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I'm wondering if the rud portion of Rudra is etymologically connected to the rut portion of Marut. My understanding is that rudra literally means "howl" or "roar" and marút means "wind," "air," or "breath." So, can these words be broken into etymological parts?

Rubellite Yakṣī
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    it should be "Marudgana" and not "Marutagana".. – YDS Jun 01 '18 at 07:10
  • Thank you. Feel free to edit it. I wrote "Marutagana" because of Wikipedia. You may also want to correct the Wikipedia page. Many Hinduism pages on there need a proper Indian perspective. – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 08:04
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    Your follow up question is already answered https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/20128/5212 I think it can be removed. – Sarvabhouma Jun 01 '18 at 09:40

2 Answers2

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As per The Origin of Marudganas chapter of Padma Purana,

One day, Diti was very tired and fell down asleep. Her hair was untied and her head had stooped down while she was sleeping, just opposite to the instructions Kashyapa had given to her. Finding the moment opportune, Indra entered into Diti's womb and cut the foetus into seven pieces with his Vajra. The seven fragments of foetus instantaneously got transformed into seven infants and started wailing. Indra became furious and once again he attacked them with his vajra and severed them into seven pieces each. But to Indra's sheer amazement, there were 49 infants, all wailing loudly. He tried to stop them from crying by shouting 'Marud' (don't cry), but to no avail.

Indra realized that the infants had attained immortality on account of the 'Pournamasi Vrata', which Diti had devoutly observed during the course of her penance. Indra named the infants as Marudganas and blessed them. He then begged for Diti's forgiveness and took her along with the Marudganas to heaven. The Marudganas, despite being born in the clans of demons, never associated with them and hence were revered even by the deities.

As per the The Creation of Rudras chapter of Markandeya Purana,

One of the eight sons of Brahma started wailing after being created from his (Brahma) body. Brahma asked him as to why he was crying. The crying child requested Brahma to give him a name. Brahma named him as Rudra since he was wailing at the time of his birth.

Note: Here it's Rudra and NOT Shiva. ( See the difference in Are Lord Shiva and Lord Shankar two different deities? ).

So root verb for both the words is रुद् (rud) means cry.

Ma + rud means don't cry.

Indra means "possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing".

YDS
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  • Excellent answer as you gave me both the emic and etic perspective. This is what I expect from this site, but usually only find one or the other. I do have a followup question... actually a few. 1. Is there any other possible meaning for "Ma" even if it doesn't fit with the story? 2. Do you happen to know the etymology of Indra, I ask here because the Maruts serve him. If the answer is long, let me know and I'll ask separately. 3. What do you mean Rudra is not Shiva? I thought Rudra is always a form of Shiva. – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 08:08
  • Also, you have a typo at "Markandeya Ppurana," – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 08:10
  • @RubelliteYakṣī 1. probabally no.. 2. i believe this should be clear from the above answer why Maruts serve Indra.. 3. Shiva gave Brahma a boon that he will born as his son..then Shiva took birth as Rudra (son of Brahma).. – YDS Jun 01 '18 at 08:18
  • Oh, I know why they serve him. I am asking about the linguistics. If Indra has some root meaning. Or if there is a word "indr" or something similar from which his name comes. I'll ask it in another question tomorrow. Regarding Shiva/Rudra you said it's NOT Shiva in your answer. What does it mean? Thanks. – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 08:22
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    @RubelliteYakṣī The word Indra is not originated from रुद् (rud)... Indra means "possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing"...The Question https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/2278/12304 might be helpful to understand the difference between Shiva and Rudra.. – YDS Jun 01 '18 at 09:52
  • @YDS I read somewhere Indra is formed from something called a रक् प्रत्यय is this true? That seems to be out of Panini’s grammar in Unadi Sutras. – Adiyarkku Mar 17 '21 at 05:22
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    @Archit not sure about that..bdw, for Indra there is a diff Q: What is the meaning of Indra? – YDS Mar 17 '21 at 05:51
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It is like this in Sanskrit --
रुद् means cry/weep.
मरुत् means वायु.

There is a story in 'Shrimat Bhagwat Mahapurana'.
When Diti, the mother of the daityas (demons), was pregnant and expecting a very powerful son as per the blessing of her husband Kaśyapa, that time Indra, the king of gods, stealthily broken the foetus into 49 parts. These ‘babies’ started weeping. At the request of their mother Diti, Indra granted them protection and godhood. He told them not to weep (मा रुद ). Hence it is मरुद्.

He made them the controllers of wind. Hence comes मरुत्.

Marudgaṇa is a group of Maruts.

Vineet
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  • I like this story, but it is not a proper etymology. Moreover, I read that Rudra was father of the Maruts. In this story they are children of Diti & Kaśyapa. What is the source of each story? – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 07:02
  • "Marudgaṇa is a group of Maruts." Yes, I understand the meaning of "gaṇa," but aren't Maruts always plural? That is, can you see a single Marut? – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 07:03
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    Regarding the story of Diti & Kaśyapa, it is in 'Shrimat Bhagwat Mahapurana'. Will try to update regarding the 'skandha' (chapter) subsequently. – Vineet Jun 01 '18 at 07:06
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    Yes. Single maruts are described. Navanathas (9) which are avatars of nava narayanas, are said to be originating from Marud ganas and took avatars in different ways. – Vineet Jun 01 '18 at 07:19
  • Regardless, it does seem that the रुत् in both means, cry/howl, correct? – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 07:27
  • Yes. रुद् is the धातु (not metal, but grammer) in sanskrit which means 'to cry'. – Vineet Jun 01 '18 at 07:30
  • "I read that Rudra was father of the Maruts." - from where did u read that..in most of Puranas they are children of Diti... @RubelliteYakṣī – YDS Jun 01 '18 at 07:43
  • @YDS I don't remember. I just Googled it though and the first thing that came up was "(Maruts) are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni" – Rubellite Yakṣī Jun 01 '18 at 07:50