Mitrotsavam (Mitrolsavam, Mitra Ulsavam) is a Hindu festival worshipping the Sun god

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

, whose orderly traversal of the sky is ensured by

Mitra ''Mitra'' ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*mitrás'') is the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive. The names (and occasionally also some characteristics) of these t ...

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

, the guardians of cosmic order () in

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

8.25.8 and elsewhere.THE CALL OF THE VEDAS by A C Bose, Bombay, Bhavan's Book University, 1970. 3rd edition. On Mitrotsavam, devotees worship the Sun for prosperity, health and courage.

is glorified in Vedic mantras as the expeller of darkness and evil. The most sacred

Gayatri Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, IAST:Gāyatrī) is the personified form of the Gayatri Mantra, a popular hymn from Vedic texts. She is also known as Savitri, and bears the epithet of ''Vedamata'' (mother of the Vedas). Gayatri is ofte ...

mantra, composed by Sage

Vishvamitra Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mant ...

, worships the Sun as Savita. Additionally, the Sun is honored by recitation of the

Aditya Hridayam Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a me ...

— according to a legend in the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, Lord

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

was initiated into the worship of Surya with that hymn, which then gave him strength and the power to vanquish evil. Devotees also perform the

Surya Namaskara Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar(a) or Salute to the Sun (), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th centu ...

, recite 108 names of Surya, and pray for help to ward off evil, infirmity and disease. At the same time, devotees extoll Mitra (Vedic Mitra-Varuna) as the ''

Pratyaksha ''Pratyaksha'' in Hinduism is one of the three principal means of knowledge, it means that which is present before the eyes clear, distinct and evident. Meaning Pratyaksha (Sanskrit: प्रत्यक्ष IAST: pratyakṣa) literally means ...

devata'', the '-minded, far-sighted, thousand-eyed light and fire of the Sun, worship of whom is considered especially beneficial for ailments of the eye and mind. In 2008 Mitrotsavam fell on Thursday, December 25.

References

Hindu festivals Vedic period Religious festivals in India {{reli-festival-stub