A vedic story about Surya(Sun)

This story is given in Markandey Puraan.

Vishwakarma - Architect for building and construction for the gods, had a daughter named Sangya/Sandhya who was married to Sun (Surya). They had a son by the name Manu. Manu was very learned and master of various streams of arts and subjects. Another name of Sun god is Vivaswana therefore Manu is also known as Vaivaswat(coming from Vivaswana). The epoch we are currently living in, is named after him being called Vaivaswat Manvantar.

Due to the strength and brilliance of Sun, Sandhya was always perturbed and used to feel uneasy. She would close her eyes whenever Sun approached her. This behavior angered Sun and he cursed her. He said “She will give birth to a son Yama, who will be dark and will rule the kingdom of darkness where creatures will go to after death.

On hearing these terrible words Sandhya trembled with fear and started looking in various directions. This angered Sun even more and he cursed her again to beget a girl Yami, who is known as the river Yamuna.

Unable to bear the terrible heat and anger of her husband, Sandhya decided to abandon him and go back to her father. With her divine powers, she looked at her shadow and created a woman who looked exactly like her. As she was born out of her shadow, she named her Chhaya which literally translates as The Shadow. She asked her replica to keep her secret, stay in place her place as a loving wife and not reveal her real identity. Under oath Chhaya was not to say anything to the Sun. She departed for her father’s house. On arrival, her father asked her about her husband, the revered Sun and why is she come alone. She told him about her problem and that she has abandoned her family. Her father politely told her to go back saying, “She is always welcome at his place, however, it is not right to abandon her family and husband. She has to go back and seek permission from her husband.” This did not go down well with her and she transformed herself into a mare and started living alone in a dense forest “Uttarkuru”.

Meanwhile Sun had no knowledge of all this and he never suspected anything amiss. He continued his life as before and further sired more children. As is natural, Chhaya developed a step motherly attitude towards Manu, Yama and Yami. She gave more affection to her own children. Manu was quiet about this behavior but Yama could not bear the partial treatment. One day in his anger he tried to hit her from his leg. Chhaya cursed Yama that he will lose his leg as he had shown disrespect towards her.

Yama was worried and related the incident to his father Sun adding that he has never heard of any mother being so harsh towards her own children so as to cause bodily harm. This act was not at all normal and Sun suspected some foul play. He tried to ask Chhaya why she did this and all her answers couldn’t placate Him. He grew angry and in his anger he pulled Chhaya by her hair and threatened to kill her if she did not tell her the truth.

Fearing for her life, Chhaya was free from her oath (to save her life), she told him the entire story. Sun was full of grief and being a loving husband set out to get her back. He reached the house of Vishwakarma and asked him to decrease his brilliance and heat so that Sandhya can bear her presence. Vishwakarma scraped off 15 parts and used these scrapings to fashion various articles and weapons for other gods.

His brilliance decreased, Sun meditated and discovered the whereabouts of Sandhya in the forest of Uttarkuru in the form of a mare. He transformed himself into a horse and went to the forest to try and woo her back. Being ever so charming, he was able to attract her and they were blessed with twins who were horses with human torso. These twins are called the Ashvin brothers (Ashwa means Horse). Being born in forest they developed a keen knowledge of plants and herbs and are known as propunders of Ayurveda.

Having found each other and with much decreased brilliance love blossomed again. The reunited couple went back to live happily again.

This is an interesting story and explains many concepts at different levels. It has specific meaning for astrology.

Sun is the strongest member of the astrological family. He is the king. Though full of love, responsibility and care for all Sun is cruel and when it comes to ensuring justice and discipline just like a good king he needs to shed his concern and take cruel / harsh decisions. So we learn the astrologically Sun is a cruel planet. Whenever another planet is too close to Sun, it loses its natural actions and becomes combust. The results of that planet come thru the SUN. If Sun is very strong in an astrological chart the person has less hair or a tendency to lose hair and become bald (Sun pulled the hairs of Chhaya). Sun represents people of authority, closeness to positions of power or government. A person with strong Sun likes to be the center of attraction, doesn’t like being ignored. If a strong Sun casts its direct effect on the house of marriage, temporary or permanent separation between the couple is almost guaranteed unless there are mitigating factors. In most of such cases reputation is maintained, discretion is maintained. The discord between the couple doesn’t become public. Many a times the couple starts sleeping in different bedrooms within the same house. This is also a kind of separation. Recall that Sandhya replaced herself with similar looking woman Chhaya, so in actuality no one came to know of the discord between the couple. Their reputation remained intact.

The story has many lessons to learn and imbibe in our daily lives. It addresses natural instincts and faults within people and family.