This sculpture of Surya, the Sun God was made around the 13th century during the rule of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. It is now located at the National Museum, Delhi in the Archaeology Section. The cult of Surya was founded at the site by Narasimha I as part of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty (1238-1264 CE).

The stone sculpture of Surya was once a part of the ‘garbh–griha’ or the sanctum sanctorum of the famous Konark Temple in Orissa. It was later shifted to the National Museum, for its safety and better upkeep. The Eastern Ganga Dynasty went down in history for their creation of the Konark or the Sun temple at Puri, which is now also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This architectural marvel is where the sculpture was placed as the temple itself was dedicated to Surya or the Sun god. This sculpture being one of them exuded the richness of the craft of the medieval artists. King Narasimhadeva I, the great ruler of the Ganga dynasty had built this temple, with the help of 1200 artisans within a period of 12 years (1243-1255 CE). Since the ruler used to worship the Sun, the temple was considered a chariot for the Sun God. Konark Temple was designed in the form of a gorgeously decorated chariot mounted on 24 wheels, each about 10 feet in diameter, and drawn by 7 mighty horses. It is really difficult to understand, how this huge temple, had every inch of it so wonderfully carved.

In the words of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore about Konark, "here the language of stone surpasses the language of man”. These words still resonate with everyone who has visited the Konark Temple. The sculpture of Sun god is two- armed but sadly the forearms have been destroyed. We see the iconography of Surya particularly following the texts which mention the Sun God. Here we see that Surya’s forearms holding two full-blown lotuses have been completely destroyed. Two full-blown lotuses are still in their positions above the shoulders of the deity. Surya, the Sun God has been represented as riding a chariot driven by seven galloping horses with reins in the hands of his charioteer. We find various decorative details found on this sculpture depicting the intricacy of style and method by the artists. The face of the deity seems to glow with inner delight and energy and a subtle smile is seen on the lips. This shows the delicacy with which this sculpture was made. One can see the vision of the artist while looking at this sculpture. We also find other figures which become an important part of the portrayal of the sculpture like the 'Maladharas' showering flowers, veena-playing Gandharva, and an equestrian messenger, though largely damaged, on the right and left of the prabha's upper part, and the figures of seven horses with charioteer Aruna driving his cart. We also see two female features as his consorts Chhaya and Suvarchasa and two males as Danda and Pingala, his trusted attendants. Pingala begins appearing in sculptures as an independent theme since around the 4th century CE.

Astriking feature of the Sun God is that they often show him in “northern” or Scythian dress—close-fitting coat and high boots—suggesting an influence from Iranian Sun cults. Surya sculptures begin pouring in from around the early centuries of the Christian era. The dagger-carrying 'udichya vesa' images in tunic, girdle and high boots of this early conception were widely different from his contemporary sculptures. It depicts the Sun God as mentioned in the texts which shows the artisans being well versed with the texts of Hinduism from where the iconography of the god was taken from and also shows the rulers as patrons of Hinduism.

In the Rig Veda, the Surya or Sun god as he is popularly called is the Hindu god of the Sun. He is considered the creator of the universe and the source of all life. Surya is usually seen driving away the darkness by riding in his chariot across the sky, and is sometimes visualized as a white horse or an eagle. A Rig-Vedic deity alternating with Vishnu, Surya, the source of light, warmth and life, stood for time and cosmic dynamics. There are ten hymns of praise that were composed for Surya in the Rig Veda. Surya is known by many alternative names and epithets which include Vivasvat (brilliant), Savitr (the nourisher), Bhaskara (light-maker), Dinakara (day-maker), Lokacaksuh (Eye of the World), Graharaja (King of the Constellations), and Sahasra-kirana (Of a 1,000 rays). Vishnu, who later largely replaces Surya’s function in the Hindu pantheon, is referred to as Surya Narayana in his incarnation as the sun.

Surya and the Adityas, the collective name for the solar deities, were especially popular in the early Vedic period, the Sun God being considered at that time one of the three most important gods. In the Later Vedic period, Surya was replaced in importance by such deities as Shiva and Vishnu. He is celebrated during the harvest festival of Pongal in southern India and by Tamils in general. Followers of the god are known as Sauryas. Surya appears in the important Gayatri mantra from the Vedas which is recited on a daily basis and is considered holy by the Hindus. As the cult of worship the sun was prevalent also in other parts (Greece, Rome, Iran) these early images seem to be influenced by extraneous elements, especially Iranian. Later sculptures are more Indianised.