Devalok
Origin · 5 tellings · North India, Pan-India

How the Adityas became twelve

Who is in it

Texts: Vishnu Purana, Rigveda, Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana

The story, beat by beat

  1. Twelve gods called Tushitas see the Chakshusha age ending.
  2. They agree to enter Aditi's womb so as to be gods again in the next age.
  3. They are born as the twelve sons of Kashyapa and Aditi, the Adityas.
  4. Parashara explains that such births and deaths are only appearances, like sunset and sunrise.
  5. Each month one Aditya rides in the sun's chariot with six companions.
  6. Together the seven bring cold, heat and rain in season.

number months sun rebirth time

How it is told, place by place

Base telling · Primary text (translation)

Vishnu Purana 1.15 and 2.10

Pan-India Vaishnava

Twelve Tushita gods of the Chakshusha Manvantara agree to enter Aditi's womb to be gods again in the Vaivasvata Manvantara and are born to Kashyapa and Aditi as Vishnu, Shakra, Aryaman, Dhuti (Dhatri), Tvashtri, Pushan, Vivasvat, Savitri, Mitra, Varuna, Amsha and Bhaga. The gods are reborn every thousand ages by their own will. In 2.10 one Aditya sits in the sun's car each month with a rishi, Gandharva, Apsaras, Yaksha, serpent and Rakshasa: Dhatri (Chaitra), Aryaman (Vaishakha), Mitra (Jyeshtha), Varuna (Ashadha), Indra (Shravana), Vivasvat (Bhadrapada), Pushan (Ashvin), Parjanya (Kartik), Amsha (Margashirsha), Bhaga (Pausha), Tvashtri (Magha), Vishnu (Phalguna).

The Vishnu Purana, tr. H. H. Wilson (1840) § 1.15; The Vishnu Purana, tr. H. H. Wilson (1840) § 2.10

Popular retelling

Kashi Khanda: the twelve Adityas of Varanasi

North India · Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Saura

A summary page on the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (chapter 46) says Shiva sent Surya to Kashi, where he divided himself into twelve and stayed: Lolarka, Uttararka, Sambaditya, Draupadaditya, Mayukhaditya, Khakholka, Arunaditya, Vriddhaditya, Keshavaditya, Vimaladitya, Gangaditya and Yamaditya. Lolark Kund near Tulsi Ghat belongs to the first.

What is different here:

A local set of twelve sun shrines with their own names; none of the Vedic or Puranic twelve appears.

Green Message: Appearance of the 12 Adityas in Kashi (Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda)

Primary text (translation)

Rigveda and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.9

Pan-India All traditions

RV 2.27.1 names six Adityas (Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuna, Daksha, Amsha); 9.114.3 says the Aditya gods are seven; 10.72.8 gives Aditi eight sons. In the Upanishad, Vidagdha Shakalya asks Yajnavalkya how many gods there are; the answer shrinks from 3,306 to thirty-three to one. The thirty-three are eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapati; the Adityas are the twelve months of the year, so called because they move on taking everything with them.

What is different here:

No story of birth, no names for the twelve, no chariot: the twelve are the months, by an etymology from 'taking'.

Hymns of the Rigveda, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1896), hymns read for the Vedic layer § 2.27.1; Hymns of the Rigveda, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1896), hymns read for the Vedic layer § 9.114.3; Hymns of the Rigveda, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1896), hymns read for the Vedic layer § 10.72.8; The Upanishads, tr. F. Max Muller (Sacred Books of the East 1 and 15) § brihadaranyaka.3.9.1-5

Primary text (translation)

Mahabharata, Adi Parva 65

Pan-India All traditions

Daksha has thirteen daughters, Aditi first. From Aditi come the twelve Adityas, lords of the universe: Dhatri, Mitra, Aryaman, Shakra, Varuna, Amsha, Bhaga, Vivasvat, Usha (so Ganguli; usually read Pushan), Savitri, Tvashtri and Vishnu; the youngest surpasses them all. In the Gita (Bhishma Parva 34) Krishna says he is Vishnu among the Adityas and Aryaman among the Pitris.

What is different here:

A bare list within a genealogy; no Tushitas, no months; stresses Vishnu as youngest and best.

The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § adi.65; The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § bhishma.34

Primary text (translation)

Bhagavata Purana 6.6 and 12.11

Pan-India Vaishnava

The twelve sons of Aditi are Vivasvan, Aryama, Pusha, Tvashta, Savita, Bhaga, Dhata, Vidhata, Varuna, Mitra, Shakra and Urukrama (Vamana). In 12.11 the monthly riders are Dhata, Aryama, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Vivasvan, Pusha (Tapas), Parjanya (Tapasya), Amshu (Sahas), Bhaga (Pushya), Tvashta (Isha) and Vishnu (Urja).

What is different here:

Vidhata replaces Amsha in the birth list; in the monthly list Vishnu rides in Kartik (Urja) and Parjanya in Phalguna, unlike the Vishnu Purana.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhaktivedanta Vedabase) § 6.6.38-39; Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhaktivedanta Vedabase) § 12.11.33-44

Sources: The Vishnu Purana, tr. H. H. Wilson (1840); Green Message: Appearance of the 12 Adityas in Kashi (Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda); Hymns of the Rigveda, tr. R. T. H. Griffith (1896), hymns read for the Vedic layer; The Upanishads, tr. F. Max Muller (Sacred Books of the East 1 and 15); The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer; Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhaktivedanta Vedabase)

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