The close association of the Maruts with Indra, the great Nature god,
has led some scholars to regard them as personifications of a special
manifestation of Nature, as Wind-gods. Professor von Schroeder points
out that their father was the god Rudra, later known as Civa, the god
of departed souls, and of fruitfulness, i.e., a Chthonian deity, and
suggests that the Maruts represent the "in Wind und Sturm dahinjagende
Seelenschar."[7] He points out that the belief in a troop of departed
souls is an integral part of Aryan tradition, and classifies such
belief under four main headings.
1. Under the form of a spectral Hunt, the Wild Huntsman well known in
European Folk-lore. He equates this with Dionysus Zagreus, and the
Hunt of Artemis-Hekate.
2. That of a spectral Army, the souls of warriors slain in
fight. The Northern Einherier belong to this class, and the many
traditions of spectral combats, and ghostly battles, heard, but not
seen.
3. The conception of a host of women in a condition of ecstatic
exaltation bordering on madness, who appear girdled with snakes, or
hissing like snakes, tear living animals to pieces, and devour the
flesh. The classic examples here are the Greek Maenads, and the
Indian Senas, who accompany Rudra.
4.
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