Thread by @rrvirdi

The Maruts!

Let's get into these cool badasses from South Asian mythology:

The Murats AKA the Marutagana are a group of storm gods out of the Tridasha, the Vedic 33, consisting of 11 in that pantheon, or ranging from 27 to 60 - or 3x60 in the Rig Vedas in number.

They are often linked to Rudras (not to be confused with the Vedic wind and storm god Rudra), but often considered the SONS of Rudra and Prisni.

Like the storms they represent and herald -

they're often violent, explosive, temperamental, angry, filled with gnashing teeth, clashing hearts and minds and skulls, and the scream of roaring lions (very fitting for thunder heads - storm bringers, yeah?).

Armed with radiant golden weapons - bright as lightning's flash,

living in the northwest from where they ride out on equally bright-golden chariots drawn by red-sun-colored ruddy horses. In the Vedic myths, they are companions of Indra, the big badass sky father and storm lord who slew the first born of dragons, the Asura, Vritra, --

also serving a role much like battle guards, elite troops to Indra, argued by some mythologist to be cognates of the Norse Einherjar as well as overlapping in with the Wild Hunt (not the oldest/first/or single use of a great hunt mythos - the oldest is a PIE (proto indo european-

myth known as the Cosmic hunt)).

They wear golden breastplates and wield golden axes with which they split the skies - thunderous clouds to give way to rainfall, sparking lightning and thunder. They are powerful enough to fell mountains with their roars and sounds of their-

blows. In some stories, they are said to have helped Indra in his battle against Vritra. In the later Puranas, however, it's said the Marut are the sons of Diti, after being forced to give birth early by Indra hurling a lightning bolt at her out of fear that she would give--

birth to a son powerful enough to challenge him - however, to do so, she would have to endure a hundred year pregnancy. So he acted and caused an early birth resulting in the Maruts.

Note: The idea of powerful sons overthrowing/challenging, scaring sky-fathers or prime

deities is an old and popular motif shown in comparative mythology - many cultures have this, and not just once.

Skyfathers, primordials, kings/sons, heroes, so on.

It like goes back to PIE stories of this and the story of Manus and Yeemo, and the idea of twins--

one of whom is killed/or dies.

Ymir is overthrown by his blood in Norse myth.

Uranus by Saturn/Cronos, his son, then Zeus overthrows him.

So on.

Anyways little myth ramble. Allergies, tired, work to do.

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