Diti () is a daughter of the ''

Prajapati Prajapati (, ) is a Vedas, Vedic deity of Hinduism. He is later identified with Brahma, the creator god. Prajapati is a form of the creator-god Brahma, but the name is also the name of many different gods, in many Hindu scriptures, ranging f ...

Daksha Daksha ( ,) is a Hindu god whose role underwent a significant transformation from Vedic mythology, ''Vedic'' to Itihasa-Purana, ''Itihasa-Puranic'' mythology. In the ''Rigveda'', Daksha is an ''Adityas, aditya'' and is associated with priestly ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. She is a wife of the sage Kashyapa and the mother of the demonic race Daityas and the divine group of Marutas.

Legend

According to the '' Puranic'' scriptures, Diti is one of the sixty daughters of ''

and his wife Asikni. She and her twelve sisters, including Aditi, were married to the sage Kashyapa. Diti is described as the mother of two groups of beings—the Daityas and the Maruts. The most prominent of her sons were Hiranyakashipu,

Hiranyaksha Hiranyaksha (, ), also known as Hiranyanetra () was an asura king as per Hindu mythology. He is described to have submerged the earth and terrorised the three worlds. He was slain by the Varaha (wild boar) avatar of Vishnu, who rescued the ...

, Vajranaka, Arunasura, Raktabija and Surapadman. Diti also had a daughter named Simhika (also known as Holika).

Birth of Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu

The

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

describes the circumstances of the birth of the two powerful daityas:

Birth of the maruts

After the death of her sons in the Samudra Manthana, Diti grew inconsolable. She begged her husband to grant her a child who would be capable of defeating

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

. In due course, Diti became pregnant and following her husband’s advice, she engaged in tapas and remained chaste. When Indra discovered that the child in Diti's womb was to be his slayer, he took on the disguise of an attendant. Indra used his thunderbolt known as the

vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...

to splinter the fetus into many pieces, from which originated the marutas.

Personality

Diti is usually depicted as being cruel to both her husband Kashyapa, and her sister Aditi. She is obsessed with trying to bring the

asuras Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...

into power. She is a bitter enemy of Aditi's sons, the devas, and she is instrumental in the asuras gaining control and autonomy over them.

References

*''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' () by Anna Dhallapiccola
TTD Publications
Go to this link to buy 'A Synopsis of Srimad Bhagavatam' for further details. {{HinduMythology Hindu goddesses Earth goddesses Asura Daughters of Daksha

Legend

Birth of Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu

Birth of the maruts

Personality

See also

References