Ādityas

The sovereign or ruling principles of the universe. They are personified in Hindu mythology as the children of ĀDITI, mother of the gods, the primordial substance or mūlaprakṛti. Various works give different numbers to the Ādityas. The Taittirīya Samhita states that Āditi had eight sons, seven of which were normal, and the eighth appeared as a lifeless egg, and thus was rejected. This was Mārtaṇḍa, which became the Sun. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, there were twelve Ādityas, fathered by Kāśyapa with Āditi.

The twelve Ādityas are: Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuṇa, Dakṣa, Amśa, Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Vivasvat, Savitṛ, Śakra, and Viṣṇu.

Helena P. BLAVATSKY states that the seven Ādityas refer to the seven planetary regents of the Solar System, while the twelve Ādityas are the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the twelve months of the year. Varuṇa, which later became chief of the Ādityas, is equivalent to the Greek Uranus.

V.H.C.

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