Ratha Saptami

About

Ratha Saptami falls on Magha Shukla Saptami, the seventh day of the bright half of the month of Magha. Ratha = chariot, and Saptami = the seventh tithi. The day celebrates Surya, the Sun god, riding his chariot drawn by seven horses.

It is often called Surya Jayanti, the day of the Sun's appearance. The festival comes a few weeks after Makar Sankranti and is seen as the day Surya's chariot moves on towards a warmer, brighter season. Because the date follows the Moon, it changes each year. The key moment is sunrise, so check the computed times for your city.

Significance and stories

The seven horses are said to stand for the seven colours of light, the seven days of the week, or the seven Vedic metres. The single wheel of the chariot is sometimes taken to be the year, with twelve spokes for the months.

A well-known tradition connects the day to the story of the Sun god giving health and vitality. Devotees pray to Surya for good eyesight, health and energy. Surya is also seen in the Vedas as the visible god, whose light every living being can see.

A special practice in South India is to place seven arka (calotropis) or erukku leaves, with a little rice and turmeric, on the head and shoulders before bathing. This is believed in the tradition to cleanse the body of faults of the past year. The practice is a matter of belief and family custom.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. Wake before sunrise. Bathe early, ideally with arka leaves placed as your family custom suggests, and put on clean clothes.
2. At sunrise, draw a small rangoli of a chariot with seven horses in the courtyard, or on a plate, using rice flour or colour.
3. Facing east, offer water (arghya) from a copper or clean vessel to the rising Sun, with red flowers and akshata.
4. Boil milk with jaggery and rice outdoors in the sun, in a new clay pot if available, letting it overflow. This is the traditional offering in many places.
5. Recite a Surya mantra or the Aditya Hridayam, or at least the Gayatri mantra. Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.
6. Offer naivedya of the cooked sweet rice, light a lamp, and share the prasad.

Puja items (samagri)

• A copper vessel for arghya
• Seven arka leaves (calotropis) or the leaves your tradition uses
• Red flowers, kumkum, akshata, turmeric
• Rice flour or colours for the rangoli
• New clay pot or a clean pot, milk, rice and jaggery
• Cow-dung cakes or a stove for the traditional boiling, where practical
• Diya, incense, camphor

Fasting and food

Fasting is not required. Many people eat only after the Surya puja is complete. The main food is sweet rice made with milk and jaggery (pongal or payasam style). Some devotees keep a light fast until noon. People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, children and the elderly should follow their doctor's advice.

Regional customs

• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Widely celebrated, with the milk-and-jaggery pongal offered in the sun, and chariot rangoli.
• Karnataka and Tamil Nadu: Arka leaves on the head and shoulders, and prayers to Surya. The Tirumala temple holds a grand Surya Jayanti observance.
• Odisha: The nearby Konark Sun Temple draws devotees at this time.
• Maharashtra: Observed with a bath, Surya puja and haldi-kumkum gatherings in many homes.

Traditions vary; follow your family's custom or your priest's guidance.

Celebrating in the USA

Sunrise may be late in winter in the northern states, so plan to rise early or do the offering from a window or balcony. A small steel or copper vessel is fine in place of a clay pot, and milk can be boiled on the stove, with the offering taken to a sunny spot if the weather allows.

Do not use open flame indoors in a way that risks setting off smoke alarms. Arka leaves can be hard to find; many families use a substitute leaf their tradition accepts, or simply omit the leaves. Temples and cultural groups sometimes hold a Surya Jayanti programme on the nearest weekend.