Hindu God Surya
From the Vedic times worship of Surya, i.e. the Sun can be traced. It came down through ages with slight modifications and in the 3rd century B.C. Sun worship became very popular. The Greek writers refer to Sun god and the Kushana rulers issued coins with the name and image of the sun. The infiltration of the Persian Sun worship into India and Multan is supposed to have been the original Seat of Sun temple although the fact is not incontrovertible. The Puranas narrate the introduction of the solar cult into India from Sakadvipa, i.e. Eastern Iran. The Brihat-Samhita also refers to the foreign features of Sun god which are to be noticed in North Indian specimen of god. Sun worship did not penetrate Southern India and in later times when it spread in a limited way into the south it was uninfluenced by the Persian innovation and imitated also in certain areas of northern India.
