Diti means an earth goddess in Hinduism. She is also called as the mother of giants and stormy godlets and also the Goddess of Revenge. In Sanskrit, Diti means ‘splendour’, ‘glory’ or ‘brightness’. Diti is the mother of the Asuras (Daityas – a race of giants) and the Marutas (storm deities). Sage Kashyapa had 13 wives including Diti. She wanted a more powerful son than Indra. Indra had killed her previous children as they tried to kill him. She kept herself pregnant for 12 months by using black magic. However the Hindu God Indra splintered her fetus with a thunderbolt, pieces from which the Marutas originated.
Diti is one of the 60 daughters of Panchajani and Daksha. She has many sisters including Sati and Aditi. Diti is represented as being cruel to Aditi, her sister and Kashyapa, her husband. She never wanted the Asuras to gain power. She had enmity with sons of Aditi who were gods and gained autonomy and control over them.
Eager to have a son she requested Kashyapa for company after which she gave birth to 2 unworthy sons who followed Adharma and breached ethics of Dharma. Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu are her 2 very famous sons who were killed by Vishu in the succeeding rebirths for not following their dharma. Her son became Vijaya and Jaya, the gatekeepers. Holika is the name of Diti’s daughter. Other more famous and notable sons were born to Diti, including Asva, Sibi, Sarabha, Asvapati and Candra.
