One of the first things that caught my attention with the Adityas and their Retinue is that their sum is 7, so my instincts are telling me that perhaps there is potential for a deeper meaning being indicated with the grahas and the functions of the Adityas and retinue. For some reason I can't stop thinking about it, so I am trying to just play with the idea of associating each of the retinue with the grahas. I made a first attempt, but here is my second attempt. I would like to share to see if anyone else may be interested in this? Who knows maybe we will learn something throughout this Adtiya course that will make it irrelevant. In the meantime, I just wanted to play with it and see if I could come up with anything. I attempted to use the meanings of the words as well as the functions of the beings.
Here is my second attempt at associating the Adityas and retinue with the grahas:
Aditya = Sun or Moon
The Sun is the consciousness that animates and expresses through and with the Aditya. The Sun and Aditya are the center from which the love expresses. Because the Ecliptic, is determined by the path of the Sun, I thought this might be a good fit.
In the case for the Moon, Aditi the Divine Mother is the space that is being divided, so I thought that perhaps the Moon being associated with mothers and children that it might also be a good candidate for its association with the Aditya.
Rsi = Jupiter
Rsi's as "law" givers and progenitors of the Hymns and Vedas, which provide guidance, understanding, and wisdom. I thought it makes the most sense to associate Jupiter with the Rsi.
Ghandarva = Mercury or Sun
This one is tricky and I don't feel so clear about. Ernst describes the Ghandarva as the song perhaps implying music that is sung and we know the Sun is song or gita. So this seems like good possibility. The song of our true self.
When I looked up the etymology of Gandharva; (gandha) is fragrence, scent or essence. (rva) might imply possesion or embodiment or it could be rava (sound). So, I remembered from Graha Sutras that Mercury is our scent or smelling faculties. The only other way of thinking I could come up with is that Ghandarvas being musicians would either be the Moon for music or Mercury for being very skillful with instruments and playfulness.
Apsara = Venus
Ernst states that Apsara means going with the water, so it seems Venus being the water element fits well. Since these are the dancers it also seemed easy to associate with Venus, because dancers are smooth and graceful.
Naga = Mars
I am not well read in the mythologies, but one understanding that I have picked up is that Nagas seem to have a protector or warrior role in Mythological context, but I am not sure. If they are, I think Mars is a likely candidate. Also, the responsibility of the Naga is said to free the chariot from the fetters. So, I thought that Mars would also be a good candidate at break free from chains, restraints and fetters.
Yaksa = Moon, Mercury, or Saturn
As the chariot harnesser, I thought that the Moon would be a good fit because it is the Moon that with cling and hold onto and possess the chariot/Sun/Aditya. The Yaksa's king is Kubera the Lord of wealth, so I thought the Moon being a foundation of ones wealth and possessions would be a good fit. I also thought that Mercury would also be a good candidate relating to Kubera because Mercury could also indicate the wealth that is merited.
Rakshasa = Saturn
This one is a stretch and difficult for me, but Ernst gave me a hint with this one. The Rakshasa is said to be and impelling the chariot forward from the rear. It does make sense that slow Saturn is behind, but also perhaps on a psychological level it is the suffering and grieving that would impel us forward towards a better day. In my experience the difficulties of the past do seem to push me forward, slow me down, or pull me back. Though I don't really imagine Saturn as a protector, perhaps it is a healthy Saturn that protects us from detaching from the unhealthy impelling us forward.
Thats all I could come up with for now. I look forward to seeing if anyone else is interested.
Jesse
I love this idea; it definitely didn't occur to me but makes complete sense to think of relationships between them and the grahas, like with everything else in astrology.
Here are my thoughts in the moment:
Aditya - Sun
This is obvious; how it could be anything other than the Sun, an Aditya being explicitly a form of the Sun.
Rishi - Moon
The reflection of the Sun; the Law of the Rishi is how we express the Love of the Aditya, the idea through which we express the Love of the Aditya. But the Law itself is passive; it doesn't do anything, it is just there and it is up to us to follow it or not. It is completely passive just like the Moon, a medium through which things flow, but has no action of its own. I read recently that some ancients thought of the Moon as belonging to th earthly sphere and the Sun to the celestial sphere; so the Love is celestial and the Law is earthly, the path through which we can connect to that Love from here on Earth.
Gandharva - Jupiter
based only on some of what is said in Monier-Williams: "they live in the sky (RV.; AV.; ŚBr. xiv ), guard the Soma (RV. ix, 113, 3; ŚBr. iii ; AitBr. i, 27), are governed by Varuṇa (just as the Apsarasas are governed by Soma), ŚBr. xiii ; ĀśvŚr. x, 7, 3 , know the best medicines (AV. viii, 7, 23; VS. xii, 98), regulate the course of the asterisms (AV. xiii, 1, 23; BhP. iv, 29, 21; hence twenty-seven are mentioned, VS. ix, 7), follow after women and are desirous of intercourse with them (AV.; ŚBr. iii );"
"The song of our true self" could be interpreted as the song of our natural, innate goodness flowing through us, i.e., Jupiter. Also, if we take it to mean "embodiment of our essence", then that would be Jupiter; the greatest expression/experience of ourselves.
Apsaras - Venus
for the reasons stated in the first post
Naga - Mercury
The naga represents the energy itself, i.e., Vishnu, the energy itself. As for freeing the chariot from the fetters, this could mean freeing from the illusion of separate existence, i.e., seeing everything as Vishnu.
Yaksha - Saturn
I remember Ernst describing these as nature spirits, hence Saturn. As chariot harnesser, that would be the instigator/cause of the illusion of separate existence. In that sense the Lord of Wealth would yoking us to the chariot of our bodies, our attachment to "I, me mine".
Rakshasa - Mars
Mars rules the bodily power of motion. He is also the general. Seems a better fit for an active protector. He impels us to act with the idea of being the doer; the idea "I am the doer" being opposite to God, i.e., a rakshasa.
At first I looked at the order of beings as given on the aditya calculator, which is the order presented here and above and thought maybe just go in the natural order of planets, but it didn't really seem to make sense for Mars to be a Gandharva, Mercury an Apsaras, etc.
Respected Ernst Ji,
Could You please explain the correlation between Adityas and Hindu months?
Thank You.