Sage Kashyapa: Father of Devas and Asuras

Early-Middle Satya (Krita) Yuga

In the quiet dawn of creation, when the worlds were formed but empty, and the wind blew over land that had never known footsteps. Marīci, the mind-born sage, sat absorbed in meditation. From him emerged a child whose aura shimmered like the earth just before rain.

Brahmā looked upon the newborn boy and said softly:

“You shall be Kaśyapa—he who drinks in sight, he who perceives the hidden order of creation.”

Kaśyapa opened his eyes, and in them sparkled a deep calm, as though he already understood the burden and beauty of existence.

He grew in sagehood quickly, gentle in temperament, vast in understanding, humble in speech. If Marīci was the ray of thought, Kaśyapa was the fertile soil into which creation would take root.

Dakṣa’s Daughters and the Burden of Creation

When Prajāpati Dakṣa sought to populate the young universe, he offered his daughters in marriage to worthy sages. Few were as worthy as Kaśyapa.

In time, thirteen of Dakṣa’s daughters were brought before him. Each carried the essence of a cosmic principle:

• Aditi — the infinite expanse

• Diti — intensity and unyielding will

• Danu — depth, mystery

• Kadru — serpentine insight

• Vinata — the vast sky

• Surabhi — abundance

• Tāmra — the wild and untamed

• Surasa — liminal, serpentine forms

• Ilā — earth’s gentle cycles

• Krodhā — raw emotion

• Muni, Arisṭā, and Saramā in various accounts

Dakṣa blessed them, saying:

“Through you, my daughters, and through Kaśyapa, the universe will be filled.”

Kaśyapa accepted this responsibility not with pride, but with quiet gravity. He knew what it meant to become the wellspring of life.

Aditi’s Children: The Children of Light

Aditi came to Kaśyapa like the morning sunlight entering a still forest. From her were born the Ādityas, the gods of light and cosmic order:

• Indra, sovereign of the heavens

• Varuṇa, lord of cosmic waters

• Mitra, keeper of harmony

• Aryaman, guardian of kinship

• Bhaga, giver of fortune

• Vivasvān, the Sun

• Pūṣan, the nourisher

• Savitar, the inspirer

One day, when the heavens shimmered with the newborn radiance of her sons, Aditi asked Kaśyapa:

“Do you see how bright they are?”

Kaśyapa smiled.

“You have given the worlds their guardians.”

Diti’s Children: The Children of Fire and Will

If Aditi was dawn, Diti was dusk—deep, smoldering, powerful. Her womb bore the Daityas, beings of fiery will:

• Hiraṇyākṣa, who shook the oceans

• Hiraṇyakaśipu, who tested the limits of fear

• and generations of mighty Asuras

Diti once approached Kaśyapa with troubled eyes.

“Why must my sons stand against Aditi’s? Are they born to darkness?”

Kaśyapa took her hands gently.

“None are born dark. They walk the path their hearts choose. Even light casts a shadow—and both belong to the world.”

His words soothed her, but the cosmic tension between her children and Aditi’s never truly rested.

Danu’s Children: Masters of Illusion

Danu, sister to Diti, brought forth the Dānavas:

• Dvimūrdhā

• Śaṅkṣepa

• Ayomukha

• Śaṅkuślīśa

• Śaṅkuśirā

• Tāraka (in some texts)

• Ketumat…and many others.

Their brilliance and cunning flowed from Danu’s mystique and Kaśyapa’s deep intellect.

Kadru and Vinata: The Serpents and the Sky

Kaśyapa’s wives Kadru and Vinata shared a different destiny. Kadru gave birth to the Nāgas:

• Śeṣa, the cosmic serpent who supports the worlds

• Vāsuki, future churning-rope of the ocean

• Takṣaka, king of serpents

• and multitudes of nāga clans

Vinata gave birth to the children of the sky:

• Garuḍa, the mighty eagle and enemy of serpents

• Aruṇa, charioteer of the Sun

Once, Kaśyapa entered his hermitage to find Kadru and Vinata arguing fiercely about whose children would be greatest.

He sighed and said:

“Serpent or eagle, god or demon—each has a role to play. The world is not a single melody, but many voices woven into harmony.”

But harmony does not mean peace, and the enmity between their children shaped many ages to come.

Other Lineages: Wild, Tame, Sacred, and Hidden

Through his other wives, Kaśyapa brought forth the rest of creation:

• Surabhi → cattle, hoofed creatures, beings of abundance

• Tāmra → predators and wild birds

• Ilā → animals of field and forest

• Krodhā → beings of fury and heat

• Muni → sages and thinkers

• Surasa → serpentine and liminal beings of oceans and caves

From Kaśyapa’s hermitage spread the echo of life in all directions.

The Burden of the World-Father

Kaśyapa’s heart carried a quiet sorrow, not because he regretted creation, but because he saw the inevitable conflicts rising between his children.

One evening, Aditi asked him gently:

“Do you ever wish you had created less?”

Kaśyapa gazed at the sunset, the mingling of day and night, and whispered:

“If creation were only light, it would tear itself apart. If only shadow, it would swallow itself. The world needs all its children.”

The Birth of Vāmana: Hope in an Age of Imbalance

A time came when the Asura king Bali, descendant of Prahlāda, ruled with power so immense that even the gods trembled.

Aditi sought Kaśyapa, anxious.

“The gods have lost their place. Balance is broken.”

Kaśyapa advised her:

“Perform the Payovrata. Invoke the grace of Viṣṇu. Protection comes not through force, but through devotion.”

Aditi followed his counsel. Viṣṇu was born as Vāmana, the dwarf-sage who would restore cosmic balance with three steps. Kaśyapa watched, serene, as Vāmana approached Bali.

“Even the mighty must bow before righteousness."

Kaśyapa’s Withdrawl

As the Yugas turned, Kaśyapa withdrew into deeper meditation, his work complete. He had given the world:

• Gods

• Demons

• Serpents

• Eagles

• Beasts

• Sages

• Humans

• Spirits

• Mystical tribes

• All creatures who walk, fly, swim, or slither

His children filled the earth, sky, and realms below, living out stories of triumph, conflict, devotion, and fall.

In his twilight, Kaśyapa contemplated creation not with pride, but with a gentle peace.

He understood that the world was vast enough to hold all contradictions.

And thus, the sage who fathered the universe became one with the silence from which he was born.

REFERENCES:

Bhāgavata Purāṇa

• 3.12.6–27 — Marīci → Kaśyapa; his wives.

• 6.6 — Detailed lineages from Kaśyapa’s wives.

• 8.15–8.23 — Aditi’s payovrata, Kaśyapa’s advice, birth of Vāmana.

Viṣṇu Purāṇa

• 1.7–1.21 — Kaśyapa’s marriages; creation of species; descendants.

• 4.1–4.3 — Deva–Asura lineages from Kaśyapa.

Mahābhārata

• Śānti Parva — Kaśyapa as a primordial sage and Prajāpati.

Vāyu, Padma, Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇas

• Supplementary details on wives, species creation, and Kaśyapa’s lineage.