Ādityas

For other uses, see Aditya (disambiguation).
Adityas
Devanagari आदित्य
Sanskrit transliteration Ādityas
Affiliation Adityas
Abode Heaven
Mantra Aum Adityebhyah Namah
Weapon Various
Consort Various
Mount Horses and many others

In Hinduism, Ādityas (Sanskrit: आदित्य, pronounced [ɑːd̪it̪jɐ]), meaning "of Aditi", refers to the offspring of Aditi.[1] The name, Aditya,is used in the singular to mean the Sun God, Surya.

The Bhagavata Purana[2] lists a total of twelve Adityas as Sun-gods. In each month of the year a different Aditya is said to shine. Each of these Adityas is a different expression of Lord Vishnu in the form of the Sun-God.[3]

Vedas

In the Rigveda, the Ādityas are the seven celestial deities, sons of Āditi,

  1. Varuna
  2. Mitra
  3. Aryaman
  4. Bhaga
  5. Anśa or Aṃśa
  6. Dhatri
  7. Indra
  8. Vayu (Mārtanda)

The eighth Āditya (Mārtanda) was rejected by Aditi, thus leaving only seven sons. In the Yajurveda (Taittirīya Samhita), their number is given as eight, and the last one is believed to be Vivasvān. Hymn LXXII of the Rig Veda, Book 10, also confirms that there are nine Adityas, the eighth one being Mārtanda, who is later revived as Vivasvān. [4]

"So with her eight Sons Aditi went forth to meet the earlier age. She brought Mārtanda thitherward to spring to life and die again."

The Ādityas of the Rig Veda are "devas", a distinct class of gods and are different from other groups such as the Maruts, the Rbhus or the Viśve-devāḥ (although Mitra and Varuna are also associated with the latter). [5]

Bhagavata Purana

In the Bhagavata Purana, the names of 12 Adityas are given as:

  1. Varuna
  2. Mitra
  3. Aryama
  4. Bhaga
  5. Amshuman
  6. Dhata
  7. Indra
  8. Parjanya (Savitr?)
  9. Tvashtha
  10. Vishnu (The head of all the Adityas[6])
  11. Pushya
  12. Vivasvan

In each month of the year, it is a different Aditya who shines as the Sun-God.[2] As Indra, Surya destroys the enemies of the gods. As Dhata, he creates living beings. As Parjanya, he showers down rain. As Tvashta, he lives in the trees and herbs. As Pusha, he makes foodgrains grow. As Aryama, he is in the wind. As Bhaga, he is in the body of all living beings. As Vivasvana, he is in fire and helps to cook food. As Vishnu, he destroys the enemies of the gods. As Amshumana, he is again in the wind. As Varuna, he is in the waters and As Mitra, he is in the moon and in the oceans.

Characterisation

The Adityas have been described in the Rig Veda as bright and pure as streams of water, free from all guile and falsehood, blameless, perfect.

This class of deities has been seen as upholding the movables and immovable Dharma. Adityas are beneficent gods who act as protectors of all beings, who are provident and guard the world of spirits and protect the world.In the form of Mitra-Varuna, the Adityas are true to the eternal Law and act as the exactors of debt.[7]

In present day usage in Sanskrit, the term Aditya has been made singular in contrast to Vedic Adityas, and are being used synonymously with Surya, the Sun.

Linga Purana

According to the Linga Purana,[8] the Adityas are:

  1. Varuṇa
  2. Mitra
  3. Aryaman
  4. Bhaga
  5. Amshuman
  6. Dhata
  7. Indra
  8. Savitṛ
  9. Tvaṣṭṛ
  10. Vishnu, head of the Adityas[6])
  11. Pūṣan
  12. Vivasvat

Vedanta and Puranic Hinduism

In the Chandogya Upanishad, Āditya is also a name of Viṣṇu, in his avatar as Vāmana. His mother is Aditi.

The Ādityas in the Vishnu Purana[9] are:

  1. Varuṇa
  2. Mitra
  3. Aryaman
  4. Bhaga
  5. Aṃśa
  6. Dhūti
  7. Śakra
  8. Savitṛ
  9. Tvaṣṭṛ
  10. Vishnu (This Sun-God is the head of all the Adityas[6] and is different from Lord Vishnu)
  11. Pūṣan
  12. Vivasvat

Brahmanas

The Vedas do not identify the Ādityas and there is no classification of the thirty-three gods, except for in the Yajurveda (7.19), which says there are eleven gods in heaven (light space), eleven gods in atmosphere (intermediate space), and eleven gods in earth (observer space). In the Satapatha Brahmana, the number of Ādityas is eight in some passages, and in other texts of the same Brahmana, twelve Adityas are mentioned. [10] The list of 12 Adityas is as follows:

  1. Varuṇa
  2. Mitra
  3. Aryaman
  4. Bhaga
  5. Aṃśa
  6. Dhātṛ
  7. Indra
  8. Savitṛ
  9. Yama
  10. Sūrya or Arka
  11. Dakṣa
  12. Ravi

Ahura-Mazda and Aditya

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Karel Werner (2005). A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism. Routledge. p. 17.
  2. 1 2 Srimad Bhagavata Purana 12.11.27-49
  3. ↑ Srimad Bhagavata Purana 12.11.45: All these personalities are the opulent expansions of the Supreme God Vishnu, in the form of the sun-god. These deities take away all the sinful reactions of those who remember them each day at dawn and sunset
  4. ↑ Rig Veda - Hymn LXXII - Seven Sons of Aditi and Martanda
  5. ↑ Rig Veda Book 10, Translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
  6. 1 2 3 Bhagavad Gita 10.21: "adityanam aham vishnur" meaning "Of the Adityas I am Vishnu"
  7. ↑ Rig Veda Book 2, XXVIIth Hymn, Translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
  8. ↑ http://www.astrojyoti.com/lingapurana-6.htm
  9. ↑ Vishnu Purana: Book I: Chapter XV
  10. ↑ Muir, John (1863). Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and Progress of the Religion and Institutions of India. Williams and Norgate. p. 102

In the later Puranic texts, all Hindu deities were referred to as Adityas. Hence, the number of Adityas increased to 33 Koties or 33 types.

Further reading

On the Adityas

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