Diti-Kaśyapa Garbhādhāna

Diti was the wife of Kaśyapa Prajāpati and the mother of the daityas. This episode, told in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 3rd Skanda, Chapter 14, tells how she came to her husband at sandhyā, the hour of evening twilight, filled with a strong wish for union and for children. Kaśyapa warned her at length of the danger of that hour, above all of the presence of Rudra. She would not give way. Kaśyapa did prāyaścitta (a rite of atonement) and agreed. Their sons were the two fearful asuras Hiraṇyāksha and Hiraṇyakaśipu, who were in truth Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, born on earth.

Diti’s approach

Kaśyapa Prajāpati’s āśrama stood on the banks of the Sarasvatī. The evening sandhyā was drawing near, and the sun had just set. Rudra, the great destroyer, walks about in the hours of sandhyā, and the dharma-śāstra forbids union at these times.

But desire had taken hold of Diti. She came to her husband and put her request plainly: “I desire you. The fire of kāma (desire) is burning me. Please agree.”

Kaśyapa’s warning

Kaśyapa answered Diti with deep concern and then described the nature and the fearful power of Rudra:

“This is the hour of sandhyā. At this very moment Rudra is present in the air, in the cremation ground, on the burning ghāṭ, and at every crossroads. His gaṇas are with him: bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, and frightening spirits of every kind. He himself is both the most terrible and the most merciful being in creation. He can destroy anything, and he can also give liberation. To come together now, in his presence and without his sanction, is to bring his anger on the child. A child conceived at sandhyā will trouble the three worlds.”

He went on: “Not only is Rudra present, but the hour itself is not auspicious. It belongs to tamas. Whatever is conceived in the darkness of tamas comes forth with that quality.”

Diti’s persistence

Diti heard all this but could not overcome her desire. She asked again.

Diti pressed her request, and Kaśyapa was moved by his love for his wife. He gave way. But first he did the proper prāyaścitta and purified himself as well as he could in the circumstances. Then he agreed to Diti’s request, and he spoke a prophecy:

“The children born of this union will be terrible. They will be asuras who will afflict the three worlds. But because of your dharma as a devoted wife, and because of the will of Bhagavān Vishṇu working through this event, the suffering that you and the world will bear has a limit and a purpose. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself will be the means of their destruction. Also, your grandson in the line of these sons will be the great bhakta Prahlāda. Through Prahlāda this whole clan will be made pure, and your sorrow will be turned into the highest glory.”

Diti’s two feelings

Diti heard this prophecy with grief and joy together in her heart. The grief was for the suffering that her sons would cause and suffer. The joy was for the promise of Prahlāda, a bhakta who would set the family free through the strength of his devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Why Maitreya tells this

Maitreya tells this episode to Vidura to explain how Jaya and Vijaya were born as the first pair of asura brothers. They were not ordinary asuras. They were the gatekeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, souls of the highest standing, who came down into adharma for a time.

Sources

  • Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 3rd Skanda, Chapter 14