Daitya

Vishnu as boar Varaha over the body of the decapitated Daitya Hiranyaksha

The Daityas ( Sanskrit दैत्य daitya m.) Are a group of demons ( Asuras ) in Indian mythology , similar to the Danavas . The Daityas are huge, titanic figures. They are not generally evil, but often appear in the stories as opponents of the gods.

Daityas in the narrower sense are the descendants of Diti and the great Rishi Kashyapa . The demarcation between Daitya, Danava, Asura, Rakshasa and other types of supernatural beings is often not precise, especially Daitya and Danava appear interchangeable. The assignment is clear among the Asuras, who are documented as descendants of Diti. But here too there are uncertainties, so Naraka appears once as the son of Vishnu and Bhumi , another time as the grandson of Diti.

The first children of Diti and Kashyapa were the twin brothers Hiranyaksha ("golden-eyed") and Hiranyakashipu ("golden dress"). Hiranyaksha was killed by Vishnu in the form of his boar avatar Varaha , Hiranyakashipu was killed by the man-lion avatar Narasimha . Hiranyakashipu's son was Prahlada . The Nivatakavachas ("wearers of impenetrable armor"), grandsons of Hiranyakashipu, form a separate group of Daityas. In addition, Virochana , the father of Bali , is a son of Prahlada.

Bali, the king of the Daitya, succeeds in becoming the ruler of the whole world including the upper and the underworld. Finally, it is Vishnu again who, in the form of the dwarf avatar Vamana, overcomes the Daitya ruler, who submits to him. The eldest son of Bali and Kotavi (who is also known as the goddess of the Daityas) is the thousand-armed Bana . His daughter Usha fell in love with Aniruddha , the son of Pradyumna and grandson of Krishna , kidnapped him and eventually became his wife. Another son of Bali is Arishta , who attacked Krishna in the form of a bull and was killed by him. Another descendant of Bali is Baleya .

Further Asuras that are called Daitya without a descent from Diti are:

• Keshin
• Puloman
• Shambara
• Shambu
• Tadaka
• Taraka
• Upasunda and his brother Sunda

Mythological figures associated with the Daityas are Shukra , priest and guru of the Daityas, as well as Maya , the builder and artist of the Daityas. The arvans , the feathered horses of the moon, appear as their mounts .

The flying city of Saubha is mentioned in the Mahabharata as the home of the Daityas , which elsewhere also appears as the home of Harishchandra . Also Rasatala , one of the regions of the underworld, is known as the residence of the Daityas.

literature

• Daityas . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, p. 76 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
• Jan Knappert : Lexicon of Indian Mythology. Heyne, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-453-07817-9 , p. 92.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ daitya . In: Monier Monier-Williams : Sanskrit-English Dictionary . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1899, p. 497, col. 1 .