The knower of dharma, it is said, should offer cow’s ghee and rice pudding to the Brahmins, along with wealth and, as able, a garland of flowers. This sacred rite, when performed on the full moon by anyone—man or woman—frees the performer from all sins and leads to union with Brahma. In this world, such a person enjoys excellent sons and assured good fortune, with Brahma remembered as Vishnu, the essence of joy, and as Maheshvara. One who seeks happiness should remember the divine Grandfather—Brahma—in whatever form they desire. Having heard this teaching, Diti undertook the rite in its entirety. Kashyapa, her husband, moved by the greatness of his vow, approached Diti with supreme joy. Where once she was rough in appearance, he now made her radiant with beauty and charm. He invited her to choose a boon, and Diti asked for the greatest: a son, powerful and capable, who could slay Indra. She declared, “I choose a great-souled one, destroyer of all the gods.” Kashyapa then spoke to her about the one who would be the mighty slayer of Indra. He said, “I will grant this, but what should be done now, O auspicious one? Perform the āpastaṃbī rite and the putreṣṭi sacrifice today, O full-breasted lady. After that, I will place the embryo in your breasts by my touch. This embryo will be auspicious, O goddess, and will become the destroyer of Indra.” Diti performed the āpastaṃbī rite and the putreṣṭi sacrifice, abundant in offerings. Kashyapa, eager, offered the oblation, saying, “Become the enemy of Indra.” At that moment, the gods rejoiced while the demons turned away, and Diti conceived. Kashyapa again addressed her, praising her beauty—her face like the moon, her breasts like bilva fruits, her lips like coral, and her complexion exceedingly radiant. He confessed that upon seeing her, he forgot his own body and declared, “Thus, O lovely-hipped one, the embryo has been placed in your breasts by my hand.” He instructed her with great care: “You must maintain this embryo for a full hundred years in this very forest of austerity. At twilight, O woman of excellent complexion, a pregnant woman should not eat, nor should she stand or go to the roots of trees. She should not sit on implements such as pestles or mortars, should not enter water, and must avoid empty houses. She should not stay in anthills, should not be anxious in mind, nor scratch the ground with her nails, nor on charcoal or ashes. She should not always be lying down, nor exert herself; she should avoid places with husks, charcoal, ashes, bones, or skulls. She should avoid quarrels, refrain from anointing her body, not keep her hair loose, nor ever be unclean. She should not lie with her head to the north or downward, should never be without clothing, nor anxious, nor with wet feet. She should not speak inauspicious words, nor laugh excessively; she should always worship with reverence, intent on auspiciousness. She should bathe with water infused with all herbs, remain cheerful, devoted to her husband’s welfare and pleasure, and never speak ill of him under any circumstances.” Diti, reflecting on her condition, said, “I am thin and weak, and old age has come upon me; my breasts have sagged, my face is wrinkled and fragile. One should never say, ‘I have been treated thus by you.’ Farewell to you; I will depart.” Kashyapa replied, “So be it.” Before the eyes of all beings, Diti vanished from sight, and she followed her husband’s instructions with devotion. Knowing all this, Indra himself, leaving the abode of the gods, approached Diti and remained at her side, serving her. Inwardly agitated and seeking a breach in her discipline, Indra, the lord of Paka, concealed his true purpose, outwardly appearing pleasant and speaking kindly. He acted virtuously, as if unaware of his intentions. Then, with only three days remaining to complete the hundred years, Diti, joyful and amazed at her accomplishment, lay down to rest without washing her feet, her hair unbound. Overcome by sleep, she lay with her head to the north at midday. Seizing this opportunity, Indra, husband of Śacī, entered within. With his thunderbolt, the lord of the gods split the embryo in her womb into seven parts, and seven radiant sons were born. These seven children cried out, but Indra, the enemy of the Dānavas, forbade them. Yet as they cried again, Hari split each of them into seven parts, and, holding the thunderbolt, cut them again as they stood in the womb. Thus, they became forty-nine in number, crying intensely. Indra restrained them, saying, “Do not cry again and again.” Then the slayer of Vṛtra pondered: “By whose act, by what greatness, have these been revived?” Realizing it was through the power of merit, Indra understood this was the fruit of the full moon observance. He thought, “Surely this is the result of worshipping Brahma; though struck by the thunderbolt, they did not perish. Since one became many, protected in the womb, surely these are inviolable; therefore, let them become gods.” He declared, “Because they were told, ‘Do not cry,’ yet cried, born from the womb, let them be called Maruts by name, and enjoy happiness.” Diti, having pleased the lord of the gods, humbly said, “Forgive me. Following the treatise on purpose, I have committed this misdeed.” Having made the host of Maruts equal with the gods, the lord of immortals placed Diti, along with her sons, in a celestial chariot and took them to heaven.