Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 46: Diti’s vow to kill Indra
Text 1.46.17
दृष्ट्वा तामशुचिं शक्रः पादतः कृतमूर्धजाम्।
शिरःस्थाने कृतौ पादौ जहास च मुमोद च॥
dṛṣṭvā tām aśuciṁ śakraḥ pādataḥ kṛta-mūrdhajām
śiraḥ-sthāne kṛtau pādau jahāsa ca mumoda ca
dṛṣṭvā = seeing; tām = her; aśucim = in an unclean condition; śakraḥ = Indra; pādataḥ = on her feet; kṛta-mūrdhajām = with her hair; śiraḥ-sthāne = in the place of her head; kṛtau pādau = and her feet; jahāsa ca = and therefore laughed; mumoda ca = rejoiced.
Seeing her in an unclean condition with her hair on her feet and her feet in the place of her head, Indra rejoiced and therefore laughed.
Diti’s hair was on her feet. This explains the previous statement, “she had placed her feet towards her head.” Therefore, she was in an unclean condition. “When the sun was in the middle of the sky” in the previous verse indicates that she was sleeping during the day, [another] unclean condition.
“Her feet in the place of her head”: Though she did not sleep on a bed, she had placed her head on the place for her feet, that is, the black deer skin seat, foot pillow and so on. Similarly, she had slept while placing her feet on a place meant for her head, that is, head pillow.
Indra rejoiced because he realized that he could finally spot a fault in her austerities. He laughed thinking that she had been uselessly proud [of giving birth to someone who would rule over the three worlds or kill Indra].