Bhaga

Bhaga is the Aditya of Ashadha, and his name means a share or portion, the allotment of good fortune that comes to a person. In the Vedic hymns he is the giver of wealth and a patron of shared prosperity, and the idea that a fortune is something distributed fairly rather than merely seized is central to his character. The light attached to him is cheerful and warm, likened to a morning sun on a wedding day, and he is closely connected with marital happiness.

The Puranic story of Daksha's sacrifice says that Bhaga was blinded when Veerabhadra disrupted the rite, and so he is sometimes pictured as a blind seer. Some readers draw a moral from it, that real contentment does not depend on sight or outward display. The title Bhagavan, used for the divine in many devotional traditions, is derived from the same root, which gives Bhaga a quiet importance far beyond his place in this short list.

Devotional practice in his name around Ashadha Purnima centres on couples reciting a hymn together and on acts of charity, including support for those in need of eye care. As with the other Adityas, texts do not agree on one authoritative list, and in some enumerations Bhaga holds a different position or month. The Martand sun temple in Kashmir is remembered in connection with a shrine of this deity.