| Aditi | |
|---|---|
Goddess of the sky, consciousness, the past, the future, and fertility[1] | |
 Aditi praying to the god Brahma | |
| Affiliation | Devi,Devaki |
| Weapons | Sword,Trishula |
| Texts | Rigveda,Puranas,Ramayana,Mahabharata |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Diti,Kadru,Vinata,Sati,SmritiSwaha,Rohini, Revati,Danu, Muni and many other brothers and sisters |
| Consort | Kashyapa |
| Children | |
Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit. 'boundless' or 'limitless'[a] or 'innocence'[2]) is an importantVedicgoddess inHinduism.
She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. She is the goddess of motherhood,consciousness,unconsciousness, thepast, thefuture, andfertility.[4] She is the mother of the celestial deities known as theadityas, and is referred to as the mother of many deities. As celestial mother of numerous beings, the synthesis of all things, she is associated with space (akasha) and with mystic speech (Vāc). She may be seen as a feminine form ofBrahma, and associated with the primal substance (mulaprakriti) in theVedanta. She is mentioned more than 250 times in theRigveda, the verses replete with her praise.
Aditi is the daughter ofDaksha andAsikni (Panchajani). ThePuranas, such as theShiva Purana and theBhagavata Purana, suggest that Daksha married all of his daughters off to different people, including Aditi and 12 others to sageKashyapa. When Kashyapa was living with Aditi andDiti in his ashrama, he was really pleased with Aditi's services, and told her to ask for a boon. Aditi prayed for one ideal son. Accordingly,Indra was born. Later, Aditi gave birth to the twelve adityas, namelyVaruna,Parjanya,Mitra,Amsha,Pushan,Dhatri,Aryaman,Surya,Bhaga,Savitr,Vamana, and Viṣṇu.[5][6]
The first mention of Aditi is found inRigveda, which is dated by mainstream consensus to have been composed between 1800 and 1200 BCE.[7] She is portrayed as the mother of theAdityas, a group of societal Rigvedic deities, includingVaruna,Mitra,Aryaman,Daksha,Bhaga, Amsha, and sometimesSurya andSavitar. As the mother of the societal deities, she represented the compliance to social behavior. Her motherhood was also an important attribute, and later was expanded so that she became the mother of all deities.[2]
According to theShatapatha Brahmana (a commentary on theShukla Yajurveda), Aditi is also invoked during ritualsacrificial offerings as being synonymous with the Earth:
'On the navel of the earth I place thee!' And further, 'In the lap of Aditi (the boundless or inviolable earth)!' for when people guard anything very carefully, they commonly say that 'they, as it were, carried it in their lap;' and this is the reason why he says, 'In the lap of Aditi!'
— Satapatha Bramanda (translatorJulius Eggeling, 1882), 1:1:2:23[8]
Aditi and the sage Kashyapa had 33 sons, out of whom twelve are calledĀdityas includingSurya, eleven are calledRudras, and eight are calledVasus.[9]Aditi is said to be the mother of the great godIndra, the mother of kings (Mandala 2.27) and the mother of gods (Mandala 1.113.19). In theVedas, Aditi is Devamata (mother of the celestial gods) as from and in her cosmic matrix all the heavenly bodies were born. She is preeminently the mother of 12 Âdityas, whose names includeVivasvān,Aryamā,Pūṣā,Tvaṣṭā,Savitar,Bhaga,Dhātā,Varuṇa,Mitra, andŚakra.
She is also the mother of theVamana,avatar ofVishnu.[10] Accordingly, the Vamanaavatar, as the son of Aditi was born in the month ofShravana (fourth month of theHindu Calendar, also calledAvani) under the star Shravana. Many auspicious signs appeared in the heavens, foretelling the good fortune of this child.
In theRigveda, Aditi is one of the most important figures of all. As a mothering presence, Aditi is often asked to guard the one who petitions her (Mandala 1.106.7;Mandala 8.18.6) or to provide him or her with wealth, safety, and abundance (Mandala 10.100; 1.94.15).
Aditi is usually mentioned in theRigveda along with other gods and goddesses. There is no one hymn addressed exclusively to her, unlike other Vedic gods. Since She is perhaps not related to a particular natural phenomenon like other gods. Compared toUshas andPrithvi, Aditi can be defined as the cosmic creator.
The verse "Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha" is seen byTheosophists as a reference to "the eternal cyclic re-birth of the same divine Essence"[11] and divine wisdom.[12]
The name Aditi includes the root "da" (to bind or fetter) and suggests another attribute of her character. As A-diti, she is an unbound, free soul and it is evident in the hymns to her that she is often called to free the petitioner from different hindrances, especially sin and sickness. (Mandala 2.27.14). In one hymn, she is asked to free a petitioner who has been tied up like a thief (Mandala 8.67.14). As one who unbinds, her role is similar to her son Varuna's as guardian ofRta, cosmic moral order. She is called the supporter of creatures (Mandala 1.136).
Like many other Hindu gods and goddesses, Aditi has avahana (a mount). Aditi flies across the boundless sky on a phoenix.[13] The phoenix symbolizes strength, honour, but most importantly, reflects Aditi's nature of cyclical rebirth and infinite creation.
Her weapons include the famoustrishula, and a sword.
Aditi is described to possess a pair of earrings, which are stolen from her by theasura namedNaraka.Krishna returns the earrings to her after slaying the asura with his consort,Satyabhama.[14]
A well known old temple of Aditi is located near rock cut cave in Vizhinjam,Kerala.[citation needed]
Media related toAditi at Wikimedia Commons
