Aditi Kashyapa

Aditi

For the company of the same name, see Aditi Technologies.

Lord Brahma and Aditi - 19th Century Illustration Aditi (Sanskrit अदिति (limitless), from "a" (alpha privative) + "diti" (bound), which is from the Proto Indo-European root "da" (to bind)). In the Vedas Aditi is a sky goddess and mother of the gods (devamatr) from whose cosmic matrix the heavenly bodies were born. As celestial mother of every existing form and being, the synthesis of all things, she is associated with space (akasa) and with mystic speech (Vāc). She may be seen as a feminized form of Brahmaand associated with the primal substance (mulaprakriti) inVedanta. She is mentioned nearly 80 times in the Rigveda: the verse "Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha" is seen by Theosophists as a reference to "the eternal cyclic re-birth of the same divine Essence"[1] and divine wisdom.[2] In contrast, the puranas, such as theshiva purana and the bhagavata purana, suggest that Aditi is wife of sage[disambiguation needed] Kashyap and gave birth to the adityas such as Indra, Surya, and also vamana. • ]Origin The name is mentioned in Vedas as mother of Surya (Sun) and other celestial bodies Adityas(meaning sons of Aditi). The first written mention of goddess Aditi is found in Rigveda, which is estimated to have been composed roughly during 1700-1100 BC.[3] Attributes Motherhood Aditi is said to be the mother of the great god Indra, the mother of kings (Mandala 2.27) and the mother of gods (Mandala 1.113.19). In the Vedas, Aditi is Devamatri (mother of the celestial gods) as from and in her cosmic matrix all the heavenly bodies were born. She is preeminently the mother of 12Adityas whose names include Vivasvān, Aryamā, Pūṣā, Tvaṣṭā, Savitā, Bhaga, Dhātā, Vidhātā,Varuṇa, Mitra, Śatru, and Urukrama (Vishnu was born as Urukrama, the son of Nabhi and Meru.)[4]She is also is the mother of the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Accordingly, Vishnu was born as the son of Aditi in the month of Shravana (fifth month of the Hindu Calendar, also called Avani) under the star Shravana. Many auspicious signs appeared in the heavens, foretelling the good fortune of this child. In the Rigveda, Aditi is one of 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 sometimes associated with or identified as a cow. As such she provides nourishment and as the cosmic cow, her milk is identified with the redemptive, invigorating drink Soma (Mandala 1.153.3). As the womb of space she is a feminized form of Brahma. The line in the Rigveda, "Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha" (Mandala 10.72.4) has reference to "the eternal cyclic re-birth of the same divine essence". Aditi is also called widely expanded (Mandala 5.46.6) and extensive, the mistress of wide stalls (Mandala 8.67.12).]Creativity Aditi is usually mentioned in the Rigveda along with other gods and goddesses. There is no one hymn addressed exclusively to her, unlike other Vedic gods. She is perhaps not related to a particular natural phenomenon like other gods. Compared to Usha and Prithvi, Aditi can be defined as the cosmic creatrix, the creativity of the all-creating.