Aryaman

Aryaman is the second of the twelve Adityas and is tied to the month of Phalguna. In the oldest Vedic hymns he is almost always named beside Mitra and Varuna, a trio concerned with honour, oaths and the keeping of agreements. His name carries the sense of a noble companion, and the old texts connect him with hospitality, with the bonds made at marriage and with the courtesy owed to a guest.

Tradition also makes him a lord of the Pitrus, the departed ancestors, and the long band of the Milky Way is called Aryamapatha, the path of Aryaman, as a road that souls are imagined to travel. This gives him a gentle double character: he presides over the ties of the living household and over the remembrance of those who came before. His light is described as a steady amber, the settled glow of the afternoon rather than the sharp brilliance of noon.

Aryaman is often invoked in connection with marriage rites, and observances in his name on Phalguna Purnima emphasise feeding guests and helping those in need. Lists of the twelve Adityas differ from text to text, and Aryaman is one of the names that appears in nearly every version, which marks him as one of the oldest members of the group. The Arasavalli sun temple in Srikakulam is the shrine most often named in connection with sun worship of this kind.