Shrimad Devi Purana has this interesting story to illustrate how actions attract reactions. Aditi and Diti were two beautiful daughters of Dakshaprajapati, and both became the wives of Rishi Kashyap. Aditi had a son, the very powerful, brilliant and handsome Indra. Now Diti also wished for a son like Indra. She prayed for one and was told to practice some spiritual disciplines to purify herself so that she could conceive and bear such a son. Diti earnestly practised all the disciplines, and conceived the child. She looked more and more beautiful each day and radiated a divine aura. Observing the beautiful luminosity of Diti’s body, Aditi became jealous. She did not want Diti’s son to be more powerful than her own Indra. She called her powerful son and pleaded with him to destroy the child in his step mother’s womb, as once born he would grow up as Indra’s worst enemy. Indra then went to Diti and with soft loving words pleaded with her to let him serve her as a good son should. The innocent Diti took his guileful words as truth and allowed him to massage her feet. Feeling relaxed by the massage she soon fell fast asleep as she had become weak and tired from fasting and spiritual disciplines.
Through his yogic powers Indra assumed a very subtle body (thought power) and entered her womb with a subtle weapon (vajra) and cut up her child into seven pieces. The foetus began screaming and crying in pain, so Indra kept softly saying (ma rud), don’t cry. To make sure that he has died Indra cut up those seven into seven pieces each, thus forming 49 pieces.
Diti was beside herself with anger and revenge, she understood that this was done at the behest of Aditi, she cursed Aditi to take birth as a human in the 28th Dwaparyug, and that not only will she suffer in a jail but seven of her children will die as soon as they are born in any birth.
On hearing this terrible curse, Kashyap Rishi placated Diti by reassuring her that her son will not die but each cut up piece 7×7=49 will live as very powerful Wind Devatas called Maruts (from ma rud, don’t cry). Thus making one son into 49 powerful sons and Indra (god of rain) will always need their support to function, so he is forever dependent on his stepbrothers’ help. It is well known that rain clouds need the help of the winds to move. There is always a reference to these 49 Maruts. In the Ramcharitmanas, when Hanumanji was captured in Lanka and his tail was set on fire, the 49 Maruts helped the fire to spread throughout Lanka. Thus, Aditi was born as Devaki, whose seven children were killed by her brother Kansa, as soon as they were born and Indra is till date dependent on Maruts’ help to function in his powers as the rain god.
The whole universe functions on cause and effect. Newton’s third law is that when two bodies interact, they apply forces to one another that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. So, how can the lives of human beings be exempt from this law? The karma theory is based on this irrevocable and inexorable law. There are many stories in our ancient texts to explain that no matter how cleverly you act, you cannot escape this law. Aditi was a very pious wife of a Rishi, but just this one wrong thought and action of matsarya (jealousy) was her downfall.
Prarthna Saran is President Chinmaya Mission, Delhi.
