Dvādaśa Ādityas: The Sun's Twelve Monthly Groups

The Ādityas are the solar devas, the forms of the sun. The 11th chapter of the 12th Skandha (book) of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa describes how Bhagavān Viṣṇu, in the form of Sūrya (the sun), moves through the twelve months of the year. In each month he travels with a company of seven, and the company is different for every month.

Each group is made up of one Āditya (a form of the sun), one maharṣi (great ṛṣi), one gandharva (heavenly musician), one apsarā (heavenly dancer), one yakṣa, one rākṣasa and one nāga (divine serpent). Together these groups make up the great system through which Sūrya does his work for the whole world: bringing forth and sustaining all life, keeping kāla (time), and serving as the visible form of Bhagavān Viṣṇu’s sustaining presence.

The Basis of the Teaching

Bhagavān Viṣṇu’s all-pervading power to sustain the world is gathered in Sūrya. The inner self (pratyag-ātman) of all beings, the sun that gives light and life, and Bhagavān Śrī Hari are truly one reality. The great ṛṣis have described the Sūrya-maṇḍala (the orb of the sun) as Bhagavān Viṣṇu’s own acintya māyā-śakti, his power beyond thought, which travels through the twelve months to keep the cycle of life in the world going.

The teaching is given as an answer to a question from Śaunaka Maharṣi to Sūta Maharṣi at Naimiṣāraṇya: how is Bhagavān Viṣṇu to be worshipped through awareness of the sun’s form in each month?

The Seven Roles in Each Monthly Group

In each month, Sūrya travels with seven companions:

Role	What each one does
Āditya	The form of the sun itself: the light and energy of that month
Maharṣi	The Vedic ṛṣi who praises Sūrya with mantras of the Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma Vedas
Gandharva	The celestial musician who sings the glories of the sun
Apsarā	The celestial dancer who dances before the sun
Yakṣa	Prepares and makes ready the sun’s chariot
Rākṣasa	Pushes the chariot from behind with great strength
Nāga	The serpent who binds the parts of the chariot together like a rope

Besides these, the Vālakhilya ṛṣis, sixty thousand pure brahmarṣis of tiny size, travel in front of Sūrya facing him, praising him without pause with shining hymns.

The Twelve Monthly Groups

The months are given here in the order of this account. After Bhādrapada (the sixth month) the account moves to Māgha, and then on through Phālguna, Mārgaśīrṣa, Puṣya, Āśvayuja and Kārttika.

No.	Month	Āditya	Maharṣi	Gandharva	Apsarā	Yakṣa	Rākṣasa	Nāga
1	Caitra (spring)	Dhātā	Pulastya	Tumburu	Kṛtasthalī	Rathakṛt	Heti	Vāsuki
2	Vaiśākha	Aryamā	Pulaha	Nārada	Puñjikasthalī	Not named separately in the source	Prati	Kacchanīra
3	Jyeṣṭha	Mitra	Atri	Hāhā	Menakā	Rathanuja	Pauruṣeya	Takṣaka
4	Āṣāḍha	Varuṇa	Vasiṣṭha	Hūhū	Rambhā	Sahajanya	Citrasvana	Śukra
5	Śrāvaṇa	Indra	Aṅgiras	Viśvāvasu	Prahlicī	Śrota	Vāryuda	Elāpatra
6	Bhādrapada	Vivasvān	Bhṛgu	Ugrasena	Anupecā	Āsāraṇa	Vyāghra	Śaṅkhapāla
7	Māgha	Pūṣā	Gautama	Suṣeṇa	Ghṛtācī	Suruci	Vātu	Dhanañjaya
8	Phālguna	Savitā	Bharadvāja	Viśva	Senajit	Kratu	Varcas	Irāvata
9	Mārgaśīrṣa	Aṃśu	Kaśyapa	Trasena	Urvaśī	Tārkṣya	Vidyucchatra	Mahāśaṅkha
10	Puṣya (Pauṣa)	Bhaga	Āyu (fifth in the line of Bhṛgu)	Ariṣṭanemi	Pūrvacitti	Ūrṇa	Sphūrja	Karkoṭaka
11	Āśvayuja (Āśvina)	Tvaṣṭā	Jamadagni (son of Ṛcīka)	Dhṛtarāṣṭra	Tilottamā	Śatajit	Brahmāpeta	Kambala
12	Kārttika	Viṣṇu	Viśvāmitra	Varcas	Rambhā	Satyajit	Makhāpeta	Aśvatara

Sūrya as Viṣṇu’s Nine Forms

Sūta Maharṣi goes on to teach that the one Bhagavān Śrī Hari, through his beginningless māyā, has made himself into nine forms in the realm of Sūrya and yajña (sacred offering):

Kāla: the time, the occasion (morning, midday and so on)
Deśa: the place
Yajña: the sacred offering
Kartā: the one who performs it
Karaṇa: the instruments, such as the sruva (ladle) and other tools
Karma: the act of offering
Veda-mantra: the sacred words
Dravya: the materials, such as grains and ghee
Phala: the fruit, such as svarga (the heavenly realm) and other rewards

This teaching shows that the whole system of yajña, from the moment it is performed to its final fruit, is nothing other than Bhagavān Sūrya himself, who is one with Viṣṇu.

The Fruit of Daily Remembrance

Whoever meditates on the names of Sūrya’s monthly companions at the three daily sandhyās (the junctions of dawn, noon and dusk) will have all the pāpa (wrongdoing) they have gathered destroyed. Sūrya, with his company of seven, moves through all twelve months. He sustains the life-journey of all beings, in this world (iha) and in the next (para), by moving them to do their karma.

Sources

Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 11