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=Saranya= According to the Rigveda, twins Saranyu and Trisiras are born to the craftsman deity Tvastar. After Saranyu grows into a beautiful maiden, he arranges his daughter's marriage with Vivasvan (Surya). According to Markandeya Purana, Samjna chooses Surya as her husband during her self choice ceremony, but later she is unable to bear Surya's splendor. After the birth of Manu, Sanjana's behaviour changes as she is unable to bear the heat of Surya's splendor. After Manu is born, her behaviour angers Surya and he curses her next born children. The Harivamsa mentions that Samjna is also unsatisfied with her married life as Surya's mighty heat had burnt himself, making him unpleasant to her.

The Rigveda states that soon after the birth of Yama and Yami, Saranyu decided to abandon her husband, though no specific reason is mentioned in the text. However, Harivamsa and Puranas mention that she is unable to tolerate Surya's heat and wants to gain resistance to it by doing tapas (penance). To ensure the safety of her children, she appointed a woman. The Rigveda states her as a similar looking woman named Savarna, while other scriptures state that Saranya created a woman out of her shadow and assigned her to take care of her children.

Vedic
According to the Rigveda, twins Saranyu and Trisiras are born to the craftsman deity Tvastar. After Saranyu grows into a beautiful maiden, he arranges his daughter's marriage with Vivasvan (Surya). After the birth of the twins — Yama and Yami, Saranyu abandons her husband. Before leaving, she appoints a mortal woman called Savarna to take care of her children. Here Savarna is a similar looking woman but in the later texts, she is Saranyu's mere shadow. Saranyu, in the form of mare, roams in a forest. Surya, after realising his wife's absence, follows her in the form of a stallion. After he finds her, they engage in love making and she gives birth to the Ashvins.

Harivamsa
The next major appearance of Saranyu is found in the Harivamsa, an appendix of the Mahabharata. This version provides a detailed account of the legend. Here, Saranyu remains as the daughter of Tvastar (Vishvakarma) but she is known as Samjna. Surya is the son of Kashyapa and Aditi. Samjna is unsatisfied with her married life as Surya is unpleasant to her because of his mighty heat, which has burnt himself. From him, Samjna gives birth to Shraddhadeva Manu, Yama and Yami. After the birth of Yama and Yami, she is unable to tolerate more and decides to abandon her husband. Before leaving, she creates a lady from her shadow and asks her to take care of the children. After Sanjana reaches her father's abode, Tvastar asks her to return. Sanjana, then assumes the form of a mare and roams in the forest of Kuru. Meanwhile, Surya, unaware of the replacement, impregnates the look alike lady with Savarni Manu and Shani. After their birth, she becomes partial to her children. Enraged, Yama threatens her with his leg, but is cursed to lose his leg by her. This behaviour of a mother to her child makes Surya suspicious and later the look alike discloses the whole incident. Surya goes to his father in law, and asks him to cure his splendor. Tvastar then reduces Surya's glory, making him pleasant. After finding Sanjana, Surya makes love with her in the form of a stallion and she gives birth to the Ashvins. He then 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.

Puranic
Sanjna's story is retold in multiple Puranas. Among them, one in the Markandeya Purana is the most popular. The legend is found twice in the text and it shares similarities with the Harivamsa one. Major differences are noted here. After the birth of Manu, Sanjana's behaviour changes as she is unable to bear the heat of Surya's splendor. Her behaviour angers Surya and he curses her next born children. When Yama and Yami are born, Sanjana creates Chhaya and goes to her father's house but is asked to return. This time, Chhaya has three children — Shani, Another Manu and Tapati. After she curses Yama's leg to get infected with worms and fall apart, Surya gets to know that she was not Yama's mother due to the harsh punishment which a mother can't think of. Unlike the previous version, Surya asks his father in law to reduce his heat after the birth of Ashvins. Some chapters also add Revant, the divine master of horses, as the son of Sanjana.

In the Vishnu Purana, a similar legend is recited by Parashara. Sanjana, after giving birth to three children, leaves to gain control over Surya's heat by performing tapas in the forest. Before leaving, she creates Chhaya, who becomes the mother of three children mentioned earlier. After the curse, Surya finds the mare Sanjana in northern Kuru and makes love with her in the form of a stallion. This results in Sanjana giving birth to three children — the two Ashvins and Revanta. Later Vishvakarma reduces Surya's heat. The Matsya Purana also narrate the event. In many Puranas, Vishvakarma uses Surya's heat to create many celestial weapons.