# Diti, Indra and the Maruts Sukadeva Goswami continued describing the descendants of Daksa’s daughters, particularly Diti (mother of the demons) and Aditi (mother of the demigods). Those offspring became known as the Daityas and Adityas respectively. Diti had a grudge against Indra since Vishnu had appeared to save him by killing her sons, Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu. Angered, she now desired another son who would kill Indra. Through her womanly charm she conquered Kasyapa, her husband, who agreed to unite with her. When she expressed what kind of child she wanted, however, he was shocked and condemned himself. Nevertheless, Kasyapa ingeniously instructed Diti to strictly follow the Vaisnava austerity of Pumsavana-vrata. This would satisfy her desire for a son, but simultaneously purify her consciousness from the enmity towards Indra and the demigods. While Diti engaged in the vow (*vrata*), Indra closely monitored her every move, looking for some discrepancy to capitalise upon. When Indra caught her in violation of the strict regulations, he entered her womb and sliced the embryo into forty-nine parts. Those children became known as the Maruts, who later made friends with Indra and were saved. Upon the request of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Goswami went on to explain the details of the Pumsavana-vrata. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://bhagavata.keshavaswami.com/canto-06/e.p.i.c/c-chitraketu-14-19/diti-indra-and-the-maruts.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.