Marut

.Story of Aditi and Diti

Brahma’s one of the manasputra was Daksha. Brahma ordered him creation. Sixty daughters were born to Daksha and Panchajani.

Out of this thirteen daughters were married to Kashyapa. We have already known about Kashyapa as the grand son of Brahma through his son Mareechi, another manasa putra.

Since the purpose was creation, the ethical side in the marriage between grandson and grand daughters we need not think of.

The thirteen grand daughters were named Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavasha, Ira, Kadru, Vishva and Muni. (The names of Kashyapa’s wives, particularly the minor ones, sometimes vary in other puranas. (I have mentioned the names since in future stories if I may refer to some of them their names can be familiar)

2. Aditi’s children

Aditi’s sons born to Kashyapa were known as the adityas. There were twelve of them and they were named Indra, Dhata, Bhaga, Tvashta, Mitra, Varuna, Yama, Vivasvana, Savita, Pusha, Amshumana and Vishnu. These were the gods. (Yama is more commonly regarded as having been the son of the sun god and his wife Samjna. This Yama can be different too) Their sons also came to be known as the devas.

3. Diti’s sons

Diti’s sons born to Kashyapa were the daityas (demons). There were two of them, named Hiranyakshipu and Hiranyaksha. Their sons also came to be known as the daityas.

4.Relaton between Devas and Daityas

The gods and the demons were as such brothers, born to Kashyapa ,mothers being Aditi and Diti respectively.

They did not like each other and fought amongst themselves all the time. Vishnu and the other gods killed many daityas.
5.Diti mediate to have a son to kill Indra

Diti was disconsolate to see her children suffer thus. She resolved that she would meditate so as to obtain a son who would be so powerful that he would kill Indra, the king of the gods.

There was a tirtha named Syamantapanchaka on the banks of the sacred river Sarasvati. Diti went there and started to pray to the sage Kashyapa. She lived on roots and fruits and meditated for a hundred years.

6.Kashyapa get pleased and give boon subject to conditions

These prayers pleased Kashyapa. "Ask for a boon," he said. "Please grant me a son who will kill indra," replied Diti.

"It shall be as you wish," said Kashyapa. "But there are some conditions. You will have to live in this hermitage for a hundred years more. Throughout these hundred years you will bear the baby in your womb. But there are certain conditions of cleanliness that you must observe. You must not eat in the evening, nor must you sleep under a tree at night. Exercise is not permitted in any form.

7.Important condition- hairs keep braided

Do not sleep with your hair unbraided, or without having had a bath. If you can observed these rules for a hundred years, you will have the son you wish for."
Kashyapa went away and Diti began to observe the rites that the sage had prescribed. But Indra got to know what was afoot and he was naturally in no mood to permit the birth of a son who would be the cause of his own destruction.

8.Indra become attendant

He hung around Diti’s hermitage, pretending to serve his chithi. He brought her firewood and fruit and served her in other ways. But in reality, he was merely waiting for an opportunity. He was waiting for the moment when Diti chithi would fail to observe the norms of cleanliness that had been laid down for her.

Ninety-nine years and three hundred and sixty-two days passed. That is, only three days were left for the period of one hundred years to be over.

9. Diti forget to braid her hair in the last minutes

Diti was tired on one particular occasion. Since the period of her ordeal was soon to end, she had also become somewhat careless. She fell asleep without washing her hair. What was worse, she went to sleep without having braided her hair. This was an act of gross un cleanliness.There is a Malayalam saying-“Veetu vathukkal Vannappol kudam pottichuâ€

Indra seized his awaited chance. Since Diti had committed an unclean act, her defences had been lowered.

10 Indra enter Diti’s womb

Indra entered Diti’s womb in a trice. Indra used his wonderful weapon vajra. With the vajra, Indra sliced the baby in Diti’s womb into seven parts. These parts started to cry.

"Ma ruda," said Indra. "Don’t cry."

11. Indra chope the foetus and become successful

But the parts continued to cry. Indra therefore chopped up each of the parts into seven more sections, so that there were forty-nine parts in all.

Since Diti had failed to observe the prescribed rites, these forty-nine sections were no longer a threat to Indra.

12 Birth of Maruts and elevation to Gods

When they were born, they came to be known as the Maruts from the words Indra had used in addressing them.

They were elevated to the status of gods and became Indra’s friends and constant companions later.
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If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.

  Every moment, thank God