ChatGPT the most talked about tool in learning. For long I resisted its use. Using it felt like I was cheating on myself. Not being sincere in my efforts! An easy way out from laborious learning. As I started getting comfortable with it I realized none of it was true. It was an asset in learning but still the effort and directions were mine. It tries to mimic and accommodate my likings. Its encouraging language was no less than a teacher applauding the student’s curiosity.
In course of few learning sessions I discovered its limitations too. It could pull answers only from what has been put on web. If only a section of an ancient book has been put on line it couldn’t search the whole book for you. Your trip to library would still be worthwhile for further research.
Still it is a great tool in learning!
Recently I have been spending more and more time in learning Sanskrit. In my reading I came across a beautiful Rig Vedic verse on Aditi. I asked ChatGpt to break it in easy readable Sanskrit with word meaning. Few unknown words became known and meaning became clearer.
अदिति (Aditi)
अदिति द्यौ: अदितिरन्तरिक्षम् अदितिर्माता स पिता स पुत्र: ।
विश्वे देवा अदिति: पंच जना अदितिर्जातम् अदितिर्जनित्वम्॥
अदितिḥ │ द्यौः │ अदितिḥ │ अन्तरिक्षम् │
अदितिḥ │ माता │ सः │ पितā │ सः │ पुत्रः │
विश्वे │ देवाः │ अदितिḥ │ पञ्च │ जनाः │
अदितिḥ │ जातम् │ अदितिḥ │ जनित्वम्
aditiḥ │ dyauḥ │ aditiḥ │ antarikṣam │
aditiḥ │ mātā │ saḥ │ pitā │ saḥ │ putraḥ │
viśve │ devāḥ │ aditiḥ │ pañca │ janāḥ │
aditiḥ │ jātam │ aditiḥ │ janitvam
अ + दिति = अदिति
“That which cannot be divided or bound.”
अदिति = un-bound, un-divided, infinite
अ (a) = “not / un- / without”
दिति (diti) from root √दा / dā = “to bind, divide, limit”
After learning few unknown words I asked the meaning of Panchjanah- a word I thought warranted more detail.
It not only gave me traditional meanings but also aligned it with Sri Aurobindo’s thought process towards which I had stirred ChatGpt few other times to know more deeper meanings.
Here is all the views of Panchjanah it compiled accepting Sri Aurobindo’s interpretations as best suitable for the complete verse.
In Rig Veda 1.89.10, the phrase “अदितिः पञ्च जनाḥ” has been interpreted in multiple ways in the Vedic tradition. The Veda itself does not give an explicit list in the mantra.
Below are the four authoritative interpretations with Nirukta, Brahmana traditions and Sri Aurobindi’s Vedic symbolism found in Vedic literature:
1. The Five Classes of Human Beings (Nirukta/Yāska)
Yāska gives the most commonly cited explanation:
pañca-janāḥ = five human groups
- ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa)
- क्षत्रिय (Kṣatriya)
- वैश्य (Vaiśya)
- शूद्र (Śūdra)
- निषाद (or tribal/forest peoples)
Thus “Aditi is the five peoples” equals,
Aditi as the cosmic mother encompassing all humanity.
2. The Five Divine Races or Cosmic Classes (Sri Aurobindo’s symbolic interpretation)
Sri Aurobindo interprets the “five peoples” as referring to five psychological or divine types (not social castes):
- दिव्य मनस् (Divine Mind)
- दिव्य प्राण (Divine Life-Energy)
- दिव्य शब्द or inspiration
- दिव्य तपस् (Force, Will)
- दिव्य आनन्द (Bliss)
Here the pañca-janāḥ are five powers of consciousness upheld by Aditi, the Infinite Mother.
3. The Five Tribes of Early Indo-Aryans (Ṛgvedic historical view)
Some Sāyaṇa-type interpretations and modern historians read pañca-janāḥ as:
- यदु (Yadu)
- तुर्वश (Turvaśa)
- द्रुह्य (Druhyu)
- अ्नु (Anu)
- पुरु (Puru)
The “five peoples” = the five Vedic tribes protected by Aditi.
4. The Five Cosmic Regions (Vedic cosmological reading)
Another Vedic explanation sees pañca-jana as:
- Dyauḥ (Heaven)
- Antarikṣa (Mid-region)
- Pṛthivī (Earth)
- Ṛta (Cosmic Law)
- Satyam (Truth-Consciousness)
These align with the verse which also names dyauḥ, antarikṣam, mātā, pitā, putraḥ—all symbolic members of the cosmic family.
Which interpretation best matches the Aditi hymn?
For Rig Veda 1.89.10, the meaning is symbolic and cosmic, not ethnic.
The hymn describes Aditi as:
- heaven (dyauḥ)
- midspace (antarikṣam)
- mother
- father
- son
- all gods
- five peoples (pañca-janāḥ)
- whatever is born and yet to be born
This framework clearly uses cosmic images, so the best fit is:
Aditi = the mother of the fivefold cosmic manifestation as in the symbolic interpretation.
Sri Aurobindo and many modern Vedic scholars therefore interpret pañca-janāḥ as the five classes of cosmic energies or fivefold creation, not social groups.
Aditi = Infinite, Unmanifest, Undivided Reality
Aditi is:
- Infinite (ananta)
- Undivided (a-diti = not cut, not partitioned)
- Unmanifest (avyakta in later terms)
- Conscious, luminous, truth-based (ṛta)
Thus Aditi is not “energy” in the usual sense of dynamic power.
She is the infinite Whole behind and beyond all motions.
Aditi is infinite, unmanifested, undivided, conscious, luminous, truth based reality.
After learning this simple verse I couldn’t think of a more beautiful and complete word than Aditi to define the Unknown as expressed in Known.
Savita Tyagi
November 24, 2025.
