and were sent down to earth in Vellurukku Vanam, the white wild flower jungle. The planets prayed to Shiva to relieve them off the curse. Shiva appeared to them and said that the place belonged to them and they would have to grace the devotees worshipping them from the place. This is the only temple where there are separate shrines for each of the planet deities. It is also the only temple among the nine planetary temples where Shiva is not the presiding deity.

Surya is the Sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to realise Brahman. Throughout Indian literature, Surya has been given multiple epitaphs such as Ravi, Vivasvān, Bhāskara, etc. Furthermore, Surya has been described through aspects of itself which are identified as the Ādityas; including Savitr, Pushan, Mārtanda, Bhaga, etc.

Read more about [Surya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya).

Suriyanar Temple is located at the distance of 15 km from Kumbakonam in west, 22 km from Mayiladuthurai in east, 2 km from Aduthurai, 8 km from Thiruppanandal and 58 km (36 mi) from Thanjavur. The temple can be accessed by road through Aduthurai in Kumbakonam–Mayiladuthurai road and Thiruppanandal in Kumbakonam–Chennai road. The temple has a rectangular plan with compound walls, pierced by a five-tiered raja gopuram (entrance tower). The central shrine is of Surya, the Sun God, is built on an elevated structure. The central shrine houses the image of Surya and his consorts Usha and Chhaya. The hall leading to the central shrine has images of Viswanathar, Visalakshi, Nataraja, Sivakami, Vinayagar and Murugan. On the axial line in front of the central shrine, there is an image of Guru (Jupiter), one of the planetary deities. There are separate shrines for all the other seven planet deities namely Budha (Mercury), Shani (Saturn), Sukran (Venus), Soma (Moon), Angaragan (Mars), Rahu and Ketu. All the other eight shrines of the Navagrahas are arranged facing the shrine of Suryanar. Guru is depicted performing pooja to Shiva.

The temple is one of the nine Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu and is a part of the popular Navagraha pilgrimage in the state - it houses the image of Surya (Sun). The planets are believed to influence the horoscope computed based on time of one's birth and subsequently influence the course of life. Each of the planets are believed to move from a star to another during a predefined period and thus sway over an individual's fortunes. Kol vinay theertha Vinayagar is an important deity inside the temple and should be worshiped first before worshiping Lord Suriyan and other planets . The Navagrahas, as per Hindu customs, are believed to provide both good and bad effects for any individual and the bad effects are mitigated by prayers. As in other Navagraha temples, the common worship practises of the devotees include offering of cloth, grains, flowers and jewels specific to the planet deity. Lighting a set of lamps is also commonly followed in the temple. As per contemporary Saivite belief, the energies distributed cyclically by Navagrahas can be channeled based on remedial measures.

The temple priests perform the pooja (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Shaivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 6:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 8:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 10:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: abhisheka (sacred bath), alangaram (decoration), neivethanam (food offering) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for Surya, Usha and Chhaya. The worship is held amidst music with nadaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like somavaram and sukravaram, fortnightly rituals like pradosham and monthly festivals like amavasai (new moon day), kiruthigai, pournami (full moon day) and sathurthi.

Located in: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.