Shloka 41

Indra's Campaign on Mount Malaya — Indra’s Campaign on Mount Malaya and the Birth of the Maruts (Origin of the Epithet Gotrabhid)

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच इत्येवमुक्त्वा तान् बालान् परिसान्त्व्य दितिः स्वयम् देवाराज्ञा सहैतांस्तु प्रेषयामास भामिनि

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca ityevamuktvā tān bālān parisāntvya ditiḥ svayam devārājñā sahaitāṃstu preṣayāmāsa bhāmini

Translation

Pulastya said: “Having spoken thus, Diti herself consoled those young ones; and together with the king of the gods she sent them forth—she, the radiant lady.”

Speakers

• Pulastya narrating to Nārada (implied by the chapter colophon and subsequent dialogue)

Primary Deities

• Pulastya
• Nārada (implied listener)
• Diti
• Indra (Devarāja)
• Maruts

Key Themes

• Reconciliation between Diti and Indra
• Origin and commissioning of the Maruts
• Narrative closure of a mythic episode
• Divine polity (Devarāja and attendant gods)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are ‘tān bālān’ in this context?

They are the newly generated ‘children’—the Maruts—arising from the divided embryo in the Diti–Indra episode. The term bāla emphasizes their fresh emergence and Diti’s maternal relation.

What is the significance of Diti sending them ‘with Indra’?

It signals a resolution: the beings born from a conflict become integrated into Indra’s retinue. Purāṇically, this explains why the Maruts are Indra’s companions despite their Daitya maternal lineage.

Why is Pulastya the speaker here?

In the Vāmana Purāṇa’s narrative framing, sages like Pulastya often transmit mythic histories to Nārada. This verse marks a narrator’s transition from Diti’s direct speech back to the sage’s report.