all my sins and remain in the proximity of Lord Shiva." Parvati blessed him and made him the
Gana of Shiva who became famous as Bhringi.
6.20.5 The Origin of Marut Ganas
Narad asked Pulastya about the battle which Indra fought with the demon at Malay Mountain. Pulastya
replied- "Andhak's followers- Maya and Taar tried to enter Pataal loka after being defeated by the
deities. While they were passing close to the Malay Mountain, they decided to live there being
enchanted by its natural beauty. The caves of Malay Mountain were inhabited by sages who were Lord
Shiva's devotees. The demons started causing obstacles in the rituals performed by the sages. When
Lord Shiva came to know about this, he instructed Indra to go to Malay Mountain and help the sages.
Indra went to Malay Mountain and successfully drove out the demons from there.
Narad again asked Pulastya as to why Indra was also known as Gotrabhit. Pulastya narrated the
following tale- "After her son's death, Diti requested her husband, Kashyap to bless her with another
son so that Indra could be killed. Sage Kashyap advised her that she would get her desire fulfilled after
the successful accomplishment of her penance lasting for 100 divine years. In course of time, Diti
became pregnant. One day, sage Kashyap left for Udaygiri Mountain to do his penance and Diti was
left all alone.
One day, Indra arrived at the hermitage and expressed his desire to be at Diti's service if she permitted.
Diti gave permission and Indra engaged himself in serving her. He used to keep the oblation site clean
and bring dry wood necessary for the performance of Yagya. This continued for 1000 divine years. One
day, Diti was taking rest after her bath. She had postponed her penance for sometime because of her
impurity. As she was tired, very soon, she fell asleep. Seeing the moment opportune, Indra entered into
her womb through her nostrils and cut the foetus into seven parts. After waking up, Diti realised about
her foetus' destruction. Indra was very scared on the prospect of being cursed by Diti and said- "I am
not the cause of your foetus' destruction. It has been destroyed due to your own impurity. So please
don't curse me." Diti replied- "You are certainly not responsible for my foetus' destruction. It was all in
my destiny. From the pieces of the foetus manifested the Marut Ganas and since Indra had tried to
harm his own uterine brothers therefore he became famous as Gotrabhit.
6.20.6 Marut Ganas of Different Manvataras
Sage Pulastya says- "O Narad! Now, I am going to describe about the origin of Marut Ganas of various
Manvantaras. Savan was Swayambhu Manu's son. He had no sons and when he died, the sorrowful
queen- Sudeva heard a heavenly voice, which instructed her to give up her life by jumping into the
burning pyre." "You would become a proud mother of seven sons", said the heavenly voice. The queen
acted accordingly and died after jumping into the burning pyre."
"The souls of the dead king and queen ascended towards the sky. The prophesies made by the
heavenly voice came true and Sudeva found herself in her periods. The king enjoyed a physical
relationship with the queen for five days. Incidentally, few drops of sperms fell towards earth. After this
both the souls departed.....