Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 25
Dakṣa’s Daughters, Cosmic Lineages, and the Population of the Three Worlds
पुन: प्रसाद्य तं सोम: कला लेभे क्षये दिता: । शृणु नामानि लोकानां मातृणां शङ्कराणि च ॥ २४ ॥ अथ कश्यपपत्नीनां यत्प्रसूतमिदं जगत् । अदितिर्दितिर्दनु: काष्ठा अरिष्टा सुरसा इला ॥ २५ ॥ मुनि: क्रोधवशा ताम्रा सुरभि: सरमा तिमि: । तिमेर्यादोगणा आसन् श्वापदा: सरमासुता: ॥ २६ ॥
punaḥ prasādya taṁ somaḥ kalā lebhe kṣaye ditāḥ śṛṇu nāmāni lokānāṁ mātṝṇāṁ śaṅkarāṇi ca
Thereafter Soma, the moon-god, appeased Prajāpati Dakṣa with courteous words and regained the portions of light he had lost during his wasting disease. In the dark fortnight the moon’s splendor wanes, and in the bright fortnight it shines forth again; yet he still could not beget children. O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, now hear the auspicious names of Kaśyapa’s wives, from whose wombs the population of the universe has arisen: Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kāṣṭhā, Ariṣṭā, Surasā, Ilā, Muni, Krodhavaśā, Tāmrā, Surabhi, Saramā, and Timi. From Timi were born all aquatic beings, and from Saramā were born fierce beasts such as lions and tigers.
FAQs
The verse lists Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kāṣṭhā, Ariṣṭā, Surasā, and Ilā as wives of Kaśyapa connected with populating the world.
He is presenting the cosmic genealogy—how various classes of beings arise—within the broader narration of Dakṣa’s daughters and the expansion of creation.
It encourages seeing life within a sacred, ordered cosmos—cultivating humility and dharmic responsibility rather than a random view of existence.