Panchami - Sun
All of us are essentially sun-powered. In the very first few science classes I took, I learnt about the food chain. The sun rays support and feed all of us. The plants and other photosynthetic beings convert the energy from the Sun to consumable compounds. As so the food chain begins.
Most cultures have recognised the Sun’s importance. But most saw it as a masculine figure. Ra of the Egyptians, Helios and Apollo of the
Greeks and Romans, Inti of the Incans all were masculine. But the Arabians, Chinese and we, Indians have seen the Sun as feminine.
Yes. Though unfamiliar to most Indians, in the Vedas and even later, the Sun has been seen as Savitri. When the famous Gayatri mantra is chanted, Savitri is invoked. ‘We meditate on the divine splendour of Savitr, who is supremely desirable and is That One. May Savitr activate our thoughts towards wisdom ‘ (RV 3.62.10)