Aditya

In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, a
group of twelve divine sons born to the
sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi, from
whom these sons get their collective
name. The twelve are named Dhata,
Aryama, Mitra, Shakra (Indra), Varuna,
Amsha, Bhaga, Vivasvan (Surya),
Pushan, Savitr, Tvashtr, and Vishnu.
Several of these deities are important
figures in the religious scriptures known
as the Vedas, and Vishnu later gained
prominence as one of the primary
Hindu gods. On one hand, the Adityas
illustrate the Hindu concept that the
divine beings (devas) have many similarities to humans, although they are
more powerful and live in a different
world, the heavens. On the other hand,
they also demonstrate how the Hindu
tradition changes over time. Among the
Adityas, Vishnu is one of a number of
divine beings who are all subject to
birth, death, and the operation of
karma, whereas in his later aspect as the
Supreme Being, he is considered not
only to be beyond all these forces, but to
wield control over them.
The twelve Adityas are the sun in
the twelve months of the year. In at
least one of the Puranas these twelve
Adityas are each connected with a
particular sign of the zodiac.