Name

Do I prefer Adi or Aaditya ?

I prefer to be called ‘adi’, because it is short, easy to pronounce and easy to remember. However, since the advent of female viagra called “Addyi”, I have started rethinking this decision.

Aditya or Aaditya ?

Most common spelling of my name is “aditya”. It is important to note that the first syllable is आ or ā or Ā . Since, ā is not a common ascii character, most people choose to use “a” and loose the correct sound “aa”. I feel preserving the sound was more important than convenience of writing. Yes, I legally changed my name from Aditya to Aaditya when I was in high school. In retrospect, I think I should have left it as it is.

Any relation to name “Aditi” ?

According to Hindu mythology, Aditi is mother of Aditya(s). All the twelve sons of Aditi are collectively called Āadityas

In the tenth chapter of Bhagwad Gita (the holy book of Hindus), Lord Krishna when describing His majestic form to Arjun, says –

                                        adityanam aham visnur
                                        jyotisam ravir amsuman
                                        maricir marutam asmi
                                        naksatranam aham sasi

Which translates to,

There are twelve Ādityas, of which Kṛṣṇa is the principal. And among all the luminaries twinkling in the sky, the sun is the chief, and in the Brahma-saṁhitā the sun is accepted as the glowing effulgence of the Supreme Lord and is considered to be one of His eyes. Marīci is the controlling deity of the heavenly spaces. Among the stars, the moon is most prominent at night, and thus the moon represents Kṛṣṇa.