Aditi and Kasyapa, Adityas – Suras, Daityas, Danavas
Aditi is mentioned frequently in the Vedas. Aditi is famous in Indian legends as the mother of all the Adityas or Devas. Literally, the word Aditi means infinite. Infinity is the mother of the Sun, Moon and all nature. That makes perfect sense.
In our puranas, Aditi, is the daughter of Daksha Prajapathi and the wife of Kashyapa Prajapathi. By Yaska’s Niruktha rule of reversal, Kasyapa can be written as Pasyaka – the one who sees. Aditi is infinity, her husband is ‘the one who sees’ and their children are the Adityas.
Kasyapa Prajapati created a Nighantu or dictionary of synonyms. Yaska wrote a commentary or bhasyam on this nighantu and that is called the niruktham. (Yaska’s Niruktha – Etymyology in Sanskrit)
Adityas : As per the Linga Purana : Aditi’s sons were the twelve Adityas, named Indra, Dhata, Bhaga, Tvashta, Mitra, Varuna, Aryama, Vivasvan, Savita, Pusha, Amshuman and Vishnu. Vivasvan is father of Vaivaswatha Manu. Bhaga, Mitra, Savita, Pusha, Vivaswan and Amshuman are sometimes taken to be the names of Surya Deva. Dhata is sometimes used as a name of Brahma. Tvastha and Indra also appear in Parsi sacred texts.
As per Prof. P.L. Bhargava, the number of Adityas varies in different sukthas and mandala of the Rg Veda :
- Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman (1, 136.3 ; 7, 40.4, 8;7,51.2;7, 60.4 and 5; 8,47.9; 8,67.2;)
- In 8,52.7, Indra is called the 4th Aditya In 2, 27 Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman and Indra are mentioned together in many mantras.
- Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Tuvijata, Varuna, Daksha and Amsa in 2, 27.1
- Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, Indra, Savita in some sukthas
- In 10, 72.8 it is said that Aditi had 7 sons first and then the 8th son Marthanda later. Marthanda which means “born from a dead egg” refers to our sun which is a second generation star.
Kasyapa’s wives : Our legends also tell us that Kasyapa had 13 wives and all of them were Daksha‘s daughters. Aditi’s children were the Adityas, Diti’s children were the Daityas, Danu’s children were the Danavas, Manu’s children were the manavas… and so on. Even the rakshasas, nagas, Jatayu, Garuda (and other birds) are all Kasyapa’s descendants by his other wives. It is thus suggested to us that all in the animate world are the children of ‘The one who sees”.
Location : There is a Narasimha Swamy temple at Narasimhakonda, 15 km from Nellore, on the southern bank of the Pinakini, established by Kasyapa Prajapathi. (Source) It is important to remember that the prakaras (the surroundings) are frequently built later by a king in order to protect the shrine, in this case Narasimha Varma Pallava (9th century CE).
Daityas : The Daitya Hiranyakasipu, the son of Diti (finite) and Kasyapa, the brother of Hiranyaksha, father of Prahlada, (and the father-in-law of Bhrgu or of Sukra – I need to verify), was killed by Narasimha.
More on Daityas in this article : Sveta Varaha and Adi Varaha Temples at Mathura – worshipped by Sri Rama
Danavas : Kasyapa’s wife Danu had a hundred sons, chief amongst whom was Viprachitti. They and their descendants were known as the danavas. (from Linga Puranam).
A famous Danava was Maya, the son of Vipracitti and Simhika, the author of the Surya Siddhantam.
See also : sura from s’Ura?
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