Birth of the Maruts (Vāyu Purāṇa)

The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6, tells how the forty-nine Maruts were born. Diti, the wife of Kaśyapa Prajāpati, made a vow of tapas (austerity) to win a son who could defeat Indra. Indra served her in secret and, when her vow was broken, struck the child in her womb with his vajra (thunderbolt). Out of this came the forty-nine Maruts, the devas of the winds. Diti gave them the seven vāyu-skandhas (the seven winds) as their place, and Indra agreed. The name Marut comes from the words Indra spoke inside her womb, Mā ruda, “Do not weep”.

Diti’s grief and her vow

Diti was the daughter of Daksha and the wife of Kaśyapa Prajāpati. She had lost her sons. Hiraṇyakaśipu had been slain by Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha, and Hiraṇyāksha had been slain by Bhagavān Varāha. In her grief she turned to deep devotion toward her husband. She served Kaśyapa so fully and so steadily that he was moved and offered her a vara (a boon). She asked for a son who could defeat Indra in battle and take the rule of the three worlds. Kaśyapa gave this vara on one condition:

“If you keep perfect ritual purity for a full one hundred years, you shall bear a son who will rule all three worlds.”

Diti was overjoyed. She went into a pure forest full of kuśa grass and began the hardest tapas.

Indra’s secret service

Indra, called Sahasrāksha (thousand-eyed), knew that if Diti’s vow was kept, it would end in his own destruction. He went to her in the form of a devoted servant and served her with great care and gentleness all through her tapas. He brought her:

• Agni (sacred fire) and samidh (kindling sticks)
• Darbha (kuśa grass) and kāshṭha (firewood)
• Phala (fruits) and kandamūla (roots and tubers)

He rubbed her body to ease the tiredness of the tapas, and he served her at all hours without fail. Diti was pleased with the devotion of her servant. She said to him warmly: “O dear son! I am pleased with you. Only ten more years remain. After that you will see your younger brother.”

The lapse at midday

The sun reached the top of the sky. This was midday, the holiest hour. Diti was worn out by the long years of tapas. She put her head on her knees and fell asleep. The hair from her feet fell over her face and head. This made her ritually impure, which was the very lapse that the vow forbade.

Indra saw his chance and laughed quietly with relief. He entered her body through this opening in her purity. Inside he found the child blazing with great tejas. He struck it with his vajra and broke it.

Mā ruda: where the name Marut comes from

The broken child split into seven pieces, and each piece wept loudly with a terrible sound. Indra, still inside the womb, cried out: “Mā ruda! Mā ruda!” This means Do not weep! Do not weep! From these words, mā (not) and ruda (weep), comes the name Marut (and Māruta). The Vāyu Purāṇa says plainly that the devas of the wind are called Maruts because of the words Indra spoke at that moment.

Then Indra split each of the seven pieces into seven more with his vajra. This made seven times seven, forty-nine pieces.

Diti wakes and forgives

Diti woke up and cried out: “Kill not! Kill not!” (chāmpavaddhu! chāmpavaddhu!). Indra respected his mother’s command. He came out of her womb with folded hands and told her what had happened:

“O Mother! You slept with your hair fallen over your head, and so you were impure. I took advantage of that lapse. I split this child, who would have killed me in battle. Forgive me.”

Diti saw that the fault was her own. She gave no śāpa (curse) to Indra. She spoke as a great tapasvinī (woman of tapas): “This failure of my vow was caused by my own impurity. O Devarāja! O Mahābala! There is no blame on you. You did no wrong in destroying your enemy. Now that you have done this, bless my children. Make their births auspicious.”

Diti’s gift: the seven vāyu-skandhas

Diti had forgiven Indra. She asked that her forty-nine sons be given the seven vāyu-skandhas (the seven strata of the winds) as their own place for ever. She said:

“Let my sons live in the seven vāta-skandhas and move through them. Let them travel together with the devas. Let them be called Maruts.”

She named the seven strata and said where each lies:

Indra agrees

Sahasrāksha Indra answered his mother with folded hands:

“Mother, so be it! All that you have said will come true. Your great sons will be devas honoured by the devas. They will share in the yajña-bhāga (the share of the yajña) of the devas, together with them.”

So the Maruts became immortal devas, the children of Kaśyapa by Diti. They were born through Indra’s act against his mother and through her grace. Diti and Indra settled everything between them and went together to svarga (heaven).

The forty-nine Maruts in four gaṇas

The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa names the forty-nine Maruts in four gaṇas (companies).

First gaṇa (Prathama-gaṇa): Sattvajyoti, Dityada, Satyajyoti, Tiryagjyoti, Sajyoti, Jyotishmān

Second gaṇa (Dvitīya-gaṇa): Ṛtajit, Satyajit, Sushena, Senajit, Satyamitra, Abhimitra, Harimitra

Third gaṇa (Tṛtīya-gaṇa): Kṛtu, Satya, Dhruva, Dhartā, Vidhārayu, Dhvānta, Dhuni, Ugra, Bhīma, Abhiyu, Sākshipu, Āhvaya

Fourth gaṇa (Caturtha-gaṇa): Īdṛk, Anyādṛk, Yādṛk, Pratikṛtu, Samiti, Saṃrambha

Seven groups of seven, the full forty-nine, are called the Marudgaṇas. The text says: “These forty-nine Maruts were named. The two Indras (Diti and Indra) counted them well.”

Sources

• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6