DITI
Hindu Vengeance Goddess
Mother of giants and stormy godlets
A notice suddenly appeared on the Gates of Heaven: No Giants Admitted. Then Indra proclaimed all giants were to be banished to the Underworld.
Diti was not at all happy about this. She asked her husband Kasyapa to make her pregnant with a son strong enough to destroy Indra. To shut her up, he agreed. But he warned that the pregnancy would have to last 100 years, and she must remain pure in mind, body and spirit for the duration otherwise it wouldn’t work. Rules eh?
Later...much much later... the baby was almost due! Overcome with excitement, Diti broke a rule and forgot to wash her feet before bedtime. Woe, disaster, red alert — her purity was broken. The news was received by Indra, who sent an embryo-destroying thunderbolt aimed straight at her womb.
The fetus was zapped into seven pieces. Well, even Indra has his soft side, or maybe Shiva and Parvati intervened. All seven bits were born safely, wailing furiously. They became the Maruts, a pack of Storm Gods. They are still out there wailing.
Diti Facts and Figures
Name: Diti
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names:
Gender: Female
Type: Goddess
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present
Role:
In charge of: Revenge and Retribution
Area of expertise: Revenge, Vengeance, Retribution
Good/Evil Rating: OKAY, not bad
Popularity index: 16207
Cite this article
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Article last revised on September 18, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders
References: Coming soon.