Elements of Hindu Iconography v3.c18.3

v3.c18.3

The Adityas are a very ancient class of deities in India, as they are found praised in the Vedas. The earliest references to them say that they are seven or eight in number. In the *Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa*, for instance, they are said to be eight in one place and twelve in another; and in the latter case it is conceived that they correspond to the twelve months of the year. Different accounts are given regarding the origin of the Adityas. The most commonly accepted meaning of their name is that they are all so called because they are the sons of Aditi; and in the *Purāṇas* they are all evidently solar deities. Owing to the existence in Northern India of the Maga-Brāhmaṇas, who in all probability are related to the Mitra-worshipping Magi of Persia and are worshippers of the sun, it is not strange that we meet there temples dedicated exclusively to Sūrya the sun-god. But it is certainly curious to find a temple in the South Indian village of Sūryanārkōyil in the Tanjore district dedicated entirely to the worship of the sun-god and the planets, the former being the object of worship as the principal deity and the latter as attendant deities. This village must have evidently received its name from the temple of Sūrya therein built; it is stated in one of the inscriptions found in the temple that it was built in the reign of Kulōttuṅgachōḷadēva (A. D. 1060—1118) and was called Kulōttuṅgachōḷa-Mārttāṇḍālaya.