CHAPTER IV.

ADITI, AND THE ADITYAS.

ADITI has the honour of being almost the only goddess mentioned by name in the Rig-Veda, 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 bestower 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 heaven, in opposition to the finiteness of earth." Another supposition is that Aditi is the personification of "universal, all-embracing Nature or Being." This latter idea seems to be the 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 Heaven-father. 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 given in the Rig-Veda, Aditi is said to have sprung from Daksha, and in the same verse Daksha is called her son. There is also a reference to her other sons. In the "Vishnu Purana" we have no less than three somewhat differing accounts of the origin of Daksha the father of Aditi. In the first account, his name appears amongst the mind-born sons of Brahma; 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 Adityas. 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

THE ADITYAS.