When the Sun reached the middle of the sky, Diti got caught in sleep, keeping her feet near the head. Sleeping during daytime and keeping her legs towards the head in the bed tainted her. Some others say while she sat and leaned against her legs the head contacted the legs. Like the impurity caused to a brahmana by the touch of a sudra. Others point out that though she used the earth as the bed she should have had her head towards the south or the east according to the scriptures. But she violated this and so got tainted. Indra saw the hair of her head in the place where her feet lay. Now he entered the womb cut the embryo which was supposed to destroy him into seven parts. They became seven Marutas. One of the puranas has it: ‘having divided the foetus into seven parts, they should again be further divided into seven each’.
Birth of Marutas 1.46.16-23; 1.47.5
When the Sun reached the middle of the sky, Diti got caught in sleep, keeping her feet near the head. Sleeping during daytime and keeping her legs towards the head in the bed tainted her. Some others say while she sat and leaned against her legs the head contacted the legs. Like the impurity caused to a brahmana by the touch of a sudra. Others point out that though she used the earth as the bed she should have had her head towards the south or the east according to the scriptures. But she violated this and so got tainted. Indra saw the hair of her head in the place where her feet lay. Now he entered the womb cut the embryo which was supposed to destroy him into seven parts. They became seven Marutas. One of the puranas has it: ‘having divided the foetus into seven parts, they should again be further divided into seven each’.