With her hands joined in reverence, Diti approached her husband, the illustrious sage Marīca Kaśyapa, her heart heavy with sorrow. Addressing him, she said, “O Lord, my sons have been slain by your sons, the Ādityas.” Her voice trembled with longing as she continued, “I desire a son, one who will be born of great austerity and who shall become the slayer of Indra. I am resolved to undertake severe penance for this purpose, and I beseech you to grant me conception.” Hearing her plea, the radiant Kaśyapa, resplendent in his ascetic power, responded to his grieving wife. “So be it, O treasure of austerity. Remain pure and steadfast. You shall give birth to a noble son, destined to become Indra’s slayer in battle. But heed this: if you maintain your purity for a full hundred years, you will bear a son who will be celebrated throughout the three worlds.” Having spoken thus, the divine sage Kaśyapa united with Diti, and then, embracing her, departed to roam the three worlds. Filled with joy at her husband’s promise, the goddess Diti journeyed to a sacred forest, where she began her long and arduous penance. As Diti immersed herself in her austerities, Indra, the thousand-eyed king of the gods, approached her. With utmost care and devotion, he tended to her needs—bringing her fire, sacrificial grass, wood, fruits, roots, and all that was required for her rites. He massaged her limbs and relieved her fatigue, serving her at all times and in all places, honoring her as she performed her penance. Pleased by Indra’s attentiveness, Diti addressed him one day, saying, “O best of the gods, I am pleased with you. Only ten years remain, O child, and then you shall see your brother. I set my mind on victory, for with such a son, I shall, with him, achieve conquest of the three worlds.” After saying this, Diti, overcome by sleep as the sun reached its zenith, lay down, her head resting upon her knees. In that moment, Indra noticed her in a state of impurity, her hair fallen at her feet. Recognizing his opportunity, Indra, also called Purandara, entered her body. There, seeing the immense embryo within, Indra struck its main part with his thunderbolt of a hundred spikes. As the thunderbolt split the embryo, it cried out terribly, trembling again and again. Indra, moved by its distress, spoke to the embryo, saying, “Do not cry.” Yet the embryo divided into seven parts, and Indra, wielding his thunderbolt, split each of those seven into seven again, making forty-nine in all. At that moment, Diti awoke. Seeing what was happening, Diti cried out in anguish, “Do not kill, do not kill!” Out of respect for her words, Indra—the thunderbolt-bearer—emerged from her womb, hands joined in supplication, thunderbolt still in hand. He addressed Diti, saying, “O goddess, you were impure and asleep, with your hair fallen at your feet. Seizing that moment, I, Śakra, destroyer of foes, have split your embryo in many ways. Please forgive me.” With her embryo thus rendered fruitless, Diti was overwhelmed by grief. Seeing her distress, Indra—the thousand-eyed—spoke words of consolation to his mother. Diti replied, “If my embryo has been made fruitless because of my own fault, O lord of gods, O mighty son of a sage, you are not to blame. There is no fault in slaying an enemy, so I do not curse you. But I wish for a blessing—grant my embryo a boon.” She continued, “Let there be seven stations in heaven for my sons. Let these seven wind-clusters be traversed by my sons. Let these groups, seven times seven, become renowned as the Maruts.” Diti then described the abodes of her sons: “On earth is the first cluster; the second is with the sun; the third with the moon; the fourth among the stars; the fifth among the planets; the sixth in the circle of the Seven Sages; and the seventh, the highest, at the pole star. At various times, my sons shall wander in these places as the wind-clusters.” She further explained, “The first cluster on earth brings impure things; let my sons move as this first group, traversing the earth. The second, blowing from pure things toward the sun, is the second wind-cluster; let my sons dwell there. Above the sun, from the moon, is the upward wind, the third cluster; let my sons move there. Above the moon, from the stars, is the fourth, called the good wind. Above the Yakṣas, from the planets, is the fifth, the gentle wind. Above the planets, from the sages, is the sixth, the supreme wind. Above the Saptarṣis, above Dhruva, is the seventh region, the support of the wind, carried around the pole star.” “All of these, my sons, shall move about in these regions at various times, and they shall be known as the Maruts. Their names were given by both mother and son, and by their deeds, each Marut is distinct.” Diti then named them: Sattvajyotis, Aditya, Satyajyotis, Tiryagjyotis, Sajyotis, Jyotishman, and another—these are the names of the first group. The second group: Ṛtajit, Satyajit, Suṣeṇa, and Senajit, along with Satmitra, Abhimitra, and Harimitra. The third group includes Kṛta, Satya, Dhruva, Dhartṛ, Vidhāraya, Dhvānta, Dhuni, Ugra, Bhīma, Abhiyu, and Sakṣipa. The next group: Īdṛk, Caiva, Tathānyādṛk, Yādṛk, Pratikṛt, Samiti, and Saṃrambha. Thus, the Maruts—born of Diti, shaped by Indra’s act, and blessed by their mother—became the mighty wind-gods, each with a place and a name among the worlds, renowned for their power and presence throughout creation.