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Martanda ( sa, मार्तंड, Mārtanda) in Hinduism is the eighth and last of the Vedic solar deities called Adityas. He is known as an Aditya by virtue of being born to Aditi.
The ''Taittirîya Aranyaka'' reads:
::''Tat parâ Mârtândam â abharat''
::(She set aside Mârtânda for birth and death)
The Aranyaka then proceeds to give the names of the eight sons as
Martanda ( sa, मार्तंड, Mārtanda) in Hinduism is the eighth and last of the Vedic solar deities called Adityas. He is known as an Aditya by virtue of being born to Aditi.
Etymology
Mârtânda is etymologically derived from ''mârta'', meaning “dead or undeveloped” (a word connected with ''mrita'', the past participle of ''mri'', "to die") and ''ânda'', "an egg or a bird". The name denotes a dead sun, or a sun that has sunk below the horizon.Mentions
Book 10, Hymn 72 of the Rigveda has the following verse: ::''Eight are the Sons of Aditi who from her body sprang to life.'' ::''With seven she went to meet the Gods she cast Martanda far away.'' ::''So with her Seven Sons Aditi went forth to meet the earlier age. She brought ::''Martanda thitherward to spring to life and die again.'' Aditi at first had only seven sons but later gave birth to an eighth son named Mārtanda. Although many hymns in the Rigveda mention him along with the other Adityas as a form ofSurya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
, as evident from the verse above, Aditi shunned him.
The ''Taittirîya Aranyaka'' reads:
::''Tat parâ Mârtândam â abharat''
::(She set aside Mârtânda for birth and death)
The Aranyaka then proceeds to give the names of the eight sons as Mitra
''Mitra'' ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*mitrás'') is the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive.
The names (and occasionally also some characteristics) of these t ...
, Varuna, Dhâtṛi, Aryaman, Amsha, Bhaga, Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
and Vivasvat. But no further explanation is added, nor is it told which of these eight sons represented Mârtânda.The Taittirîya Aranyaka, I, 13, 2-3
In the post-Vedic period, when the number of Adityas increased to twelve, the name ''Vivasvat'' was added to the canon. Vivasvat and Martanda are often used interchangeably.
Martand Sun temple in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
is dedicated to Mārtanda. Today the temple is in ruins and Martanda is no longer venerated there. However a temple complex nearby named Martand Tirth serves as a modern replacement.
See also
*List of Hindu deities
Hinduism is the largest religion in the Indian subcontinent, and the third largest religion in the world. Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world, and many practitioners refer to Hinduism as "the eternal law" ('). Within this ...
* Martand Sun Temple
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martanda Hindu gods Adityas