View source for Religion:Sanjna

{{Short description|Hindu goddess of clouds and dusk}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image = Sanjna Surya Chhaya.jpg
| caption = Surya with consorts Sanjna and [[Religion:Chhaya|Chhaya]]
| name = Sanjna
| Devanagari = संज्ञा
| Sanskrit_transliteration = Saṃjñā
| gender = Female
| god_of = Goddess of Clouds and Twilight 
| consort = [[Religion:Surya|Surya]]
| father = Tvashta or [[Religion:Vishvakarma|Vishvakarma]]
| children = [[Religion:Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], [[Religion:Yamuna in Hinduism|Yami]], Ashvins, Shraddhadeva Manu and Revanta
| siblings = [[Astronomy:Trisiras|Trisiras]] (twin brother)<br>[[Religion:Chhaya|Chhaya]] (reflection)
| other_names = Saranyu, Sandhya, Sanjana, Suvarchala, Randal, Sauri
}}
'''Sanjna''' ({{lang-sa|संज्ञा|Saṃjñā}}), also known as '''Saranyu''' ({{lang-sa|सरन्यू}}, IAST: ''Saraṇyū''), and '''Sandhya''', is a [[Religion:Devi|Hindu goddess]] and the chief consort of [[Religion:Surya|Surya]], the Sun god. She is mentioned in the ''[[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]]'', and also appears in later Hindu scriptures including the ''[[Religion:Harivamsa|Harivamsa]]'' and the ''[[Religion:Puranas|Puranas]]''.

Described as the daughter of the craftsman deity Tvashta (often identified with [[Religion:Vishvakarma|Vishvakarma]]), Sanjna temporarily abandoned her husband as she was unable to bear his heat and brilliance. She is mentioned as the mother of the death god [[Religion:Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], the river-goddess Yami, the current Manu, the divine twin physicians Ashvins and the god Revanta.

== Etymology and epithets==
''{{IAST|Saraṇyū}}'' is the female form of the adjective ''{{IAST|saraṇyú}}'', meaning "quick, fleet, nimble", used for rivers and wind in the ''[[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]]'' (compare also Sarayu).{{sfn|Kinsley|1986|p=16}} Saranyu has been described as "the swift-speeding storm cloud".<ref> </ref> In the later text named Harivamsa (5th century C.E.), Saranyu is known as Sanjna or Samjna , which means 'image', 'sign' or 'name'.<ref name= "wendy" /><ref name="Kurma Purana">{{Cite book|last=Daniélou|first=Alain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C&q=Samj%C3%B1%C4%81|title=The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series|date=December 1991|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|isbn=978-0-89281-354-4|language=en}}</ref> Samjna is sometimes known by the name Sandhya (lit. '[[Earth:Twilight|twilight]]').<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Doniger |first1=Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions Wendy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=waieYDB9UMkC&q=Samjna&pg=PA50 |title=Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India |last2=Doniger |first2=Wendy |last3=O'Flaherty |first3=Wendy Doniger |date=June 1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-15640-8 |language=en}}</ref>

==Textual sources and family==
[[File:Suryadeva.jpg|left|175px|thumb|Statues of Surya and his two consorts {{mdash}} Samjna and Chhaya]]
Sanjna is mentioned in the ''[[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]]'' (c. 1200-1000 BCE), where she is referred to as Saranyu and is described to be the daughter of deity Tvastar and the twin sister of [[Astronomy:Trisiras|Trisiras]].{{sfn|Kinsley|1986|p=16}} Her husband is Vivasvan, whom she temporarily abandoned and appointed Sadrisha (lookalike woman) to foster her children. The story of Saranyu abandoning her husband is then narrated in Yaksha's ''Nirukta'' (c. 500 BCE). The text of ''[[Religion:Bṛhaddevatā|Bṛhaddevatā]]'' also narrates the same story with additional details of Ashvin's birth.<ref name = "wendy" />

The epic ''[[Religion:Harivamsa|Harivamsa]]'' (c. 5th century CE) first mentions Saranyu as Sanjna and there is a significant expansion of the myth. The Puranic scriptures like the ''Markandeya Purana, the Matsya Purana'' and the ''Kurma'' described Sanjna as the daughter of Vishwakarma (identified with Tvashta) and her lookalike is called [[Religion:Chhaya|Chhaya]] ('reflection' or 'shadow').<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pattanaik|first=Devdutt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rjL3ogbdJNkC&q=Saranya&pg=PA67|title=The Goddess in India: The Five Faces of the Eternal Feminine|date=September 2000|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|isbn=978-0-89281-807-5|language=en}}</ref> However in ''[[Religion:Bhagavata Purana|Bhagavata Purana]]'', Chhaya is her biological sister.<ref name="Prabhupada">{{cite web|url=http://srimadbhagavatam.com/sb/8/13/en|title=Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: Chapter 13: Description of Future Manus|last=Prabhupada|publisher=The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.|accessdate=5 July 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215012049/http://srimadbhagavatam.com/sb/8/13/en|archivedate=15 February 2011}}</ref>

Most scriptures mention 6 children of Surya by Saranyu:
*Shraddhadeva Manu — ancestor of humans<ref name = "wendy" /><ref name = "Vettam" />
*[[Religion:Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] — Lord of Death<ref name = "wendy" /><ref name = "Vettam" />
*[[Religion:Yamuna in Hinduism|Yami]] — Lady of Yamuna<ref name = "wendy" /><ref name = "Vettam" />
*Ashvins — The divine twin physicians.<ref name = "Revanta" >{{Citation |last=Singh |first=Nagendra Kumar |year=1997 |title=Encyclopaedia of Hinduism |volume=44 |chapter=Revanta in Puranic Literature and Art |pages=2605–19 |publisher=Anmol Publications <!-- PVT. LTD. --> |isbn=81-7488-168-9}}</ref>
*Revanta — Master of horses<ref name = "Revanta" /><ref name = "wendy" /><ref name = "Vettam" />

However, as per ''Kurma Purana'' and ''[[Religion:Bhagavata Purana|Bhagavata Purana]]'', Sanjna has only three children {{Em dash}} Shraddhadeva Manu, [[Religion:Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] and [[Religion:Yamuna in Hinduism|Yamuna]] (Yami).<ref name="Kurma Purana" /><ref name = "Prabhupada" />

==Legends==
[[File:Birth of the Celestial Twins, Folio from a Harivamsha (Lineage of Vishnu) LACMA M.83.1.7 (1 of 2).jpg|left|thumb|upright|Birth of Ashwinikumar, a folio from the ''Harivamsa'']]
According to many texts, the craftsman deity Vishwakarma, also known as Tvastar, has two children Samjna and Trisiras. After Saranyu grows into a beautiful maiden, he arranges his daughter's [[History:Svayamvara|Svayamvara]], a custom in which a lady chooses her husband from the group of eligible suitors. Samjna marries Surya (alias Vivasvan), the sun god.{{sfn|Kinsley|1986|p=16}}{{sfn|Wendy|1984|p=154}}

Samjna is unsatisfied with her marital life. The Harivamsa states that power and heat of Surya has made him unpleasant looking to her, while according to the Markandeya Purana, Samjna's behaviour changes as she is unable to bear  Surya's splendor or heat.{{sfn|Wendy|1988|p=158 (for Harivamsa)}} Her behaviour angers Surya and he curses her next born children. After the birth of Yama and Yami, she is unable to tolerate more and decides to abandon her husband. Before leaving, she creates a similar looking woman from her shadow ([[Religion:Chhaya|Chhaya]]) and asks her to take care of the children. However, in Vedic accounts, the lady is a similar looking woman named Savarna. According to Harivamsa and Markandeya Purana, Samjna reaches her father's abode but is asked by him to return. Helpless, she assumes the form of a mare and roams in the forest of Kuru. In the ''Vishnu Purana'', a similar legend is recited by the sage Parashara but Samjna leaves Surya to gain control over his heat by performing ''tapas'' in the forest.<ref name = "wilson">{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Horace Hayman|title=The Vishńu Puráńa: a system of Hindu mythology and tradition|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuooAAAAYAAJ&q=chhaya&pg=PA20|volume=8|year=1866|publisher=Trubner & Co.|location=London|pages=20–23|chapter=II}}</ref>

Meanwhile, Surya, unaware of the replacement, impregnates the look alike. Chhaya is partial to her own children. Yama later abuses and threatens her with his leg in the Harivamsa, while the Markandeya Purana tells that he kicks her. All texts mention that Chhaya casts a curse on him. In some versions, she curses Yama's leg to get infected with worms or fall apart or both. Surya gets to know that she was not Yama's mother due to the harsh punishment which a mother wouldn't consider. This behaviour of a mother to her child makes Surya suspicious and after confronting Chhaya, she discloses the whole incident.

Distressed, Surya goes to his father in law, and asks him to cure his splendor. Vishwakarma then reduces Surya's glory, making him pleasant to behold. Surya then locates Samjna, who was in the form of a mare, and after finding her, he assumes the form of a stallion and engages in love making with her. Samjna delivers twins Ashvins through her nose. Surya shows his normal form to her. Sanjana is pleased to see her husband's beauty and returns to her abode with her new-born twins.<ref name = "wendy">{{cite book|last=Doniger |first=Wendy|editor=John Stratton Hawley, Donna Marie Wulff|title=Devī: goddesses of India|year=1998|publisher=Motilal Banarsidas| isbn=81-208-1491-6|chapter=Saranyu/Samjna|pages = 154–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZrV3kOpMt0C&q=Samjna}}</ref> Unlike the previous version of Harivamsa, Markandeya Purana states that Surya asks his father in law to reduce his heat after the birth of Ashvins.<ref name = "wendy" /> Some texts also add Revant, the divine master of horses, as the son of Sanjana.<ref name = "Revanta" />

In many Puranas, Vishvakarma uses Surya's heat to create many celestial weapons.<ref name = "Vettam">Puranic Encyclopedia: a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature, Vettam Mani, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1975, p. [https://archive.org/stream/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft#page/680/mode/2up Samjñā]</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite book|last=Kinsley|first=David R|title=Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions|publisher= University of California Press|date=1986|isbn=81-208-0379-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgTOZEyrVtIC&q=Sara%E1%B9%87y%C5%AB}}

==External links==

[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sanjna}}