Surya

Quick Facts

About Surya

The radiant Sun God. Invoked by Kunti, he fathered Karna and gifted him divine armor and earrings.

In Their Words

She immediately saw the sun, who makes the worlds come alive.

Surya

Traits

• Radiant
• Divine
• Father of Karna

Stories Featuring Surya

78 tales on this site name Surya, in canonical reading order.

• Tapati and SamvaranaThe Daughter of the SunAdi Parva ‧ 6 min
• The Birth of the PrincesChildren of the Gods and the Iron WombAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Curse of the DeerPandu's Fatal Hunt and the End of a KingAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• Karna's Birth & CurseThe Tragic Backstory of the Sun's SonAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Elephant and the TortoiseTwo brothers who could not divide a houseAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• Kunti Knows Her SonThe mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silentAdi Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Wager Over the Horse's TailHow the serpents and the birds became enemiesAdi Parva
• Pritha, the Given DaughterThe girlhood that forged KuntiAdi Parva
• Draupadi's Trials in ExileThe Sari, the Sage, and a Question to a QueenVana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Road to Yama's CountryWhat each gift becomes on the walk after deathVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keepVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Warning in the DreamA father begs his son to live, and the son chooses to be rememberedVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• Tarkshya Asks SaraswatiWhat a gift is worth, and the one merit a man with nothing can still earnVana Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Children of AgniMarkandeya names the whole family of fires, from the daughters of Angiras to the rivers who mothered themVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Copper Vessel of the SunHow the exile was fed for twelve yearsVana Parva
• The Brother Who Was BlamedA slander answered by raising the deadVana Parva
• The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in HastinapuraUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Secret of the SunA Mother's Plea, A Warrior's PromiseUdyoga Parva ‧ 20 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Ascetic Who Would Not Be CarriedA thought Garuda never spoke aloud costs him his wingsUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himselfUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Fall of Bhishma and the EarringsIndra's Gift, the Grandsire's Bed of ArrowsBhishma Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology insteadBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• Karna at the Grandsire's FeetThe forgiveness that came too late to change anythingBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• Sanjaya Describes the EarthThe blind king asks what the earth is worth, and his charioteer answers with the whole of itBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Islands Beyond JambudvipaSanjaya measures the seven islands, the world elephants and the sunBhishma Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Lake and the Hall of ArrowsKrishna unyokes the horses in the middle of the battleDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• Kurukshetra Day 15: The Day the Teacher DiedFrom the Dawn Prayers to the Half-Truth at NoonDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The One Who Walked Ahead of the ChariotArjuna finally asks who has been winning his battlesDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Two Who RememberedDuryodhana and Satyaki meet on the fifteenth day and talk about their childhood before they fightDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of himDrona Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Brothers of AvantiTwo kings see Arjuna's horses tire, and one of them walks up to Krishna with a maceDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Shape of GhatotkachaSanjaya describes the rakshasa's body, chariot and host as he charges Karna at midnightDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Fallen SunKarna's story is the Mahabharata's deepest meditation on the cruelty of fate and the power of loyalty. He was denied...Karna Parva ‧ 28 min
• Kurukshetra Day 17: The Earth Takes the WheelKarna's Last Morning to Karna's Last HourKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Field After the Sun FellShalya counts the dead and the Kauravas walk awayKarna Parva ‧ 18 min
• How Parashurama Won Shiva's WeaponsYears of penance, a war fought with empty hands, and the arsenal that reached KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• Karna and Satyaki ClashOne Vrishni holds the Kaurava army, and the sixteenth day ends in dustKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Price on Arjuna's HeadKarna offers everything he owns to any man who will point out ArjunaKarna Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man diesKarna Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Anointing of the War GodEvery god brings a gift to a six-day-old commanderShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• Duryodhana Rises from the LakeTaunted in the water, the last Kaurava comes up armed and asks for one man at a timeShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Aftermath of WarThe Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on KrishnaStri Parva ‧ 25 min
• Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His FeetShanti Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Princes the Earth HidWhat was left of the Kshatriyas after the axeShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Two Who Argued Over a DebtDesire and Wrath come to court in ragsShanti Parva ‧ 21 min
• Fortune Changes SidesWhy Sri deserted the asuras, told on a bank of the GangaShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Yajus Taken From the SunA goddess entering a man's mouth, and the fee split in twoShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Guest Nobody Could SeeBrihaspati throws down the ladle at a sacrifice where no animal was killedShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Rishi Born From a WordVyasa tells his disciples who he was before he was VyasaShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Rules of an Ordinary DayBhishma sets out the whole practice of good conduct, from the morning ablution to the last word spoken to an elderShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Road of WorksBrahman and the first Rishis stand a thousand years on the shore, and sacrifice is foundedShanti Parva ‧ 22 min
• Krishna's Gift to the Dying GrandsireThe Boon That Took Away Pain, Hunger and Thirst So Bhishma Could SpeakShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• Does Consciousness SurviveYudhishthira asks whether anyone is left awake in the emancipate state, and Bhishma answers out of the Sankhya of KapilaShanti Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Seven WindsVyasa halts a recitation on the Himavat and names the winds that move the worldsShanti Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Curses of the RishisKrishna names the marks that Brahmanas left on gods, seas and mountainsShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Wife Who Cooled a Naga's AngerPadmanabha would not go out to a waiting guest, until his wife named the ends of Ravana and KartaviryaShanti Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Naga Who Pulls the SunA seeker's wait by the Gomati, and what he learned from itShanti Parva
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Three Sages Who Saved the GodsAgastya burns the Danavas, Vashishtha brings down the Sarayu, and Atri becomes the moon and the sunAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Jackal and the ApeTwo friends meet again in a burning ground and account for their bodiesAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Brahmanas Who Deserve WorshipNarada tells Krishna whom he bows to, and Bhishma tells a king what it costs to forgetAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• Gifts Under the Lunar MansionsNarada tells Devaki what to give under each star, and the gods ask Brahman for ground to stand onAnushasana Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part TwoLomasa, Arundhati, the night-wanderers and the elephants of the quarters give up the last of their secretsAnushasana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Brahmanas and the KapasThe gods lose heaven and earth, and men on the ground win them backAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Child Who Stopped Indra's ArmA boy on Uma's lap holds the thunderbolt in the airAnushasana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Sage Who Shot at the SunHow the umbrella and the sandals came into the worldAnushasana Parva
• The Elephant the Sage Called SonGautama argues his way through every heaven for a stolen calfAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came FromMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Rewards of the Eighteen ParvasVaishampayana prices each stage of hearing the Bharata against a sacrifice, from the Agnishtoma to twenty-one thousand years with IndraSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Surya's Story

Drawn from the stories Surya appears in.

• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Angaअंग
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Gokulगोकुल
• Madra Kingdomमद्र देश
• Mount Shatashringaशतशृङ्ग
• Dvaitavanaद्वैतवन
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Kingdom of Kuntibhojaकुन्तिभोज राज्य
• Kamyaka Forestकाम्यक वन

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa