The Sun's Wife and the Shadow

The sages told the Pandavas of Surya, the Sun god, and his wife Sanjna - a tale that explains why the great weapons of the gods were forged, and that carries a quiet wisdom about how even the brightest and best of things, in excess, becomes unbearable.

Surya, the radiant Sun, the eye of the heavens, married Sanjna, the lovely daughter of Vishvakarma, the divine architect and craftsman of the gods. Sanjna was devoted to her shining husband, and she bore him children who would themselves become great powers of the world: Yama, who became the Lord of Death and the judge of the dead, the upholder of justice; and Yami, who became the sacred river Yamuna; and another son who would carry on the line of the great kings. For a time they lived together, the Sun and his bride. But there was a difficulty in their marriage that grew harder for Sanjna to bear with every passing year.