Elements of Hindu Iconography v3.c18.5

v3.c18.5

Regarding the worship of Sūrya in ancient times in India Mr. Nāgēndranāth Vāsu has collected much valuable information in his *Archaeological Survey of Mayūrabhañja*. He attempts to prove that the Magas or Scythic Brāhmaṇas were the first to introduce the worship of the Sun into India; and from the references found in Pāḷi works like the *Bambhajāla Sutta* he shows that at the time of Buddha the Maga-Brāhmaṇa astrologers were held in disrepute. It is stated in the *Bhavishyat-purāṇa*, as he says, that Sāmba one of the sons of Śrī Kṛiṣṇa was suffering from leprosy and that he was cured of it by worshipping Sūrya and that some Brāhmaṇas of the Śākadvīpa were worshippers of that deity. The same *Puraṇa* relates "that Zārathustra, who acknowledged the superiority of fire, was born of that element. He also used to interpret the *Vēda* in a perverted way, which led to a quarrel between him and the Magas who worshipped Mitra, the Sun-god." Mr. Nāgēndranāth Vāsu adds further—"In the Zend Avesta, the oldest record of the fire-worshippers, Mitra is known as only one of the minor gods. But on the other hand in Mihir Yast, we find a faint reference to the effect that at one time Mitra was worshipped as the highest god. Be that as it may, on a dispute arising between the followers of the Mitra cult and the fire worshippers, those of the Śākadvīpa Brāhmaṇas who belonged to the former sect, migrated to India with their families.”