Maruts

Vedic sources describe the Maruts as a company of storm-gods sometimes called Marutagana and in at least some accounts as sons of Rudra and Prisni. Rigvedic hymns present them as a martial troop whose number varies in hymnic contexts (scholarly summaries note variant counts attested in the tradition). Later Puranic tradition offers an alternate origin in which the Maruts are born from the broken womb of the goddess Diti after an action of Indra (the thunderbolt hurled to prevent a powerful son), producing a different mythic genealogy. They are also at times identified with the Rudras, reflecting genealogical and interpretive variability across Vedic and post-Vedic texts.

Rigvedic hymns and summaries depict the Maruts as young, armed warriors: wearing golden helmets and ornamented armour, riding in golden chariots drawn by ruddy horses, and accompanied by the female figure Rodasi who rides with them on the clouds. They are described with striking physical imagery—having iron teeth and roaring like lions—and armed with golden weapons (lightning and thunderbolts) and axes used in hymn imagery to split the clouds. Rodasi is variably portrayed in sources as mother, consort, or collective beloved and is associated symbolically with lightning.

The Maruts are personified forces of storms: they wield lightning and thunderbolts, split clouds with axes to bring rain, and can make mountains tremble. Characterized as very violent and aggressive, they serve as Indra's companions and assist him in battle against cosmic foes such as Vritra. In the ritual and hymnic sphere they participate in the sacrificial economy—Rigvedic narratives record disputes between Indra and the Maruts over sacrificial shares (including a mythic dispute involving the sage Agastya)—so their role spans natural phenomena and cultic/social relations between gods.