Shloka 1

Origins of the Maruts — Origins of the Maruts Across the Manvantaras (Pulastya–Narada Dialogue)

Devanagari script

एवं पुरा स्वानपि सोदरान् स गर्भस्थितानुज्जरितुं भयार्तः बिभेद वज्रेण ततः स गोत्रभित् ख्यातो महर्षे भगवान् महेन्द्रः // वम्प्_45.42 इति श्रीवामनपुराणे पञ्चचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः नारद उवाच यदमी भवता प्रोक्ता मरुतो दितिजोत्तमाः तत् केन पूर्वमासन् वै मरुन्मार्गेण कथ्यताम्

Transliteration

evaṃ purā svānapi sodarān sa garbhasthitānujjarituṃ bhayārtaḥ bibheda vajreṇa tataḥ sa gotrabhit khyāto maharṣe bhagavān mahendraḥ // VamP_45.42 iti śrīvāmanapurāṇe pañcacatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ nārada uvāca yadamī bhavatā proktā maruto ditijottamāḥ tat kena pūrvamāsan vai marunmārgeṇa kathyatām

Translation

Thus, long ago, Mahendra—stricken with fear—split with his thunderbolt even those (beings) who were his own brothers, in order to bring forth those who were within the womb. Thereupon that blessed Mahendra became renowned, O great sage, as ‘Gotrabhid’ (the cleaver of the mountain/obstacle). (Here ends the forty-fifth chapter of the Śrī Vāmana Purāṇa.) Nārada said: “Those Maruts whom you have described as the excellent offspring of Diti—what were they previously? Please explain this by the account of the ‘Marut-path’ (marunmārga).”

Speakers

• Pulastya narrating to Nārada up to the colophon; then Nārada questioning Pulastya at the opening of Adhyaya 46

Primary Deities

• Indra (Mahendra/Gotrabhid)
• Maruts
• Diti
• Pulastya
• Nārada

Key Themes

• Etiology of divine epithets (Gotrabhid)
• Mythic causation for the Maruts’ affiliation with Indra
• Purāṇic chapter colophon structure
• Inquiry into prior existence (pūrvam āsan) and cosmological genealogy

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why is Indra called ‘Gotrabhid’ here—does it refer to Vṛtra, mountains, or something else?

‘Gotrabhid’ literally means ‘breaker of gotra.’ In Vedic-Purāṇic idiom, gotra can denote a mountain/enclosure that ‘holds back’ waters or light; Indra’s thunderbolt cleaves such obstructions. Here the epithet is re-applied to his cleaving act with the vajra, extending the ‘breaker’ motif to this episode’s extraordinary splitting.

What does Nārada mean by asking what the Maruts ‘were previously’ (kena pūrvam āsan)?

He is requesting a deeper genealogy or prehistory—whether the Maruts had a prior form, vow, curse, or cosmic station before becoming Indra’s companions. This is a typical Purāṇic move: from immediate narrative to antecedent cause (pūrva-kāraṇa).

Is ‘marunmārga’ a geographical route or a narrative/ritual category?

In this context it functions primarily as a narrative rubric—‘tell it by the Marut-account/track.’ However, the Vāmana Purāṇa often blends myth with cosmography; later passages can use such terms to anchor divine groups to directions, regions, or pilgrimage frameworks. This verse itself does not name a specific tīrtha or region.