Aruna literally means "red, ruddy, tawny", and is also the name of the charioteer of Surya in Hinduism. He is the personification of the reddish glow of the rising Sun. Aruna is also found in Buddhism and Jainism literature and arts. He is the older brother of Garuda. Aruna and Garuda are the sons of Vedic sage Kashyapa and his wifeVinata. Shrines dedicated to Aruna, called Wat Arun, are found in Thailand. Another Aruna is significant in the Ramayana epic, where he takes on a female avatar Aruni, and has two sons who are turned into monkey commanders named Sugriva and Vali.. In Mahabharata Surya offered Aruna and the divine chariot to his son Karna which he denied as he didn't want to rely on others to win the war like Arjuna who always depended upon Krishna. In the Upanishadic literature such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a different sage is named Aruna whose son is also a Vedic sage named Uddalaka. The term is also used for those rishis in Hindu tradition who achieve liberation through self-study.
Mythology
Aruna is found in different, inconsistent Indian mythologies. In one, he was born prematurely and partially developed from an egg. According to this version, Kashyapa Prajapati's two wives Vinata and Kadru wanted to have children. Kashyapa granted them a boon. Kadru asked for one thousandNāga sons, while Vinata wanted two. Kashyapa blessed them, and then went away to a forest. Later, Kadru gave birth to one thousand eggs, while Vinata gave birth to two eggs. These incubated for five hundred years, upon which Kadru broke the eggs open and out came her 1,000 sons. Vinata eager for her sons, broke one of the eggs from which emerged the partially formed Aruna. From the broken egg a flash of light, Aruna, sprang forth. He was as radiant and reddish as the morning sun. But, due to the premature breaking of the egg, Aruna was not as bright as the noon sun as he was promised to be. Vinata waited, and later the fully developed brother of Aruna named Garuda was born.
is a Wat in Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand, on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple derives its name from the Hindu god Aruna and is among the best known of Thailand's landmarks. The first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence.
