Introduction
Aditi is one of the oldest goddesses of India, known from the Rigveda. Her name means "unbound" or "without limit", and she is the mother of the gods, especially the Adityas, and a symbol of freedom, the infinite and the sky. In the Puranas, she is the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Kashyapa.
Family
- Father: Daksha
- Husband: Kashyapa
- Siblings: Diti, Vinata, Kadru
- Sons: Vishnu, Surya, Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhata, Amsha, Pushan, Tvashtri, Savitri (aspect of Surya)
In the Rigveda
Aditi is invoked in about a dozen hymns. She is described as the mother of the Adityas, a group of gods including Mitra, Varuna and Aryaman, and she is asked for freedom from sin and from danger. In one famous verse (1.89.10), she is said to be the sky, the atmosphere, mother, father and son, all the gods and the five peoples, and whatever is born. In a riddle, Daksha is said to be born from Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha.
Names and epithets
She is called Devamata, "mother of the gods", and is the mother of the Adityas.
The Adityas
The Rigveda mentions seven or eight sons of Aditi. Later texts list twelve Adityas, associated with the twelve months of the year. The list in the Mahabharata is Dhata, Mitra, Aryaman, Shakra (Indra), Varuna, Amsha, Bhaga, Vivasvat, Pushan, Savitri, Tvashtri and Vishnu. Lists vary between texts.
In the Puranas
In the Puranas, Aditi is the wife of Kashyapa and the mother of the gods. When the demons defeated the gods, she performed a vow called Payovrata, worshipping Vishnu, who was pleased and was born to her as Vamana, the dwarf incarnation.
In the Bhagavata Purana, the demon Naraka took away Aditi's earrings, and Krishna recovered them, fighting Naraka with his wife Satyabhama.
Nakshatra
Aditi is the deity of the lunar mansion (nakshatra) Punarvasu.
Meaning
Aditi is understood as the primordial, unbounded space from which the gods emerge. She is a rare example of a goddess in the Rigveda who is not tied to a single natural phenomenon.