O Nārada, listen as I recount this wondrous tale. Once, a being entered his mother’s womb through her nostril. Within, he beheld a great child lying there, hands firmly placed, face turned upward in the darkness. Suddenly, with hands shining like pure crystal, he seized his mother, pressing her with such force that her body became hard as stone. In that moment, O Nārada, a hundred-jointed thunderbolt, not of metal but made of flesh, was produced. With this thunderbolt, he cut his mother into seven parts, and she cried out in anguish. Her cries reached the ears of her son, who, hearing her voice, was moved. Yet, he spoke and, again, divided each of the seven parts into seven, making forty-nine in all. Then, O sage, filled with fear of a curse, he approached Diti, his hands joined in reverence. He spoke gently to her, “It was by your own request that I struck; do not be angry with me.” Despite all that had transpired, when the destined time was fulfilled, Diti attained purity. O beautiful one, with the king of the gods, he released those beings. Then, O great sage, the blessed Mahendra—Indra himself, known as the slayer of Vṛtra—split her with the thunderbolt, thus fulfilling the divine will. Now, Nārada, you ask: by whom did these beings first exist along the path of the wind? Who were those who dwelt there? Hear this, as it happened from the era of Svāyambhuva, the first Manu, up to the present Manvantara. In those days, there was a great king who had a son named Savana, honored by all three worlds. Upon his death, his wife Sudevā was overwhelmed with grief and wept bitterly, crying out, “Lord, Lord,” as though she were left without a protector. In her sorrow, she lamented, “If your truth is supreme, let this fire become your companion, as it was with your husband. I grieve for the king, deprived of his son—not for myself, O bird, for I am of little fortune.” She was told, “You will ascend the fire swiftly; what has been spoken is true—place your faith in it today.” With devotion and her mind fixed on her husband, Sudevā approached the blazing fire. But then, by divine grace, she soared into the sky, together with Sunābha’s daughter, the queen, moving at will. For five days, through divine power, Savana remained in the heavens with his wife, enjoying her company freely. In their celestial union, his semen fell from the sky. It was then that Citrā, Viśālā, and Haritālinī—the wives of the Seven Sages—saw the fallen essence and, believing it to be nectar and desiring eternal youth, coveted it. With their husbands’ permission, they drank what was found within the lotus, consuming only the king’s seed. Yet, having done so, all those wives, now tainted, abandoned the seed. Their weeping filled the entire world, such was their sorrow. Approaching them, Brahmā, the grandsire and lord of the gods, said, “Children, do not weep—you are mighty.” Thus comforted by Brahmā, these wives became the Maruts, born in the interval of Manu Svāyambhuva. Elsewhere, the illustrious Kratudhvaja was born, son of Svārociṣa. For the sake of austerity, he and other kings journeyed to the great mountain Meru. The thousand-eyed Indra, known as Vipascit, grew fearful of their growing power. To prevent their austerities from bearing fruit, Indra commanded, “Go, O Pūtanā, to the vast and splendid mountain Meru, so that an obstacle may arise to hinder their penance, O beautiful one.” Thus, O Nārada, unfolded these wondrous events, filled with the play of destiny, divine intervention, and the mysterious workings of the gods.