Sūrya

In Hindu texts Sūrya is a male god, counted among the five equivalent deities of the Smarta tradition, and is shown riding a chariot drawn by seven horses. The oldest Vedic hymns, such as Rigveda 1.115, revere him as the rising sun; in the medieval period he was worshipped with Brahma by day, Vishnu at noon and Shiva in the evening.

His worship declined greatly around the thirteenth century, perhaps because Muslim invaders destroyed Sun temples in northern India. He was increasingly merged with Vishnu and Shiva.