Aditi

Aditi, whose name means limitless or boundless, is the embodiment of infinite, vacuous cosmos and of the infinate, boundless sky above--she is the source of all life and mother of the universe! But she is also the goddess of motherhood, consciousness, unconsciousness, the past, the future and fertility. Mother to the Adityas, celestial Devas, she is sometimes seen as a feminine form of Brahma himself. Creativity, freedom and being boundless are also attributed to her. Some might even view her as Mother Earth while others view her as an otherworldy being, representing the ever-expanding cosmos, Aditi acting as the navel of the earth. She is both a creative force, a nourisher and a mighty, protective figure.

Aditi is the first wife of Kashyapa alongside 16 of her younger sisters. In fact, most of her siblings, the daughters of Daksha numbering in the hundreds, were married off in large groups to different deities such as the Nakshastras to her son Chandra. Aditi stands out however as the mother of 23 sons in total, mostly split between the Adityas and the Vasus! The Adityas are celestial deities which embody celestial bodies such as the sun, sky, moon and stars which includes Surya, Indra, Mitra and Chandra. The Vasus are elemental deities which include various gods of earth, water, fire, wind and sky including Prithvi, Varuna, Agni, Vayu and Dyaus.