Shloka 41

Daitya–Dānava Vaṁśa, Kaśyapa’s Progeny, and the Birth of the Maruts

Devanagari script

यद् उक्तं वै मघवता तेनैव मरुतो ऽभवन् देवा एकोनपञ्चाशत् सहाया वज्रपाणिनः

Transliteration

yad uktaṃ vai maghavatā tenaiva maruto 'bhavan devā ekonapañcāśat sahāyā vajrapāṇinaḥ

Translation

Just as Maghavat (Indra) had declared, so the Maruts came into being; and those gods—forty-nine in number—became the companions and allies of Vajrapāṇi.

Word by Word

• यत्: what/that which
• यत्: Karma (कर्म/Object; of uktaṃ, ‘what was said’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• उक्तम्: said/uttered
• उक्तम्: Karma (कर्म/Object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/उपपादक (indeed)

• मघवता: by Maghavat (Indra)
• मघवता: Kartr-karana (कर्ता-निर्देशक; agent in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मघवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karana/Hetu (करण/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: just/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Restriction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (only/just)

• मरुतः: the Maruts
• मरुतः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरुत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अभवन्: became
• अभवन्: Kriya (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• एकोनपञ्चाशत्: forty-nine
• एकोनपञ्चाशत्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + ऊन + पञ्चाशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; प्रथमा, बहुवचनार्थे (49); तत्पुरुषः (एकेन ऊना पञ्चाशत्)

• सहायाः: helpers/allies
• सहायाः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• वज्रपाणिनः: of Vajrapāṇi (Indra)
• वज्रपाणिनः: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-प्रातिपदिक ‘वज्रपाणि’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The narrative emphasizes ordered cosmic function (niyati): beings arise in determinate number and role as supports of divine governance.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate steadiness in one’s duties and cooperative service (sahāya-bhāva) rather than egoic rivalry.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic order is sustained through coordinated agencies; plurality functions as the Lord’s dependent modes (śeṣa-bhūta) within a unified governance.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Maghavat, Vajrapāṇi)
• Maruts
• Devas

FAQs

What is the significance of the forty-nine Maruts in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights the Maruts as a fixed, numbered host—forty-nine—serving as Indra’s allied powers, emphasizing an ordered celestial administration rather than a random pantheon.

How does Sage Parāśara explain divine authority in this passage?

Parāśara frames the event as occurring exactly according to Indra’s spoken decree, illustrating how speech/command functions as an instrument of cosmic governance within the deva hierarchy.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse centers on Indra and the Maruts, the Purāṇic worldview assumes all delegated powers operate within the larger sovereignty and order upheld by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu.