Surya (सूर्य) is from the Sanskrit *sūrya* — "sun" — also the name of the Hindu solar deity, one of the principal Vedic gods, depicted driving a chariot pulled by seven horses. **The Surya temple at Konark (13th century, Odisha) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site**. **Surya Bonaly (born 1973)** — **French figure skater of Réunionese-Malagasy heritage; nine-time French national champion (1989-1997); three-time World silver medalist; five-time European champion**. **The only figure skater in Olympic history to land a backflip on one blade — performed at the 1998 Nagano Olympics in protest of judging that placed her low; the move was technically illegal in competition but is considered one of the most-watched gestures of defiance in Winter Olympic history**. **First Black woman to medal at the World Figure Skating Championships (1993 bronze)**. **Now a coach in Las Vegas**. **In Hindu Vedic literature, Surya is associated with the Gayatri mantra (one of the most-recited Sanskrit prayers in the world)**. **Surya Namaskar** — the Sun Salutation sequence in yoga; popularized globally by B.K.S. Iyengar.
Featured throughout Hindu devotional practice and Olympic figure skating.
Surya reduces to eight — the number of sun deity.