Also known as: Surya Jayanti, Magha Saptami, Achala Saptami, Arogya Saptami · Observed: South India, Maharashtra and Odisha
Significance of Ratha Saptami
Ratha Saptami is dedicated to Surya, the Sun god, and is celebrated as his birthday, Surya Jayanti. Ratha means chariot, and the day is said to mark the moment when Surya turns his chariot, drawn by seven horses, towards the north, signalling the warming of the season and the approach of spring. The seven horses are associated with the seven days of the week and the seven colours of light. Worship of the Sun on this day is believed to grant health, longevity and freedom from disease, which is why it is also called Arogya Saptami.
The festival reflects the deep reverence for the Sun in Indian tradition as the visible form of the divine, source of light, warmth and life.
Legends of Ratha Saptami
The Puranas tell that Surya was born to the sage Kashyapa and Aditi on Magha Shukla Saptami. Another story recounts how a king of Kamboja, Yashovarma, had a son who was chronically ill despite all remedies. On the advice of sages, the prince observed the Ratha Saptami vrata with devotion and was cured, and the king's family prospered. A related tradition from the Bhavishya Purana links the vrata with freedom from the sins of seven lifetimes, whether committed knowingly or unknowingly, in body, speech or mind. The next day, Bhishma Ashtami, commemorates the passing of Bhishma, who had awaited the Sun's northern course.
How Ratha Saptami Is Observed
The central ritual is a bath at arunodaya, the hour before sunrise, ideally in a river or the sea. Devotees place seven leaves of the arka (calotropis) plant, sometimes with jujube leaves, rice and sesame, on the head, shoulders and feet while bathing and recite prayers to Surya. After the bath, arghya is offered to the rising Sun with water, red flowers and red sandal. A rangoli of a chariot with seven horses and the Sun is drawn in front of the house, and in many homes milk is boiled in the open sunlight until it overflows, and payasam or paramannam is prepared and offered.
At Tirumala, the day is known as the one-day Brahmotsavam: Lord Malayappa Swami is taken in procession on seven different vahanas from dawn to night, beginning with the Surya Prabha vahana. The Arasavalli Sun temple in Andhra Pradesh and the Konark region of Odisha, where pilgrims bathe at Chandrabhaga, hold large festivals. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, the day concludes the haldi-kumkum gatherings of the Sankranti season.
How the Date Is Determined
Ratha Saptami falls on Magha Shukla Saptami, the seventh tithi of the bright fortnight of Magha, two days after Vasant Panchami. Because the holy bath is taken at dawn, the festival is fixed on the day when Saptami prevails at arunodaya, the pre-sunrise period. If Saptami begins after sunrise and ends before the next sunrise, almanacs choose the day whose sunrise period it covers.
Rituals and customs
- Holy bath at arunodaya with seven arka leaves
- Arghya to the rising Sun with red flowers
- Drawing a rangoli of the Sun's chariot
- Boiling milk in sunlight and offering payasam
- Recitation of Aditya Hridayam and Surya Ashtakam
- Seven-vahana procession at Tirumala