Diti
Diti ( Sanskrit , f., दिति, Diti) is a goddess of Indian mythology .
In Rigveda she appears together with the goddess Aditi and appears alongside the Adityas Savitri and Bhaga as a deity from whom prosperity and happiness are expected. In other Vedic writings she appears together with Aditi, in the Atharvaveda the Daityas are mentioned for the first time as her sons . Because of their common appearance, it is believed that Diti was formed as the antithesis of Aditi, but this is controversial.
In the tradition of the Ramayana and the Puranas , she is a daughter of Daksha and with her sister Danu one of the wives of the sage Kashyapa . From him she is the mother of the Daityas who belong to the Asuras , while her sister gives birth to the Danavas . Since her sons are slain by the gods, she embarks on a thousand year asceticism in order to be able to give birth to a son who is to destroy Indra . From Kashyapa she receives the information that she will have one after a hundred years of pregnancy. With Rudra she fathered this son and realized the hundred year pregnancy through magic. But Indra thwarts her plan by using his vajra (thunderbolt) to divide the embryo in her womb into seven parts, which then become the seven maruts .
literature
- Volker Moeller: Diti . In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig , Heinz Bechert (Ed.): Gods and Myths of the Indian Subcontinent (= Dictionary of Mythology . Department 1: The ancient civilized peoples. Volume 5). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-12-909850-X , p. 63.