Dik
Dik · dik, “a direction, a quarter”
Grammar: feminine noun; the stem diś (direction), which takes the form dik at the end of a word and before many sounds: “a quarter”, “a direction”.
Meaning: a direction, a quarter of space. The Diks, the directions, are also honoured as devatās.
In the scriptures: in the Brahma Purāṇa, the munis ask Vyāsa to teach them yoga and sāṅkhya, by which the seeker of moksha attains mukti. Vyāsa teaches them that the five mahābhūtas, the first creation of Svayambhū Brahmā, are contained in the bodies of beings: from earth comes the solid part of the body, from water its liquid part, from fire the eyes, from air the five vital airs, and from ākāśa the hollow of the belly. Then he names the devatās who dwell in the body. Bhagavān Vishṇu is in the walking of beings, Indra in their strength, Agni in the belly, where he causes hunger, the Diks, the directions, in the ears, and Sarasvatī on the tongue (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 236).
In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa: when Nārada asks the births of the devas and devīs, Nārāyaṇa answers that the ātmā is eternal, ākāśa is eternal, kāla is eternal, and the directions (dik) are eternal. Gokula and Goloka are eternal, and so is Vaikuṇṭha, which is a part of Goloka. So too is Prakṛti, who is sanātanī (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 2).
Related terms: Diśā · Dikpāla · Śrotra · Mahābhūta · Indriya
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 236
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 2