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अदिति

Aditi

(aditi)

Boundless, limitless, free — the goddess of infinite space

Full Meaning

Aditi is one of the oldest goddesses in the Rigveda — the mother of the Ādityas (the solar deities) and the personification of infinite space and boundless freedom. An + diti = "not bound." She is the primordial mother, the infinite sky itself. In the Rigveda, she is invoked as the forgiver of sins — the mother who does not hold the past against her children.

Etymology

A (not) + diti (bound, from the root di, to bind). Not bound, without limit, infinite freedom.

Usage in Sanskrit Texts

The Rigveda (1.89.10): "Aditi is the sky, Aditi is the air, Aditi is the mother, the father, the son. Aditi is all the gods. Aditi is the five-fold peoples. Aditi is whatever has been born. Aditi is whatever shall be born."

अदितिर्द्यौरदितिरन्तरिक्षम् — Aditi is the sky, Aditi is the space between. (Rigveda 1.89.10)

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