Snippets of Information - Epics
Mahabaratham - Characters - A
* Adiratha (Radheya)Adiratha (Radheya) and his wife Radha
adopted the child left in a basket to drift in the river Ganga by young
princess Kunti as their own son and named him Karna.
* Ashta (Asta) Vasus
The eight Vasus mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad are Agni, Prithvi, Vayu, Antariksha, Aditya, Dyaus, Soma and Nakstrani.
By the time of the Mahabharata, their names were replaced by Anala, Dhara, Anila, Aha, Pratyusha, Prabhasa, Soma and Dhruva.
Although the names are different, in their essential meaning both the
lists point to the same divinities. Anala is an epithet of Agni. Dhara
is water. Anila is the earth. Aha is Vayu. Pratyusha is Aditya, the Sun.
Prabhasa is Dyus, the dawn. Soma is the moon, Chandrama and Nakshatrani
is Dhruva, the Pole Star. Symbolically, the eight Vasus represent the
elemental forces and processes of Nature and the beings, namely earth,
water, fire, air, light, weather, day, dawn, pole star, sun, moon,
movement, support, transformation, digestion and so on.
Source: Gods of Hinduism, the Eight Vasus by Jayaram V, hinduwebsite.com
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