When Diti conceived, the gods rejoiced while the demons turned away in disappointment. Kashyapa, her husband, spoke to her with gentle affection, admiring her beauty: “Your face shines like the moon, your breasts are like bilva fruits, your lips glow like coral, and your complexion is radiant. O wide-eyed one, when I behold you, I forget even my own body. Thus, O lovely-hipped one, by my hand the embryo has been placed within your breasts.” He then offered careful instructions for her to protect their unborn child: “You must nurture this embryo with great care for a full hundred years here in this forest of austerity. At twilight, O woman of splendid complexion, a pregnant woman should not eat, nor should she stand or go to the roots of trees. She should not sit on implements like pestles or mortars, nor should she enter water or venture into empty houses. She must avoid anthills and should not allow her mind to be anxious. She should not scratch the ground with her nails, nor with charcoal or ashes. She should not always be lying down, nor should she overexert herself. She must avoid places with husks, charcoal, ashes, bones, or skulls. She should shun quarrels and refrain from anointing her body, never keep her hair loose, and must always remain clean. She should not lie with her head to the north or downward, nor should she be without clothing, anxious, or with wet feet. She must avoid speaking inauspicious words or excessive laughter, and should always perform worship with reverence, intent on auspiciousness. She should bathe with water infused with all herbs, keep a cheerful face, be devoted to her husband’s welfare and pleasure, and never speak ill of her husband under any circumstances.” Diti, feeling the weight of age, reflected, “I am thin and weak, and old age has come upon me; my breasts have sagged from their place, and my face is wrinkled and fragile. One should never say, ‘I have been treated thus by you.’ Farewell to you; I will depart.” Kashyapa, hearing her words, replied, “So be it.” Before the eyes of all beings, Diti vanished from that place and went to follow her husband’s instructions. Knowing this, Indra himself left the abode of the gods and came to Diti’s side, serving her. Yet, the lord of Paka, Indra, was inwardly agitated, seeking a fault in Diti, but outwardly he appeared pleasant and spoke kindly. He acted virtuously as if unaware of his true intention. Then, when nearly a hundred years had passed and only three days remained, Diti, feeling accomplished and joyful, lay down to rest—her feet unwashed, her hair unbound—overcome by sleep, with her head to the north at midday. Seeing this opportunity, Indra, the husband of Śacī, entered within. With his thunderbolt, the lord of the gods split the embryo into seven parts, and from these were born seven sons, radiant like the sun. The seven children cried, but Indra, enemy of the Dānavas, forbade them. Yet, as they cried again, Hari split each one into seven more parts. Indra, holding the thunderbolt, cut them again as they stood in the womb, and thus they became forty-nine, 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 by the power of merit, he understood this was the fruit of the full moon observance. “Surely this has matured, or perhaps it is from worship of Brahma; though struck by the thunderbolt, they did not perish. Since one became many, protected within the womb, surely these are inviolable; therefore, let them become gods. Because they were told, ‘Do not cry,’ yet cried, let them be called Maruts by name and enjoy happiness.” Diti, having pleased the lord of the gods, said, “Forgive me. Following the treatise on purpose, I have committed this misdeed.” The lord of immortals, having made the host of Maruts equal with the gods, placed Diti and her sons in a celestial chariot and took them to heaven. All those who received shares of the sacrifice became the Maruts; they did not join the Asuras and thus remained dear to the gods. Bhīṣma then asked, “O Brahman, you have described to me in detail the initial creation; now tell me about the secondary creation and the rulers of each.” Pulastya replied: “When Pṛthu was anointed as sovereign over all the earth, he appointed Soma as lord of plants, sacrifices, vows, and austerities. He made Varuṇa lord of the waters, Vaiśravaṇa lord of wealth and kings, and the golden-wombed one lord of stars, priests, trees, shrubs, and creepers. He appointed Viṣṇu as lord of the suns, Agni as lord of the Vasus and of the worlds, Dakṣa as lord of the progenitors, and Śakra as lord of the Maruts. He made Prahlāda lord of the Daityas and Dānavas, Yama lord of the ancestors, and Śūlapāṇi lord of the Piśācas, Rākṣasas, animals, spirits, Yakṣas, and Vetālas. He appointed the snowy mountain as lord of the mountains, the ocean as lord of the rivers, and Citraratha as lord of the Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, and Kinnaras. He made Vāsuki, fierce in strength, lord of the Nāgas, Takṣaka lord of the serpents, and Airāvata, so named, lord of the elephants and guardian of the directions. He made Suparṇa lord of the birds, Uccaiḥśravas king of the horses, the lion lord of the beasts, the bull lord of the cows, and Plakṣa lord of all trees. The Grandfather first anointed these as lords, and then all the guardians of the directions; the eastern guardian he anointed as Suvarmāṇa and Arātiketu by name.