Day: October 25, 2019

Aditya Udayam

It is a nice coincidence that I am writing two blogs in the same week on the same subject viz. Sun (Aditya). One is Aditya Hridayam (The heart of the Sun) in the Spiritual Category & the other Aditya Udayam (Sun Rise) in the Photography/Travel Category.

In one of my earlier blogs (Springing Eastern Sun – PANY 2019 on 01 Aug 2019) I had posted photographs of Sun during my visit to Pennsylvania and Newyork. After my return to my base, I have been continuing my reverence for the Sun and never failed to capture its graceful rise to dispel the darkness in us.

Here is a fascinating video taken from my apartment roof top recently. Look at the impact that the Sun brings out in the form of dazzling colors, brightness, clarity and the ambience. The serenity is aided by the background music in the Rag Bowli (courtesy VK Raman, the eminent flautist).

iPhone X has an amazing camera which syncs with my reverence in its true spirit. Enjoy this video at

Aditya Hridayam Verses 4-25 Prelude

The Sun—the heart of our solar system—is a yellow dwarf star, a hot ball of glowing gases.

Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything from the biggest planets to the smallest particles of debris in its orbit. Electric currents in the Sun generate a magnetic field that is carried out through the solar system by the solar wind—a stream of electrically charged gas blowing outward from the Sun in all directions.

The connection and interactions between the Sun and Earth drive the seasons, ocean currents, weather, climate, radiation belts and aurorae. Though it is special to us, there are billions of stars like our Sun scattered across the Milky Way galaxy.

With a radius of 432,168.6 miles (695,508 kilometers), our Sun is not an especially large star—many are several times bigger—but it is still far more massive than our home planet: 332,946 Earths match the mass of the Sun. The Sun’s volume would need 1.3 million Earths to fill it.

(Ref: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/)

I never get tired of seeing the Sun rise and the Sun set. Everyday I try and make it a point to watch the Sun Rise & Sun set. I am amazed at the splash of colors and contrast that Sun provides. I was fortunate to watch the Sun Rise from my apartment roof top on one fine morning. I have posted the video in the Photography Section of my blog.

Now, let us read carefully the above description of the Sun particularly on its critical role in the universe and relate them to the Verses that will follow on Sunday. From Verse 4 to Verse 25, Sage Agasthya brings out through his praise for Aditya, the features and characteristics of the Sun and its importance. One can see the striking similarity between the century old views to the scientific description. No wonder you will see temples for the Sun God in several States of India such as Orissa, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh , Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.