Saranya or Saraniya (also known as Saranya, Sanjna, or Sangya) is the wife of Surya

Surya

Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...

, and a goddess of the dawn and the clouds in Hindu mythology

Hindu mythology

Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...

, and is sometimes associated with Demeter

Demeter

In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...

, Greek goddess of agriculture. According to Max Müller

Max Müller

Friedrich Max Müller , more regularly known as Max Müller, was a German philologist and Orientalist, one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion...

 and A. Kuhn, Demeter is the mythological equivalent of the Sanskrit Saranyu, who, having turned herself into a mare, is pursued by Vivasvat, and becomes the mother of Revanta

Revanta

Revanta or Raivata is a minor Hindu deity. According to the Rig-Veda, Revanta is the youngest son of the sun-god Surya, and his wife Sanjna . Revanta is chief of the Guhyakas , semi-divine and demonic class entities – like the Yakshas – who are believed to live as forest dwellers in Himalayas...

 and the twin Asvins, the Indian Dioscuri (the Indian and Greek myths being regarded as identical). She is also the mother of Manu

Sraddhadeva Manu

In Hindu mythology, Sraddhadeva Manu or Vaivasvata Manu is one of the 14 Manus, and the son of Vivasvat, hence his other name Vaivasvata Manu...

, the twins Yama

Yama (Hinduism)

Yama is the lord of death in Hinduism, first recorded in the Vedas. Yama belongs to an early stratum of Indo-Iranian theology. In Vedic tradition Yama was considered to have been the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, thus in virtue of precedence he became the ruler...

 and Yami

Yami

In Vedic beliefs, Yamī is the first woman, along with her twin brother, Yama. The Rig Veda, in the tenth Mandala, contains a hymn in which they sing to each other. They were children of Surya, the Sun god, in his form as Vivasvat, and his wife Saranya. She is also known as Yamuna. Another name for...

. According to Farnell, the meaning of the epithet is to be looked for in the original conception of Erinys, which was that of an earth-goddess akin to Ge

Gê

Gê are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil the Gê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Grosso, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhão, and as far south as Paraguay....

, thus naturally associated with Demeter, rather than that of a wrathful avenging deity.

is the female form of the adjective , meaning "quick, fleet, nimble", used for rivers and wind in the Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...

 (compare also Sarayu

Sarayu

The Sarayu is a river that flows through the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This river is of ancient significance, finding mentions in the Vedas and the Ramayana. The Sarayu forms at the confluence of the Karnali and Mahakali in Bahraich District...

).

Etymologically, Saranyu may be related to Helen. In Rigveda

Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...

 10.17, Saranyu is the daughter of Tvastar

Tvastar

In Vedic religion,' , is the first born creator of the universe. In Yajurveda purusha suktha and in 10 mandala of Rg veda his character and attributes are merging with the concept like Hiranyagharbha/Prajapathy or Brahma.The term also transliterated as Tvaṣṭr, nominative , is the heavenly...

, and, like Helen, is abducted, and Vivasvat is given a replacement bride instead.

1ab

1cd yamásya mātâ paryuhyámānā mahó jāyâ vívasvato nanāśa

2ab

2cd

Tvastar prepares the bridal of his Daughter: all the world hears the tidings and assembles.

But Yama's Mother, Spouse of great Vivasvat, vanished as she was carried to her dwelling.

From mortal men they hid the Immortal Lady, made one like her and gave her to Vivasvat.

Saranyu brought to him the Asvin brothers, and then deserted both twinned pairs of children.