Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/43

 eight sons of Aditi, who were born from her body, she approached the gods with seven, and cast out Mārtānda (the eighth).” As the names of these sons given in different parts of the Vedas do not agree with each other, it is difficult to know who were originally regarded as Adityas. Judging from the number of hymns addressed to them, some of these deities occupied a conspicuous position in the Vedic Pantheon; whilst others are named once or twice only, and then in connection with their more illustrious brethren. In the “Satapatha Brāhmana,” and the Purānas, the number of the Adityas is increased to twelve. In addition to the six whose names are given above, the following are also described in some hymns of the Rig-Veda as the offspring of Aditi : Surya, “as an Aditya identified with Agni, is said to have been placed by the gods in the sky ;" Savitri, and Indra too, are in one passage addressed as an Aditya along with Varuna and the Moon. In the Taittiriya Texts, the following are described as Adityas :—Mitra,Varuna, Aryaman, Amsu, Bhaga, Indra, and Vivasvat (Surya).

Professor Roth says of these deities: “In the highest heaven dwell and reign those gods who bear in common the name of Adityas. We must, however, if we would discover their earliest character, abandon the conceptions which in a later age, and even in that of the heroic poems, were entertained regarding these deities, According to this conception they were twelve Sun-gods, there being evident reference to the twelve months. But for the most ancient period we must hold fast to the primary significance of their names. They are inviolable, imperishable, eternal things. Aditi, Eternity,