Mitra

Mitra, whose name means friend, is the Aditya of Karttika and the divine patron of friendship, agreements and the shared light of day. In the Rig Veda he is called upon with Varuna so often that the compound Mitra-Varuna becomes a single concept, which tradition understands as kindness and binding law working side by side. Where Varuna is associated with night and enforcement, Mitra stands for daylight and the goodwill that lets people trust one another.

The light of Mitra is described as communal: the sunshine that makes the whole world visible at once, so that every being can see every other. This turns an ordinary morning into a picture of fellowship. Some scholars connect the name with an ancient Indo-Iranian god of contracts, and the shared root with the Persian Mithra is often noted, though that comparison belongs to historical study rather than to devotional tradition.

Mitra is also the first name in the series chanted during Surya Namaskar, where each of twelve salutations carries one of the sun's names, beginning with Om Mitraya Namah. That use brings him into the daily practice of many people who have never heard his Vedic stories. As noted for the other Adityas, the lists vary between texts, and some versions place Mitra at a different position or merge him with Surya. The Modhera sun temple in Gujarat is remembered among the places where he is honoured within a panel of the twelve.