Aditi has the honour of
being regarded as the only goddess whose name is mentioned in the Rig-Veda. She
is considered as the mother of any of the gods; but it is by no means an easy
task to delineate her character, as the most contradictory statements are made
concerning her. She was invoked as the bestowrer of
blessings on children and cattle; and she is declared to be the mother of
Varuna, and other deities, sometimes eight, sometimes twelve in number. She is
supposed to be the impersonation of infinity, especially the boundlessness of
the heaven, in opposition to the finiteness of the earth. Another supposition
is that Aditi is the personification of universe, all-embracing the Nature or
the Being.
This latter idea seems to
be more correct from the following verses, where a man about to be immolated
says, “Of which god, now, of which of the immortals, shall we invoke the
amiable name, who shall give us back to the great Aditi, that I may behold my
father and my mother?” Whatever may have been intended by the poets to be
expressed by this name, or whatever may have been the precise power personified
by Aditi, she is connected with the forgiveness of sin. “Thus, may Aditi make
us sinless. Aditi be gracious, if we have committed any sin against you. Whatever
offence we have, oh Agni, through our folly committed against you, oh most
youthful god, make us free from sins against Aditi. Whatever sin we have
committed, may Aditi sever us from it”. Probably the term Aditi “the
boundless”, was originally employed as an epithet of Dyauspitar, the Father of
Heaven. When the heavens came to be divided into a number of parts, over each
of which a ruler was nominated, a mother was wanted for them, and the name
Aditi was given to her.
In the account of the Creation
as mentioned in the Rig-Veda, Aditi is said to have sprung from Daksha, and in
the same verse Daksha is called as her son. There is also a reference to her
other sons.
In the Vishnu Purāna, we
have no less than three somewhat different accounts of the origin of Daksha the
father of Aditi. In the first account, his name appeared amongst the mind-born
sons of Brahmā; and in this connection he is said to have had twenty-four
daughters; but Aditi is not mentioned as one of them.
In the second account of
Daksha, Aditi is said to have been one of his sixty daughters, and was given in
marriage to Kasypa, by whom she had twelve sons—the Ādityas. Elsewhere we read
that Vishnu, when incarnate as the Dwarf, was a result of this marriage.
In the third account of
Daksha, Aditi is again mentioned as his daughter, and the mother of Vivasat
(the Sun).
The sons of Aditi are
termed as the Ādityas. The name signifies simply the descendants of Aditi. In
one passage in the Rig-Veda the names of six are given: Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga,
Varuna, Daksha and Amsa. In another passage they are said to be seven in
number, though their names are not given. In a third scenerio, eight is the
number mentioned; but “among the eight sons of Āditi, who were born from her
body, she approached the gods with seven, and cast out Mārttānda (the eighth)”.
As the names of these sons given in different parts of the Vedas do not agree
with each other, it is difficult to know who were originally regarded as
Ādityas. Judging from the number of hymns addressed to them, some of these
deities occupied a conspicuous position in the Vedic Pantheon; whereas others
are named once or twice only, and then in connection with their more
illustrious brethren.
In the Satapatha Brāhmana, and
the Purānas, the number of the Ādityas is increased to twelve. In addition to
the six whose names are given above, the following are also described in some
hymns of the Rig-Veda as the offspring of Āditi: Surya, as an Āditya identified
with Agni, is said to have been placed by the gods in the sky”; Savitri, and
Indra too, are in one passage addressed as an Āditya along with Varuna and the
Moon.
In the Taittiriya texts, the following are
described as Ādityas — Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, Amsu, Bhaga, Indra, and Vivasvat
(Surya).
In the highest heaven dwell
and reign those gods who bear in common the name of Ādityas. We must, however,
if we would discover their earliest character, abandon the conceptions which in
a later age, and even in that of the heroic poems, were entertained regarding
these deities. According to this conception they were twelve Sun-gods, there
being evident reference to the twelve months. But for the most ancient period
we must hold fast to the primary significance of their names. They are
inviolable, imperishable, eternal things. Āditi, Eternity, or The Eternal, is
the element which sustains them, or is sustained by them. The eternal and
inviolable element in which the Ādityas dwell, and which forms their essence,
is the celestial light. The Ādityas, the gods of this light, do not therefore
by any means coincide with any of the forms in which light is manifested in the
universe. They are neither the sun, nor moon, nor stars, nor dawn, but the
eternal sustainers of this luminous life, which exists, as it were, behind
these phenomena."
As noticed above, the text
of the Rig-Veda says amongst the eight sons who were born from the body of Āditi,
she approached the gods with seven, but cast away the eighth. In the
commentary, the eighth son was deformed. His brothers, seeing his deformity,
improved his appearance. He was afterwards known as Vivasvat (the Sun). From
the superfluous flesh cut off his body an elefollowing explanation of this
circumstance is given. The ephant was formed, hence the proverb, Let no man
catch an elephant, for the elephant partakes of the nature of man.
According to a passage
mentioned in Chapter II of Satapatha
Brāhmana, Agni, Indra, and Surya, obtained superiority over the other gods by
means of sacrifice. By whatever means this position was obtained, it is certain
that they were the most popular deities of the Vedic Age. Agni stands in a
class by himself; but with Indra and Surya there are other deities closely
associated, and possessing very similar attributes. Nearly the whole of the
more conspicuous Vedic deities may be classified as follows:—
(1) Agni, the god of Fire;
(2) Sun Gods, or gods of
Light;
(3) Storm Gods, or those
associated with Indra.
Image Courtesy: Internet
Comments
Post a Comment