Diti in Rigveda

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Diti is a sparsely attested goddess in the Ṛgveda, occurring only three times. In these passages she appears chiefly in relation or contrast to Aditi. Later Vedic texts remember her as the mother of the Daitya clan.

Occurrences in the Ṛgveda

  • With Aditi before Mitra and Varuṇa. Mitra and Varuṇa are said to behold from their “ear” Aditi and Diti.[1] Traditional and modern interpreters read this pair symbolically (see Interpretations below).
  • Prayer to Agni. Agni is besought “to grant diti and preserve from aditi,” a wordplay likely built on the root dā “to give,” i.e., “giving” versus “non-giving.”[2]
  • As a bestower of goods. Diti appears (without Aditi) alongside Agni, Savitṛ, and Bhaga, and is said to “give” (dā) what is desirable (vāryam).[3]

Interpretations of “Aditi & Diti”

The first occurrence (with Mitra–Varuṇa) prompted varied readings:

  • Sāyaṇa: Aditi = the indivisible earth; Diti = the separate creatures upon it.
  • Roth: Aditi = the eternal; Diti = the perishable.
  • Muir: Together they signify the “entire aggregate of visible nature.”

For the second passage (Agni “grant diti, preserve from aditi”), Sāyaṇa glosses them as “liberal giver” vs. “illiberal giver”; Roth as “wealth” vs. “penury”; Bergaigne took them as the same two goddesses as before. The context, however, supports deriving them directly from dā, hence “giving” vs. “non-giving.”

Later Vedic mentions and the Daityas

Diti is named together with Aditi as a goddess in later Saṃhitās (e.g., VS 18.22; AV 15.18.4; 16.67). The AV (7.71) mentions her sons—the Daityas—who in post-Vedic mythology become the antagonists of the gods.

Etymological and conceptual note

As a goddess-name, Diti appears to be coined as the positive counterpart and antithesis of Aditi—much as later folk etymology produced sura “god” from asura “demon.” In the Agni prayer, the underlying contrast is plausibly “giving” vs. “non-giving” from the root dā.

References

  1. Ṛgveda 5.62.8 — Mitra and Varuṇa behold Aditi and Diti. ↩︎
  2. Ṛgveda 4.2.11 — Agni is asked to “grant diti and preserve from aditi.” ↩︎
  3. Ṛgveda 7.15.2 — Diti, with Agni, Savitṛ, and Bhaga, “gives what is desirable (vāryam).” ↩︎

Other Vedic mentions (non-Ṛgvedic)

  • Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā 18.22; Atharvaveda 15.18.4; 16.67 — Diti and Aditi together as goddesses.
  • Atharvaveda 7.71 — Diti’s sons (the Daityas).

Scholarly notes (as cited in the source)

Interpretations referenced include Roth (ZDMG 6, 71), Muir (OST 5, 42), Bergaigne (BRV 3, 97), and Max Müller (SBE 32, 256).

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