ancient and revered deity. In later Hindu usage, all the Vedic Adityas lost identity and metamorphosed into one composite deity, Surya, the Sun. The attributes of all other Adityas merged into that of Surya and the names of all other Adityas became synonymous with, or epithets of, Surya.

The Ramayana has Rama as a direct descendant of the Surya, thus belonging to the Suryavamsha