The Hindu Sun God Surya is the most important and oldest of the Indian planetary deities (nava graha). The earliest known anthropomorphic representations of Surya date from the late 3rd- 1st century B.C. The Sun God is depicted therein as riding in a chariot drawn by four horses as he makes his daily circuit across the heavens. Surya and his divine attendants are occasionally portrayed as archers, symbolizing their dispersal of darkness. The Sun God evolved into a composite nature with various strata of Vedic, Hellenistic, Iranian, and Brahmanical influences. Surya's popularity increased in the Gupta period during the 4th-6th century and the iconography used to portray him grew more complex. He continued to be represented throughout the medieval period and today remains one of the major gods of popular Hinduism.
In this representation, Surya is enthroned in front of a flaming aureola (prabhavali). He wears a tall square crown (kirita mukuta), standard jewelry, a long garland (vana mala), a dagger worn on his left side, and knee-length boots. He stands on a lotus base in a stiff, frontal pose (samapada sthanaka). He has two arms and holds a blossoming lotus in each of his shoulder-level hands. The image pedestal has a double function, as it also serves as his solar chariot drawn by seven horses. His charioteer Aruna is the elder brother of Garuda, the half-avian, half-human mount of Vishnu, and genuflects like his sibling often does (see M.75.4.5 and M.82.227).
