Adityas

An 11th–century sculpture of Surya with eleven other Adityas depicted at the top

In Hinduism, Adityas (Sanskrit: आदित्य, lit.'of Aditi' IAST: Āditya Sanskrit pronunciation: [aːd̪ɪt̪jɐ]) refers to a group of major solar deities, who are the offspring of the goddess Aditi.[1] The name Aditya, in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas are twelve in number and consist of Vivasvan (Surya), Aryaman, Tvashtr, Savitr, Bhaga, Dhatr, Mitra, Varuna, Amsha, Pushan, Indra and Vishnu (in the form of Vamana).[2]

They appear in the Rig Veda, where they are 6–8 in number, all male. The number increases to 12 in the Brahmanas. The Mahabharata and the Puranas mention the sage Kashyapa as their father.[2] In each month of the year a different Aditya is said to shine.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Karel-2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Dalal-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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