Marudgaṇas

The Marudgaṇas, also called the Maruts, are the forty-nine wind devas. They were born from the womb of Diti after Indra cut the shining child she carried into forty-nine parts with his Vajra. The power of the worship of Bhagavān Hari, which Diti had done in the Puṃsavana Vrata for nearly a year, kept every part alive. Not one died, though the Vajra struck again and again inside the womb.

They came out blazing like fires and told Indra that they were his brothers. They received an equal share of soma at the yajñas. Their name comes from the words “Mā ruda!” (“Do not cry!”) that Indra said to the screaming parts as he cut them. They are counted among the fifty devas, Indra and the forty-nine Marutas.

Origin: the vrata of Diti and the act of Indra

Diti was the wife of Kaśyapa Maharṣi and the daughter of Dakṣa Prajāpati. She wanted a son who would kill Indra, to take revenge for the deaths of her earlier sons Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa, in which Indra had a part. Kaśyapa would not take back a vara (boon) he had given freely. So he gave her the year-long Puṃsavana Vrata as the way. The heart of this vrata was sincere worship of Bhagavān Śrī Hari.

Diti kept the vrata with great care for nearly eleven months. Indra found out what she wanted. He served her each day with flowers, fruits and forest food, and all the while he watched for a fault in her vrata. One day, worn out by the long vrata, Diti ate her evening meal and fell asleep at sandhyā time without washing her face, hands and feet. This broke the rules of the vrata.

Indra seized the chance at once. By the power of yoga (yoga-bala) he went into the womb of Diti in his subtle body (sūkṣma-śarīra). He found the shining, golden child and struck it with his Vajra, cutting it into seven pieces. The seven pieces screamed. Indra said to them, “Mā ruda! Mā ruda!” (“Do not cry! Do not cry!”). Then he cut each of the seven into seven more, making forty-nine parts. To his surprise, not one part died. The stored power of the worship of Bhagavān Hari in the Puṃsavana Vrata had kept them safe from within the womb (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skandha, Chapter 18).

The name Marut

From inside the womb the forty-nine spoke to Indra: “O Indra, why do you want to kill us? We are the Marudgaṇas, your own younger brothers.” The text itself gives the source of their name. Indra kept saying “Mā ruda” (do not cry) to the child-parts as they screamed. Those words became tied to their birth, and they came to be called the Marutas (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skandha, Chapter 18).

Their coming out and the answer of Diti

When Diti woke from sleep, she saw forty-nine blazing figures, like fires, standing before her next to Indra. She was full of joy. Indra then told her the truth. He had learned what she wanted. He had served her while he watched for a fault. He had found that she missed sandhyā. He had entered the womb and cut the child, yet none of the parts had died.

He said this was the power of the worship of Bhagavān Hari. He said: “Those who worship Puruṣottama with niṣkāma-bhāva (without wish for gain), without even asking for mokṣa (liberation), are truly skilled in their own good.” He owned that his act was selfish and asked Diti to forgive him. Diti was pleased with his honest words. She forgave him and blessed him (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skandha, Chapter 18).

Their place among the devas

The forty-nine Marudgaṇas became the companions of Indra. Their mother Diti was an asura, of the Daitya line. Indra set that aside, counted them among the devas, and gave them an equal share of soma at the yajñas. They are counted as the fifty devas: Indra and the forty-nine Marutas. The Marudgaṇas had no children of their own (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skandha, Chapter 18).

The Marutas themselves said that they were the brothers of Indra. In this way the enmity that Diti had meant to create was ended.

The forty-nine Maruts: names in the Vāyu Purāṇa

The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa names the Maruts in four gaṇas.

First gaṇa: Sattvajyoti, Dityada, Satyajyoti, Tiryagjyoti, Sajyoti, Jyotiṣmān

Second gaṇa: Ṛtajit, Satyajit, Suṣeṇa, Senajit, Satyamitra, Abhimitra, Harimitra

Third gaṇa: Kṛtu, Satya, Dhruva, Dhartā, Vidhārayu, Dhvānta, Dhuni, Ugra, Bhīma, Abhiyu, Sākṣipu, Āhvaya

Fourth gaṇa: Īdṛk, Anyādṛk, Yādṛk, Pratikṛtu, Samiti, Saṃrambha

The total is forty-nine, seven times seven (saptasapta), as Diti herself blessed them (Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6).

The seven Vāyu-skandhas: the stations of the Maruts

In the Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Diti herself gives the seven layers of the sky as the lasting home of her Marut sons. These seven layers (vāyu-skandhas) reach from the surface of the earth to the pole star Dhruva.

Seven gaṇas of seven Maruts each move for ever through these seven layers (Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6).

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skandha, Chapters 18–19
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6