Ratha Saptami 1978: Vancouver, British Columbia

Ratha Saptami (the 7th day (Saptami) of the bright fortnight of Magha) is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the Sun god, Surya Deva. The name combines ratha (chariot) and saptami (seventh): according to the Mahabharata and the Bhavishya Purana, on this day Surya's chariot, drawn by seven horses representing the seven colours of sunlight (VIBGYOR), begins to gain full speed on its northward journey (Uttarayana). The Sun, which appeared to pause at the winter solstice, now accelerates toward the spring equinox, bringing warmth, longer days, and the promise of the harvest season.

The central ritual of Ratha Saptami is the placement of seven Arka leaves (Calotropis gigantea, the crown flower plant) on the body before the sunrise bath. One leaf on the head, two on the shoulders, two on the knees, and two on the feet. The bather then pours water over themselves at the precise moment of sunrise while reciting the Surya Ashtakam or the Aditya Hridayam. The Arka plant is sacred to Surya: its flowers resemble the rays of the sun, and its sap is used in Ayurvedic preparations for skin and bone ailments, diseases that Surya is believed to cure.

Ratha Saptami is observed with special enthusiasm in the great Surya temples of India: Konark in Odisha, Modhera in Gujarat, Arasavalli in Andhra Pradesh, and Suryanar Kovil in Tamil Nadu attract thousands of pilgrims on this day. The Aditya Hridayam (the hymn that Sage Agastya taught to Rama on the battlefield of Lanka to give him strength to defeat Ravana) is considered the supreme prayer for this occasion. In many homes, a model of the seven-horse chariot is drawn in rangoli at the threshold, the Sun's chariot racing across the morning sky.