Text 1
maitreya uvāca
prājāpatyaṁ tu tat tejaḥ
para-tejo-hanaṁ ditiḥ
dadhāra varṣāṇi śataṁ
śaṅkamānā surārdanāt
maitreyaḥ uvāca — the sage Maitreya said; prājāpatyam — of the great Prajāpati; tu — but; tat tejaḥ — his powerful semen; para-tejaḥ — others’ prowess; hanam — troubling; ditiḥ — Diti (Kaśyapa’s wife); dadhāra — bore; varṣāṇi — years; śatam — hundred; śaṅkamānā — being doubtful; sura-ardanāt — disturbing to the demigods.
Śrī Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, Diti, the wife of the sage Kaśyapa, could understand that the sons within her womb would be a cause of disturbance to the demigods. As such, she continuously bore the powerful semen of Kaśyapa Muni, which was meant to give trouble to others, for one hundred years.
The great sage Śrī Maitreya was explaining to Vidura the activities of the demigods, including Lord Brahmā. When Diti heard from her husband that the sons she bore within her abdomen would be causes of disturbances to the demigods, she was not very happy. There are two classes of men — devotees and nondevotees. Nondevotees are called demons, and devotees are called demigods. No sane man or woman can tolerate the nondevotees’ giving trouble to devotees. Diti, therefore, was reluctant to give birth to her babies; she waited for one hundred years so that at least she could save the demigods from the disturbance for that period.