Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Dhata () or Dhatr () is the name of the solar deity, one of the

Adityas In Hinduism, Adityas ( ) refers to a group of major solar deities, who are the offspring of the goddess Aditi. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas are twelve in number and consi ...

.Mani p. 232 He is also a god of health and magic. He is invoked in

tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

by drawing tantras and chanting

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s. Often invoked during major yagnas such as Ashwamedha yagna. Dhata is evidenced as an Aditya in both Hindu epics - the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' and the ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. He is described to fought

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

in burning of

Khandava Forest The Khandava Forest or Khandava Vana (Sanskrit: खाण्डव वन, ) or Khandavaprastha (; ) is a forest mentioned in the epic ''Mahabharata, Mahābhārata.'' It lay to the west of Yamuna river. The Pandava, Pandavas are described to have ...

episode in the epic ''Mahabharata''. The ''

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

'' also mentions Dhata as the seventh son of Aditi and Kashyapa. In this text, he has four wives — Kuhu, Sinivali, Raka, and Anumati — who gave birth to his sons — Sayam, Darsha, Pratar and Purnamasa respectively.Bhagavata Purana, Book 6 - Sixth Skandha, Chapter 18
/ref> In the ''

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also considered as a text that covers them ...

'', he is associated with the colour yellow and the zodiac cancer.Mani p. 265

Notes

References

* Health gods Solar gods Hindu gods Adityas {{Hindu-myth-stub