Myths explaining some alien traits of the North-Indian Sun-icons

Summary

This article investigates the presence of non-Indian iconographic features in early north Indian images of the sun god. The author notes that many surviving Surya sculptures from the early centuries of the common era show the deity wearing a heavy cloak and high boots—costume elements that contrast sharply with typical Indian dress but resemble Iranian attire. Drawing upon textual sources such as the Brhatsamhita and later iconographic manuals, the paper identifies this attire as udicyavesa, or “northern dress,” and suggests that it points to the influence of a solar cult introduced from eastern Iran. The article summarises earlier scholarly consensus that the northern solar cult entered India with foreign ruling groups like the Saka, Pahlava and Kushana, and argues that the alien features were gradually toned down in later images. Much of the paper explores how Indian mythographers attempted to explain these foreign features. By comparing passages from epic and puranic literature, the author shows that storytellers sought Indian analogues for the cloak and boots. In some texts the kavaca or coat of mail is equated with the cloak, while other passages equate the boots with protective shoes gifted by Surya to the sage Jamadagni or with the royal paraphernalia of the Sun. Despite these narratives, the author concludes that the explanations were unsatisfactory because ancient Indian artists were not familiar with the actual top boots worn by Iranian riders. The article therefore emphasises that the non-Indian elements in the iconography of Surya reflect historical interactions rather than indigenous myths. It also notes regional variations; south Indian texts rarely mention the northern dress. By collating textual references, inscriptions and sculptural evidence, the author reconstructs a plausible account of how foreign costume elements entered Indian art and how later tradition sought to explain them away.