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Astronomical Deities

The sun-god of the Hindus is Surya, or Mitra, which is one of his Vedic names. The sun is regarded as divine, as pervading all things, as the soul of the world and the supporter of the universe. Surya, therefore, is reverently worshiped, and innumerable hymns are sung in his praise. The verse of the Rig Veda: "Om! Earth.r: air, heaven. Om! Let us meditate on the supreme splendor of the divine sun! May he illuminate our minds!" may give usx either one of two ideas: The worship of the material sun as the; center and life-giver of the material universe; or the adoration, by illuminated minds, of the " Spiritual Sun," the Atma, the central flame — call it what one will — of the universal spiritual life. It is just this twofold aspect—the external huskandv the internal living life — which makes it so hard to write of Hindoo mythology as such, for one who has studied the inner and hidden meaning of the many seemingly trivial stories of the Indian gods and goddesses.

Surya has his spouse, who is generally called Prabha (meaning Brightness). It is said that, unable to sustain the pressure of the sun's intensity, she assumed another form named Chaya (Shade), and this impersonation of shade is sometimes called the spouse of Surya. Surya, or the sun, is exclusively worshiped by a sect called Suras, or Sauras, who acknowledge no other god; but this sect is less numerous than the worshipers of Vishnu and Siva.

In connection with the sun-god, the twelve Aditya are often mentioned in Hindoo writings. These Aditya are said to be sons of Aditi, the universe, who is often called the mother of the gods. They are emblems of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each sign is under the protection of a special god,— Varuna, Surya, Indra, Krishna, etc.; and it is by virtue of this office that the above-mentioned gods and their associates are called the Aditya.

Aruna, the charioteer of Surya, is the dawn, and he has been styled the Aurora of the Hindoos. He is a brother of Garuda, the eagle vahan of Vishnu, and is always represented as lame —generally with both legs cut off below the knee. There are various fables to account for this lameness, which is also characteristic of the charioteer of the Egyptian sun-god.

The principal moon-god of the Hindus is Chandra, who is pictured in a car drawn by pied antelopes. As the moon, like almost everything else in Hindoo mythology, is regarded as both masculine and feminine, Chandra has his female counterpart, or spouse, who is called Chandri. But the moon, by some Hindoos, is said to be all feminine, Chandri, and to be the spouse of Surya, the sun-god, by whom she has a numerous family. This confusion of sex is explained by one writer as follows: When the moon is in opposition to the sun, it is the god Chandra; but when in conjunction with that luminary, it is the goddess Chandri. The moon was also worshiped as both male and female by the Egyptians, between whose mythology and that of the Hindoos there are many remarkable correspondences. In some legends Chandra is said to have twenty-eight wives; these correspond with the lunar divisions of the zodiac, or the twenty-eight days of the lunar month. These goddesses all have their special names, and the legends concerning them would fill a volume. Isa and Isi, other names for the moon and his consort, are often found in Hindoo legends.

Each of the major planets has also its presiding spirit or god. Sani, or Saturn, is regarded by the astrologers of India as a malignant planet, and the god of that name has been assigned the ill-omened raven as his attendant. Major Moor has an interesting theory that the raven destroys its own young, and that for that reason it has been assigned to Sani, which, under his various names of Saturn, Kronos, and Time, is said in many systems of mythology to devour his own children. Vrihaspati, regent of the planet Jupiter, is an important person in Hindoo mythology. He is the preceptor or guru of the gods, and his name has been given to a cycle, the Vrihaspati mana, or year of Jupiter, during which he describes one sign of his orbit.