The 12 Adityas

-

The 12 Adityas in Hindu mythology explain the evolution of consciousness from its primordial unformed state into energy that transforms into karmic manifestation.


There are several accounts of the Aditi and the Adityas in the Rig Vedas. Aditi and Kashyapa are referred to as the parents of  the ‘Gods of Light’.


In each month of the year, it is a different aditya who shines. 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 food grains 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, Surya is in the waters and as Mitra, he is in the moon and in the oceans.

While the sages glorify the sun-god with the hymns of the Sama-, Rig- and Yajur Vedas, which reveal his identity, the Gandharvas also sing his praises and the Apsaras dance before his chariot. The Nagas arrange the chariot ropes and the Yaksas harness the horses to the chariot, while the powerful Raksasas push from behind.

 A similar depiction is found on a rock-cut cave far away in Yazili Kaya in Turkey! This rock-cave has multiple depictions of Gods and Goddesses that resemble Hindu gods. The lower chamber in this cave shows a frieze with 12 gods carved onto it who were worshiped by the people known as Hittites.


Interestingly, these 12 Adityas were adopted into Chinese and Japanese Buddhism as guardians of the monasteries covering the four main directions, four semi-directions, above, below and the Sun and Moon. They are known as Devas or Ten 天 in Japan (which literally means Heaven or Celestial).



The chariot of Lord Surya is pulled by seven horses. Hence, he is sometimes referred to as Saptashva (Lord of Seven Horses).

1. Gayatri, 
2. Samvrihati, 
3. Ushnik, 
4. Jagati
5. Trishtubh, 
6. Anushtubh, 
7. Pankti


"While the sages glorify the sun-god with the hymns of the Sama-, Rig- and Yajur Vedas, which reveal his identity, the Gandharvas also sing his praises and the Apsaras dance before his chariot. The Nagas arrange the chariot ropes and the Yaksas harness the horses to the chariot, while the powerful Raksasas push from behind" .



References :
Vedas
http://www.harekrsna.de/surya/12adityas.htm
http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.in/p/suryavansham.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The True Identity of YAHWEH: A Shocking Revelation

-
Image
The cult of YHWH as god of metallurgy originated among semi-nomadic copper smelters between the Bronze and Iron Age, suggests biblical scholar: And he was not worshipped only by Jews.  A Short History of God Yahweh  TIMNA – Around 3,200 years ago, the great empires around the Mediterranean and the Middle East suddenly imploded. The Egyptians retreated from Canaan and the copper mines of Timna in the Negev, skulking back to the banks of the Nile. And in the arid wastes of southern Canaan, a new power arose.  The Timna mines were taken over by semi-nomadic tribes, which  set up a mining operation that dwarfed  the previous Egyptian industry.  This new desert kingdom would leave its mark on the main building at Timna: the  Egyptian temple of Hathor , protector of miners. The new masters smashed the effigy of the Egyptian deity – leaving the fragments to be found by archaeologists more than 3,000 years later – and set up over the ruins of the temple a tent sanctuary, jud
Read more

Vishnumaya Swami - The story

-
Image
Shiva while on a hunt happened to hear a sweet voice in the jungle. He was surprised to find that it belonged to a tribal girl, "Kulivaka" (Pronounced as Koolivaaka) - a girl of immense beauty. The solitude in that forest area called Kuli van, and the wild beauty of the forest girl, made the Lord lustful. He informed Kulivaka of his wish and told her to wait for him until he returned from his hunt. God Shiva as hunter Kulivaka, who was a devotee of Parvati realized that mating with lord would bring forth the wrath of the goddess upon her; but she feared the wrath of Shiva also in case she refused him. She prayed to her Goddess to save her from the predicament. Parvati, pleased with her innocence appeared before her and revealed her true identity. In her previous birth Kulovaka was Manaswini, a servant in the retinue of Parvati. One day she happened to breast-feed Ganesha who was a baby at that time. Parvati didn't appreciate the fact of a servant breast-feedi
Read more

The Vedas refer to not 33 crore Devatas but 33 types

-
Image
The Vedas refer to not 33 crore Devatas but 33 types (Koti in Sanskrit) of Devatas.  The number 33 comes from the number of Vedic gods explained by Yajnavalkya in Brhadaranyaka Upanishad – the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapati. (Chapter I, hymn 9, verse 2) They are: 8-Vasu, 11-Rudra, and 12-Aaditya, 1-Indra and 1-Prajaapati. VASUS  8. Vasus are ~ Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Moon, Sun, and Star.Elemental gods such as Vayu, Agni, Antariksh and Dyaus, the Sky God. ( Olympian Gods). They are called Vasus, because they are abode of all that lives, moves or exists. (also mentioned in Mahabharat, 1/66/18). RUDRAS  Once, the deities went to sage Kashyapa after being tormented by the demons. They complained to him about the misdeeds of the demons, who also happened to be their step brothers. Sage Kashyapa became extremely furious, when he heard about the misdeeds of his sons - the demons. To protect the deities from his sons,
Read more