According to the Puranic scriptures, Diti is one of the sixty daughters of Prajapati Daksha and his wife Asikni.
She and her twelve sisters were married to the sage Kashyapa. Diti is described as the mother of two groups of beings—the Daityas and the Marutas.
The most prominent of her sons were Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyaksha, Vajranaka, Arunasura, Raktabija and Surapadman. Diti also had a daughter named Simhika (also known as Holika).
After the death of her sons in the Samudra Manthana, Diti grew inconsolable. She begged her husband to grant her a child who would be capable of defeating Indra.
In due course, Diti became pregnant and following her husband’s advice, she engaged in worship and remained chaste.
When Indra discovered that the child in Diti’s womb was to be his slayer, he took on the disguise of an attendant.
Indra used his thunderbolt known as the vajra to splinter the fetus into many pieces, from which originated the marutas.