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Snippets of Information - Epics


Mahabaratham - Characters - A


* Achoda

A divine being called Achoda had been cursed to take birth on earth.  She was born as Satyavati.


* 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.


* Amba, Ambika and Ambalika

They were the daughters of Kashya, the King of Kashi and Kausalya ...Read more


* 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