Ādityas

In Hinduism, the Ādityas are a group of Devas or celestial gods or angels, the sons of Āditi and Kashyapa.

Vedas

In the Rigveda, the Ādityas are the seven celestial lords, sons of Āditi, headed by Varuna, followed by Mitra:

1. Varuna
2. Mitra
3. Aryaman
4. Bhaga
5. Anśa or Aṃśa
6. Dhātṛ or Dakṣa
7. Indra

The eighth Āditya (Mārtanda) was rejected by Āditi, leaving seven sons. In the Yajurveda (Taittirīya Samhita), their number is given as eight, and the last one is believed to be Vivasvāna. Hymn LXXII of Rig Veda, Book 10, also confirms that there are eight Adityas, the eight one being Mārtanda, who is later revived back as Vivasvāna: ^[1]

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

As a class of gods, the Rigvedic Ādityas were distinct from other groups such as the Maruts, the Rbhus or the Viśve-devāḥ (although Mitra and Varuna are associated with the latter). ^[2]

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. ^[3] The list of 12 Adityas is as follows:

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

Vedanta and Puranic Hinduism

Āditya in the (Chāndogya-Upaniṣad) is also a name of Viṣṇu, in his Vāmana, the dwarf avatāra. His mother is Aditi.

Another such list, from the Vishnu Purana ^[4] is:

1. Aṃśa
2. Aryaman
3. Bhaga
4. Dhūti
5. Mitra
6. Pūṣan
7. Śakra
8. Savitṛ
9. Tvaṣṭṛ
10. Varuṇa
11. Viṣṇu
12. Vivasvat

Notes

References

• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola
• Vedic Physics (ISBN 0-968-41200-9) by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ph.D.

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